Just Sayin': Our parkways aren't made for speeding

Recently traveling home from work around 6:15 p.m., I noticed the westbound lanes of the Northern State Parkway were closed due to an accident. The eastbound lanes were bumper to bumper.

After sitting in traffic for several minutes, it was an eerie sight to see first responders heading west followed by ambulances and then three flatbed truckers carrying the remnants of the cars and SUVs involved. The manufacturers and models of the cars were barely recognizable.

I cannot imagine the terror the drivers and their passengers felt. I sat there saying prayers for the victims and their families.

What will it take for us to slow down and follow the traffic laws? I cannot fathom getting a call from law enforcement or a hospital or having two police officers show up at my door delivering news that no one wants to receive.

Operating a car is a privilege, and most of us are adults. When are many of us going to become responsible, respectful, law-abiding people? How many more victims must there be?

As an engineer, my dad worked on these roadways and always said the Northern and Southern State parkways were not built for speed. Obviously, my dad was right.

— Donna Skura, Kings Park

Put reflective strip on students’ backpacks

All students’ backpacks should have a reflective strip on them.

Kids walk to the bus stop in the dark and can return in the dark after extracurricular activities. Most wear dark clothes, and most neighborhood areas have no sidewalks.

The strip is a simple solution to a dangerous situation. I drove to work in the dark my whole career and have seen the problem firsthand.

— CharleS Kolenik, Sound Beach

A lesson I learned when I was just 10

America is known as a land of opportunity. As a child, I asked my dad to buy me a Beatles record, and he replied, “You have to work for the money.” I was just 10.

So I worked with my dad, who did landscaping on weekends. I worked all day for 50 cents and then could buy the Beatles record, which was 45 cents. I was happy, and a lesson was learned. Start from the bottom and work your way up.

— Charley Frey, West Babylon

Times change, but bills and taxes go up

I have lived on Long Island all my life. When I was young, there were almost no — if any — apartment complexes. Now, they seem to be popping up all over. That means more tax money for our local governments.

Politicians who allow these complexes to be built are overloading our roads. Still, our electric and water utility bills and taxes continue to rise, and the local governments continue to cry about needing money.

Stop with the tax breaks for developers, and control spending. Why do taxes keep going up? If anything, they should be going down.

— Karl Wilhelm, West Babylon