Until the tragic death of his best friend Andrew Gyorgy Friday night, the strip of County Road 50 at the end of Gloucester Drive was just a social artery connecting Kevin Neuts to his friends on the neighbouring beaches dotting Lake Erie’s north shore.
The narrow road with its nearly non-existent shoulders represents something much more foreboding now to the 16-year-old Villanova student.
Kevin Neuts a friend of Andrew Gyorgy talks about his friend on Monday, June 14, 2014. The 16-year-old was killed when he was hit by a car while pushing a dirt bike along the narrow shoulder on County Rd. 50. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)
“I don’t even want to walk on that road,” said Neuts, still stunned over Gyorgy being struck and killed by a passing vehicle while he was pushing his dirt bike along the road’s shoulder.
“It could happen to anyone. It just happened to my best friend, so it could happen to me.”
It hasn’t resulted in the same tragic consequences, but a group of neighbourhood kids taking a break from a road hockey game said close calls are the norm not the exception.
David Milling, a Grade 12 student at Villanova, said skateboards and bikes are the normal mode of transportation for teenagers in the area. They have no choice but to use County Road 50 to visit their buddies.
“It didn’t surprise me,” said Milling of the tragic accident.
“When we ride our bikes on the road going to our friends, the cars honk and we’re forced to the side of the road until they pass. We have to wait there because there’s no room.
“People also aren’t going the speed limit (60 kilometres per hour), they’re flying.”
In examining the site of the accident, the road’s shoulder is less than two feet wide and slips off into a field, then a shallow ditch.
There is simply no place for a pedestrian to walk other than hugging the narrow ribbon of asphalt that looks as if it hasn’t changed for decades. There are no streetlights other than where side streets meet County Road 50, some 20 to 30 yards from the accident scene.
Neighbourhood resident Paula White’s fears about the road prompted her to call the consortium that oversees the school busing system in Windsor and Essex County.
Paula White on Monday, June 2, 2014, stands near the site where Andrew Gyorgy was killed Friday night. The 16-year-old was hit by a car while pushing a dirt bike along the narrow shoulder on County Rd. 50. She lives in the neighbourbood. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)
With snow piling up through a brutal winter, there was little option but for local children to walk on the road to meet the buses.
“At least twice this winter my son told me, ‘Wow mom, a truck nearly hit me on the road today,’” White said.
“Having a 12-year-old walking on the road in the dark to his bus stop in the morning was worrying. They said it wasn’t safe to have too many stops too close together.
“I started to drive him to school, but I couldn’t pick him up in the afternoon. It’s just not safe the way it is.”
As is often the case, tragedy is serving as a galvanizing force.
While the numbness hasn’t fully ebbed away, Neuts is filling with a resolve to do something to change the status quo. He’s not sure what yet, but having death creep so prematurely into his circle of friends to claim one of them has been a shattering experience.
“I’ve been thinking about life and how valuable it is,” Neuts said.
“I couldn’t stop crying all Friday night and, at work Saturday, I felt it was a dream. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t still here.
“I want to do something about (the road) to increase safety.”
Neuts and White’s desire to push for change might find a direction through Essex town councillors John Scott and Bill
Essex councillors Bill Baker, left, and John Scott are shown Monday, June 2, 2014, near the site where Andrew “Drew: Gyorgy was killed Friday night. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)
Baker.
The pair met with White on Monday near the end of Gloucester Drive to discuss options. The duo planned to raise the issue of County Road 50’s safety at Monday’s council meeting.
“There is a 20-year transportation plan that’s been approved by all seven county municipalities and safety needs to be a priority,” Baker said.
“We’ll raise the issue of accessing (Essex’s share of) next year’s gas tax money to speed things up.”
Essex received about $560,000 in gas tax funds this year.
The town has also begun implementing segments of the transportation plan by putting in one kilometre of concrete bikes paths through Colchester.
Baker said such simple stretches cost about $130,000 per kilometre while segments that require a little more engineering and moving of utility poles will cost $375,000.
The duo said things like better lighting, wider, paved shoulders and stricter enforcement of the speed limit would be a good start until bike paths can be added.
Scott added there are also sound economic reasons to buttress the safety argument to act more quickly.
He cites the move to push wine, culinary and cycling tours, along with a growing population along the entire road, as additional reasons for prioritizing the road.
“This isn’t the quiet county road it used to be,” Scott said. “The usage has increased dramatically.
“Safety takes precedence, but in doing that, those other activities also benefit.”
The football jersey of Andrew “Drew” Gyorgy is shown Monday, June 2, 2014, at St. Thomas of Villanova. The 16-year-old was hit and killed by a vehicle while pushing a dirt bike along the narrow shoulder on County Rd. 50. His number 99 was retired. (Courtesy of Kevin Neuts)
Daniel Milling, 14, a friend of Andrew “Drew” Gyorgy is shown Monday, June 2, 2014, at the site where the 16-year-old was killed Friday night. He was hit by a car while pushing a dirt bike along the narrow shoulder on County Rd. 50. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)
The locker of Andrew “Drew” Gyorgy is shown Monday, June 2, 2014, at St. Thomas of Villanova. The 16-year-old was hit and killed by a vehicle while pushing a dirt bike along the narrow shoulder on County Rd. 50. (Courtesy of Kevin Neuts)
