There have been 10 vehicle related incidents in 15 months involving our building, 5 of which have resulted in direct collisions into the businesses that operate here. Despite the frequency of accidents the city has failed to take any action towards setting up additional safety measures for not only our building, but for the pedestrians frequenting the bustling Midtown District who could easily be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Since the Midtown road renovation, our landlords have communicated with the city their concerns for the businesses here and their susceptibility to accidents and have repeatedly requested some sort of guard - settling on allowing our landlords to put boulders in the garden box (paid out of their own pockets) to slow down whatever poor-judgment driver is headed in our direction.

In a recent Channel 4 interview following the latest crash, "Lt. Michael Browett with Reno PD's traffic division says there's another issue at play here: 'This incident probably wouldn't have occurred had it not been for the level of intoxication of this driver." Although this is true, we cannot control the decisions people make, and therefore we need to take in account human fallibility when determining the safety of our community. We acknowledge that drunk driving is an issue, but our goal is to make our high traffic intersection safer for everyone.  

Bad Apple Vntg has been involved in 3 collisions, 2 of which have resulted in damage to the shop and A Downtown Barbershop having their garden box destroyed, all committed by drunk drivers. These incidents have resulted in us left to clean up the scene of the crimes ourselves, getting emergency services to board up broken windows, and filing claims with our insurance that take months, sometimes up to years, to reimburse - assuming the driver has enough to cover the destruction they caused, or coverage at all. Our building is not the only one to have been involved in a collision. There was once a light pole between the garden box outside of the neighboring business and the roundabout but because it kept getting knocked down, the city stopped putting it back up. The city of Reno is aware of this intersection being an area of concern yet the necessary precautions have not been taken to protect us or the pedestrians in the area.

Our landlords have reached out to the city, once again, to erect some sort of guard or structure in-between our building and the roundabout. The City of Reno has proposed they build a 30" tall frame for the garden box but need additional approval to begin the project. However, it's summertime and people are enjoying Reno's nightlife and unfortunately poor choices are inevitable. Getting behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated is something that does happen. Therefore, we are encouraging the City to act with urgency and take the necessary actions required to install something to protect our building. 

By signing this petition you can help us encourage the city to make our area safer for pedestrians and our building while emphasizing the urgency to take action sooner rather than later. If you'd like to further voice your concerns, please contact our ward's city council member, Jenny Brekhus, (775) 334 2011, or via e mail at brekhusj@reno.gov.