Avon Lake blogger creates buzz with views on deer crossing warning signs

AVON LAKE, Ohio - Blogger Kathleen Wilhelm with the Avon-Avon Lake Patch is creating a buzz with her view that the government should stop wasting money on warning signs for non-humans.

In her words: "Deer cannot read, do not obey the law and probably will cross where they wish."

"The signs are not for the deer, they're for the drivers," said Avon Lake resident Tom Beal. He said the thought is ridiculous.
 
"At least it alerts drivers at least they're watching the side of the road to see if there are deer there, and there are many other wastes of taxpayers money than signs," he said.

The post went viral after it was posted on the Gawker website. It received more than 24,000 views in two days. Many of them challenged the writer's views.

John Jakym, however, agreed with the blogger.

"I think the deer crossing signs are a waste," said Jakum, "I have one right in front of my house and I've never seen a deer cross yet, people know there's deer all over the place. it's not like it's something new."

ODOT Spokeswoman Amanda Lee said the department strategically places these signs on roadways to give motorists advanced warning or potential danger in an area.

"So if you're new traveling through the area you might not know there's a high population of deer in that area or significant amount of accidents so the sign just makes you aware that you could encounter a deer on this route," she explained.

The signs cost about $145 each and Lee said they're not a waste of taxpayers' money.

Lee said, "Nobody wants to hit a deer with their car. Their car's going to end up in the shop, it's gonna cost them money to fix. so if they can see the sign they can slow down."

We tried to contact Wilhelm but we were unsuccessful.