From Cherry Street neighbor (and OHNA President) Todd Woodson:

Yesterday morning, my cat Gray was hit at Idlewood and Cherry by a car headed east on Idlewood. The reason I know is that the RPS students waiting at the bus stop there witnessed it and told me. This is their account: A Jeep like vehicle was speeding east on Idlewood as if it was heading to work. It saw Gray crossing the street, slowed down and then sped up and hit him. A VCU student came out to wrap Gray in a coat and take for help but he struggled and got away. At that point, he had the use of 3 legs, was bloody and maybe critically injured. He went between two buildings on 200 block Cherry. Myself and others have looked exhaustively for him but havent found him. I will visit RACC to see if they have any info when they open at 1.

St Andrews and the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association have repeatedly asked for traffic calming measures and police presence on these blocks of Idlewood and our requests have fallen on deaf ears. Every suggestion the community has for traffic calming measures is met with confrontation and argument from this city department yet West Ave and Park Ave have speed humps. We are a landlocked community that serves as a bypass for traffic coming off of 195. People are use to doing 55 and dont take the care necessary to safely navigate our streets. I see recklessly speeding drivers all the time going through this intersection. This is an RPS bus stop and soon St Andrews will be expanding its student base. This time its my pet. Next time who knows? A student with his Mom? Here is notice- something must be done and the bureaucracy must be forgone in the interest of student safety. It is VERY DANGEROUS with these speeding cars. The roundabout has helped but commuters headed to work and school DO NOT take proper care. We dont want promises we want action before a fatal accident occurs. What do we have to do to get the attention we so desperately need here?

A little about Gray: he came to me in 2011 after living on the streets for a while after being left behind by students on the 200 block Cherry. He was a great cat. Best described as a peaceful soul. He still preferred to stay outside when weather was above freezing. He was a beautiful black tabby. The students witnessing his being hit were very disturbed as are the many friends Gray had as he would lounge on the sidewalk in front of my house greeting people as they walked down the street. He loved being petted and would come home smelling like a different perfume every night.