ARLEE - We recently shared the fatal crash numbers for Missoula District over the past year. and out of 13 fatalities, five happened on one stretch of U.S. Highway 93 near Arlee.
Reporter Emily Brown spent time there to see how the high traffic volume affects not only the businesses but the residents as well.
“A lot of these people that we end up going to crashes on or people on our highway are some of our neighbors that got hit by somebody cruising through during the summer or whatever it is you know… and it’s it’s just something that needs to be heard,” Arlee Volunteer Fire Department Chief Charles Headley said.
While the traffic is good for businesses like Wilson Family Foods, the speed at which the cars go through Arlee isn’t. The speed limit is 35 mph but cars regularly go 45-50 mph.
"It’s been a rule since I was younger not to be walking by the roads because of that reason and another reason is that like my parents are scared because I’m a Native American woman, I could go missing very quickly," McKirah Fisher told MTN News.
McKirah — who works at Wilson Family Foods — says Arlee is normally peaceful and quiet but the traffic completely changes that, "we definitely have a community here, I definitely get to see it every day at the store."
“Oh man, you can, whenever the trucks go by all you can hear is VROOOOM like they specifically go really fast by the store," McKirah continued. "I don’t know why that is but they do and that’s all you can hear all day. Or honking sometimes.”
Arlee High School is right across the street from Wilson Foods and a lot of students would grab breakfast before class at the store until one day.
“A group of girls went to the store in the morning. They were walking across the road and they made sure it was clear and then out of nowhere there was a truck that came and hit them,” recalls McKirah.
Now no one is allowed to go from the school to the store during the busy hours of the morning.
McKirah has a few ideas for ways to improve safety on the streets.
“I just feel like if there was more patrolling near Arlee, then people would be more scared to get a ticket than to speed. Or maybe just make the speed limit lower at a farther rate you know? Like start slowing down when you come by the houses or by Dirty Corner and have a nice little speed limit [sign] there.”
Arlee is home to so many people and families that just one decision on the roads could take someone out of that community forever.
