‘Not A Drag Strip’: Things Neighbors Want To Tell Drivers [Block Talk]

ACROSS AMERICA — “It’s an epidemic,” a Patch reader who goes by “Vigilant” said of an explosion of speeding, dangerous drivers in general, but especially during school dropoff and pickup times.

“I saw a girl get hit on her bike by a careless driver. I saw a boy get hit on his bike by a car. I have almost been hit on my bike by careless drivers too many times to count,” said the reader of Los Gatos Patch and Campbell Patch, both in California.

“I see drivers speeding, running stop lights and driving while fiddling with their phones daily,” the reader said. “It’s an epidemic.”

We heard similar stories from Patch readers across the country after we asked readers for advice on what to do about drivers who show little regard for the safety of the neighborhood for Block Talk, our exclusive neighborhood etiquette column.

Mel, who reads multiple Illinois Patch sites, is livid.

“Something needs to be done, yesterday, before someone gets hurt or killed,” Mel implored. “The speeds people do on the block are outrageous — 50, 60 miles per hour.”

Mel lives on a very long street with a cul-de-sac at the end. That makes it easy for motorists to speed, the reader said. School dropoff and pickup is a nightmare, Mel said, adding, “we need speed bumps or cops monitoring the speed of these parents when rounding the corner.”

Mel said school zones should warrant a higher level of patrol, but the problem has been ongoing for years, and, “clearly, the police or village couldn't care less.”

“As a concerned parent, I will personally sit out there every day and gladly hand out tickets to every single person that thinks our street is a drag strip,” Mel said. “Other residents on this block feel the same way.

“On several occasions, we are out there socializing as neighbors and have to scream and wave to cars that are flying down our block at a high rate of speed.”

Lori, a Princeton (New Jersey) Patch reader who lives across the street from a school, said drivers using her street as a cut-through ignore the 25 mph speed limit.

“It’s so scary, and the town has done nothing,” Lori said. “The town needs to take responsibility and not just ignore that the cut-through street is getting more and more dangerous for the kids in the neighborhood and the kids that go to school every day.”

Her suggestion: “They should put speed bumps down the road and real crossing signals to get to the school.”

Fight City Hall

In Illinois, Brian and his neighbors have been leaning on local government officials for about seven years to solve the problem.

“Add digital speed limit display signs that show a person’s speed,” said Brian, who reads Darien Patch, Downers Grove Patch, Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Patch and Burr Ridge Patch. “Increase patrols through neighborhoods, add signage to remind drivers kids are present, increase speeding penalties for speeding in residential areas.”

Michelle, a Joliet (Illinois) Patch reader, said she and her neighbors have asked for a stop sign to slow down drivers, but nothing has happened.

“Joliet needs to wake up before someone gets hurt or, worse, killed,” Michelle said. “We have attended neighborhood meetings and get blown off.”

Where people’s lives are endangered, speak up, said Shelley, a Windsor (Connecticut) Patch reader.

She said she “alerted police, who then kept an eye on speeders for a day or so, and then they were gone.”

Making noise to local officials and seeking more permanent deterrents, like traffic-calming devices, can help.

But That May Not Help

Or, it may just be white noise.

To improve safety, hire more community patrol officers “and have them out in full force during school commute hours,” the California reader who goes by Vigilant said. “It’s that simple. Oh, there’s ‘no funds’? Find the funds. Prioritize the issues that should be a priority in the community.”

So far, Vigilant is earning the moniker, taking personal responsibility for their safety.

“I walk down a main thoroughfare every morning during the school commute hour. Every morning I see countless cars speeding and running lights. I have seen maybe 10 tickets given out — in 11 years!” the reader wrote. “There are no consequences, so why would law-breaking drivers change their ways?”

Don, a Cartersville (Georgia) Patch reader, said he and his neighbors posted signs warning that children play in the area, but that didn’t make much difference. Neither has a new stop sign.

Now, Don said, reckless drivers “speed and run stop signs.”

The only thing that has helped, if only briefly: “The sheriff has been invited to sit in front of my house to monitor,” Don said.

‘Slow Down! Grandparents At Play.’

Phyllis, a Freehold (New Jersey) Patch reader, said she and her neighbors attended township meetings and circulated petitions asking for four-way stop signs or speed bumps to slow down drivers. The speed limit in her neighborhood is posted at 25 mph, but drivers zoom past signs at “a much higher rate,” Phyllis said.

“Please slow down your cars where there is even a possibility of children playing outside or crossing roads,” a South Brunswick (New Jersey) Patch reader said of drivers — especially first-time teen drivers — “don’t care about child play signs or speed limit signs inside the community or township road where there are no cameras to watch them.”

But, the reader said, improving safety isn’t just a matter of changing driver behavior. Groups of walkers sometimes block roads and should use sidewalks, instead. And both motorists and pedestrians have to be aware of each other.

Across America Patch reader Lori said she and her neighbors asked for the works — more patrol, more speed bumps and four-way stops at all intersections — but have to rely on their own DIY hack: “Park on the street, not in the driveway, to make the street narrow, causing the drivers to slow down.”

It “rarely works,” though.

A Patch reader named Wanda said she sent a letter to the manager of her homeowners association outlining the problems caused by speeding and reckless drivers, but got no response. She’s like to sit down with her neighbors and brainstorm a way to slow people down, but she’s not sitting around waiting for that to happen.

“I, myself, hung a garden flag near the road saying ‘Slow down! Grandparents at play.’ No results.”

About Block Talk

Block Talk is a regular Patch feature offering real-world advice from readers on how to resolve everyday neighborhood problems. If you have a neighborhood etiquette question or problem you'd like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com, with Block Talk as the subject line.

Catch up on Block Talk