Life in my Neighborhood

[tarcone]

I live in a subdivision. Im not in the "in" grpup, which is ok. We have a message board where people in the sub division communicate, complain and get info out.
The subdivisions main drag is a hill. And a lot of people speed on said hill. Which raises the ire of the people that live on the street. And rightly so.
The people that live on the street park their cars on the street. Which I believe is to make a "speed bump" like effect. But in my opinion it causes a more dangerous situation, because of the possibility of a kid darting out.
Also, it creates an obstacle course to drive through. Thats my main beef.

So, on the message board people have been complaining again about speeders. So in effect, the "speed bump" isnt working.

I need some opinions on if I should post this message or just let it go. I will see these people a lot at the pool ove rthe summer and will probably get flamed if I post. Here is the message (In response to latest speeding complaint):

And all those cars in the street. If a kid ever ran out from in between those cars, it wouldnt matter if you were going 15 or 35, something bad will happen. The Cedars had this happen just a few years ago.
I understand its a "speed bump". But, it wont matter how fast someone is going. All this is doing is making a bad situation worse. If there were no cars parked on the street, at least your field of vision would be unobstructed.
And, it doesnt look like it is reducing the speeding.

Good idea getting the police to put the radar out there. Anyone know what the results were?

The Cedars reference is to a kid that got killed running out in the street from between cars parked on the street.

Also, this subdivision has a lot of 3 car garages. So space is not a concern.

Thanks.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The first thing that strikes me is that I'm surprised that there isn't a restriction on street parking in the covenants somewhere.

The next thing that strikes me is that you've got as much right to put your two cents worth on the message board as the next person & if they're gonna get hot and bothered over your point of view then fuck 'em. But I'm not exactly a hang-out-where-they-are sort of guy anyway, so YMMV I guess.

And the next thing after that is that there's usually a process by which a street/neighborhood/whatever can either put in actual speed bumps (if they're responsible for the upkeep of the street/road) or request the governing authority to do so (if it's a publicly maintained road). Even the little shithole we lived in had a process for that & it was actually pretty simple, as long as enough property owners within X proximity of the spot would sign something then they'd put 'em in.

The one thing that isn't 100% clear to me but seems relevant is to confirm that the general concern about speeding in the 'hood is actually related to kids playing or whatever as opposed to say not wanting people to end up skidding through your yards/knocking over curbside trashcans/general aesthetics/not getting smashed when you pull out of your own driveway.

If it's kid related then your p.o.v. would probably have a much better chance of maybe influencing people, if it's something else then I'd say it won't matter one bit and might not even be worth the trouble to write up (unless you'd just be happier putting your two cents worth in for peace of mind).

[tarcone]

Spped bumps cant be put in because of snow plows and emergency vehicles.
It seems to be about the safety of the kids.
I, actually called my alderman about street parking and the fire department. Alderman didnt persue and fire dept. said they would run through cars if the opening wasnt wide enough.

Also, our streets are 30 feet wide. This is why there isnt anything in the covenant.

[RainMaker]

I think the best solution is to keep pestering the cops to put up the radars and to setup a speed trap. Get that area known for being the place cops like to hang out. Enough calls to the department and city should put enough pressure on them to do it.

[Lathum]

I think you have every right to put up something on the message board, isn't that why it's there?

I think people will have the attitude that you have no right to tell them where to park their cars, but you have the right to do it.

Besides, it's not like you are printing up a flyer and putting one in everyone's mailbox.

[Bad-example]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I think the best solution is to keep pestering the cops to put up the radars and to setup a speed trap. Get that area known for being the place cops like to hang out. Enough calls to the department and city should put enough pressure on them to do it.

This. I had a similar situation in an apartment I lived in about 20 years ago. There were tons of cars parked on the street and a bunch of kids that played in the area. Drivers sped though this area frequently. It was a recipe for disaster. So I wrote a letter to the chief of police and sent a copy to the traffic control division. The chief sent me a personal letter thanking me for pointing out the problem, and there was often a cruiser sitting at the critical spot for the rest of the time I lived there.

[Tasan]

I'd reference the tragedy in the other subdivision to make sure you get someone's attention. Odds are, especially if it was real recent, they'll want to do something visible to prevent it from happening again. Heck, if you have an "Eye on (whereever)" local news program, a letter to them might also get things moving if the cops ignore you.

[Cringer]

I flip people off. I have also started to walk out in front of someone before which made them hit the breaks. I have also thrown a ball into the road making someone stop. It's all pretty fun to do, but in the end it hasn't changed much on my street. Speed bumps and tickets are the only permanent solutions IMO.

[Peregrine]

My townhouse neighborhood only has a single loop road, and a lot of people complained about people going too fast, so they finally put in speed bumps. Then, people complained even more bitterly about the speed bumps and they were removed after only 2 or 3 weeks.

[cuervo72]

Reminds me of my street growing up. It was the first street* in a series of streets connecting two larger parallel roads. Originally the street was owned by the residents rather than the township (dunno how that happened exactly) and it was chock full of potholes. This annoyed some (including a guy on the township board), and the street was turned over/sold to the township, which could then pave the road. Naturally once the street was paved it became a much more desirable cut-through option, and cars could go much faster.

So, the road was made one-way (of course we were at the top of the street - closer to the more traveled street. We could get out to it easily, but had to go down the next street then all the way UP ours to get to our house). Didn't really do much**, and a couple of years later speed bumps were put in.



* ok, depending on direction it was also the last street in our bunch...but if you were coming from that direction, you would have passed the fork connecting the two roads anyway

27 henry avenue 19053 - Google Maps

** one morning we found that a driver had hit the back of my dad's truck parked on the road...the truck had made it from our house almost to Bridgetown Pike. With the emergency brake on. Guy was either going really fast or plowed the thing the whole way. Another time I did almost get hit by a car when I tried to cross - after I swear I looked both ways and saw nothing there.

[JediKooter]

You should hire some Tuskin Raiders, they know how to take care of people speeding through their area.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Cringer

I flip people off. I have also started to walk out in front of someone before which made them hit the breaks. I have also thrown a ball into the road making someone stop. It's all pretty fun to do, but in the end it hasn't changed much on my street. Speed bumps and tickets are the only permanent solutions IMO.

The street we live on is tagged as 35 MPH, I've been contemplating going to the city to request for it to be changed to 25 MPH. I don't think it would really change much but our street is the only 1 lane each way street in the neighborhood that is 35, all the other streets are 25 even the ones that go through the neighborhoods like ours. Another strange factor is there are two schools on the street (elementary and high school) within 1/2 a mile of each other and this street is one of the major streets that children walk up and down to get to school. I don't have a problem with the street being 35, but I feel that because of this people tend to go even faster. I typically see people going 40-55 down the street. I'd actually prefer a stop sign at one of the intersections, since I think that's even more useful to slowing traffic then just reducing the speed limit.

Anyway, you might even want to recommend stop signs especially if there are cross streets or blind areas that make it difficult to see and/or turn.

[Fighter of Foo]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I live in a subdivision. Im not in the "in" group, which is ok. We have a message board where people in the sub division communicate, complain and get info out.

This sounds like a modernized version of hell on earth.

[Flasch186]

oh boy.

[DaddyTorgo]

i flip people off and jump out in front of cars when people don't stop in crosswalks. if i'm downtown in the commercial district where it ends up being much slower anyways i've even been known to chase after cars and deliver a smack to the back window or a swift kick to the bumper.

asshole drivers piss me off.

the other day i saw some kid on his bike waiting at a crosswalk with a walk light that flashes yellow and has big signs to indicate crossing (for a school). Driver coming down the road had a good...300 yards (idk just making that number up, but let's say it's about that...anyways well more than enough) of unobstructed vision and just sped right through the crosswalk doing like 40. I almost fucking lost it. If I could have caught them I would have fucking fucked them up.

I'm also real fond of people who are looking to turn and talking on their cellphones and pull out into the crosswalk and block it so i have to walk into the road to get around their car. they get glares/flipped off/smacked hoods frequently.

obviously i don't really like people

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Besides, it's not like you are printing up a flyer and putting one in everyone's mailbox.

Originally Posted by Flasch186

oh boy.

[flere-imsaho]

dola,

If people are already complaining on the message board, then I'd let it go, as they're already doing what you'd be doing, at no risk to you. See what happens, and then follow-up as necessary.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

dola,

If people are already complaining on the message board, then I'd let it go, as they're already doing what you'd be doing, at no risk to you. See what happens, and then follow-up as necessary.

I think his issue is different than the rest of the neighborhood -- he wants to see the artifical speed barrier (the cars on parked on the street) stopped.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i flip people off and jump out in front of cars when people don't stop in crosswalks. if i'm downtown in the commercial district where it ends up being much slower anyways i've even been known to chase after cars and deliver a smack to the back window or a swift kick to the bumper.

asshole drivers piss me off.

the other day i saw some kid on his bike waiting at a crosswalk with a walk light that flashes yellow and has big signs to indicate crossing (for a school). Driver coming down the road had a good...300 yards (idk just making that number up, but let's say it's about that...anyways well more than enough) of unobstructed vision and just sped right through the crosswalk doing like 40. I almost fucking lost it. If I could have caught them I would have fucking fucked them up.

I'm also real fond of people who are looking to turn and talking on their cellphones and pull out into the crosswalk and block it so i have to walk into the road to get around their car. they get glares/flipped off/smacked hoods frequently.

obviously i don't really like people

HAHA

uhhh never smack the hood of a car around here, many would jut gun it and run you over at that point....