How do I get a speed limit sign or speed bumps for my neighborhood? (Oak Island: camper, living)
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I grow increasingly resentful of the speed bumps I'm encountering in and around my neighborhood. The SL is 25mph, yet with all the speed bumps around, everyone slows down to 5 or 10 mph. Lots of parents will no doubt bash me as a wanna-be speed demon for saying this. But if you're so concerned for their safety, then start parenting and supervising your kids when they are outside; like a parent ought to. I have a responsiblity to not speed and to be dilligent while driving, granted. But I also have a right to safely drive faster than 10 mph in a 25 mph zone.... regardless of the presence of your children.
Since moving into my neighborhood 3 months ago, I've had a lot of problems with people speeding through here. There are a lot of children in this area with no sidewalks to play on. It's a subdivision on the outskirts of New Bern....some are homeowners and some rent. I'm not the only person who has a problem with the speeders......a lot of other parents have voiced their concerns along with me. I honestly have no idea where I would start in this process. It upsets me that there is no speed limit sign posted for this area and people speed through here in the evening knowing that the neighborhood is full of kids riding bikes.
If you have a HOA, go to them. I am presuming you don't since you didn't mention one.
If you want to fight this battle, be careful--someone did this in my neighborhood (where it is posted at 25 but also almost entirely downhill so you really have to pay attention to stay at 25). Someone managed to get stop signs put in, but wow, overkill--suddenly one stretch of road 1/4 mile long had 3-4 2-way stop signs! And, the cops started camping out and giving people tickets left and right (even when there were no pedestrians around) for not coming to a complete stop. The neighborhood, shall we say, "revolted", and the signs were removed. Definitely a case of overkill. I think speed bumps are a much more feasible solution--but there are probably issues with them for ambulances, fire trucks, etc. Otherwise, I imagine many more neighborhoods would have them.
In the meantime, do what you can and teach your kids to pay attention to cars and to move out of the way when a car is coming--the car might not see them, so better they see the car. The kids can move to the grass but the car doesn't have an option of anything but the road. However, I'm amazed at the number of children (and adults) who will walk right into the path of an oncoming car that they clearly can see. Nobody seems to teach "look both ways" anymore, and the way some drivers are distracted on cell phones or texting (don't get me going on that) nobody should ever presume that a car sees you and will stop. never mind who has the right of way; I'd rather be alive and unhurt than "right" if a car ran into me.
I am not on the side of reckless drivers, but I also believe people need to watch out for their own safety (especially children who play in roads) and not "presume" any vehicle is going to stop for you. I grew up in a neighborhood with no sidewalks and yes, we played in the roads, but we also got out of the way when a car came because our mothers taught us to. Now, I actually overhear mothers telling your children "don't worry, you have the right of way" which may = a dead child someday.
Sorry for rambling--safety is a cooperative venture between pedestrians and drivers. Both should be on the lookout for each other and both should do their part in making sure there is no person in the path of a car and that the car (nor person) is not moving quickly. I am both a pedestrian sometimes and a driver sometimes, and in each case, I am vigilant for the other and make sure they are aware of me and neither of us in in the other's path.
I grow increasingly resentful of the speed bumps I'm encountering in and around my neighborhood. The SL is 25mph, yet with all the speed bumps around, everyone slows down to 5 or 10 mph. Lots of parents will no doubt bash me as a wanna-be speed demon for saying this. But if you're so concerned for their safety, then start parenting and supervising your kids when they are outside; like a parent ought to. I have a responsiblity to not speed and to be dilligent while driving, granted. But I also have a right to safely drive faster than 10 mph in a 25 mph zone.... regardless of the presence of your children.
Wow, the ignorance starts. I knew it would. Start parenting my kids? That's quite hilarious. How do you know what I have taught my children about bike safety? If you are assuming that I should be outside chasing after my children as they ride their bikes with their friends, then I'll just say that my children are far too old to have mommy run after them as they ride their bikes down the street. (Can you picture how absurd that would be.......to see a parent chasing after a child as he rides his bike with his friends?) I'm talking about big kids here, not toddlers or preschoolers. They know the dangers of riding out in front of a car, or riding through a stop sign or crossing the street without looking. They are educated on safety, but even the most educated children still make mistakes, and then when some moron comes along who is speeding or not paying attention, that's just the perfect scenario for a child to get hurt. Even if I were standing outside, what do you suppose that I could do? Use my spidey senses and magical powers to stop cars from speeding down the street in case my children happen to forget (because they are kids and tend to do that) and ride out into the middle of the street? Thanks for your reply, but you really didn't contribute anything useful to the discussion, except that you feel that wanting speed bumps equates to not wanting to parent my children. If you could be so kind as to let me know where you live then I'll make note of it, b/c a neighborhood where drivers can't go above 15 mph sounds ideal and absolutely wonderful to me.
Also, Francois, I agree......and I have most definitely taught my children about safety while playing outside. There are many things they know not to do and they also know what to do as soon as they see a car turn down our road. But it's not my children who I have no faith in. It's the ignorant adults driving their cars down the road speeding and talking on their cell phones who I have no faith in. The building company was of no help and talking to the neighbors who I've personally seen speed was no help (because they continue to do it every day). Also, I've found out that there is no HOA for this subdivision unfortunately, so I guess my next step is the city council.
Edited to add: Blackandgold, I guess since you feel that my concern for my kids' safety is indicative of a lack of parenting, then do you feel that making them wear seatbelts is a lack of parenting as well? And using hand sanitizer when we go shopping? I don't. I know that bad drivers and germs and people speeding down my road are all things which I personally have no control over. I certainly have no faith in or even expect "other people" to watch out for my kids, which is the reason why I (the parent) have decided to watch out for the other people on behalf of my children. : )
Last edited by Snowshoekitty; 11-30-2010 at 06:38 AM..
You have stated that your neighborhood does not have an HOA which means the streets are most likely public and if you are indeed inside the city limits then the speed limit in your nighborhood is most likely 35 mph if it's not posted. I imagine you could approach the city council or D.O.T. and request a reduction in the speed limit but I'd have to respectfully agree that your children's safety is ultimately your responsibility and if you are concerned about them being hit by a car then provide them with some alternative location to play. Your children are either too young to be ridng bikes on your road and don't need to be doing it or they are old enough to watch out for cars and not get hit but it can't be both.
Maybe you should consider relocating to a home in a culdesac where traffic would be minimal or a more rural neighborhood? Maybe a neighborhood with a park so the bike riding on a road isn't an issue?
Speed bumps are an ideal remedy for pinpointed danger zones, ie. before blind curves.
Our narrow street turns directly off of a major thoroughfare. Almost immediately it makes a rather sharp left turn into a straightaway (Hence, the streetname: Straightaway Lane). Cars coming IN to the neighborhood don't gain top speed (posted at 30mph throughout) until after the turn. Cars going OUT are (more often than not) traveling way over 30. The house just before this curve is ours and I don't allow my children to ride there. They can walk their bikes past it, in the grassy shoulder, then continue to ride (in the grass if they feel safer) until they can see drivers and drivers can clearly see them.
The HOA President is familiar with the speeding and danger zone and agrees that something must be done. Problem? Bureaucracy. They can figure that out, and I'll lend a hand by contacting the correct listening post in the county government and memorializing my opinion. But, my kids' safety IS ultimately my own responsibility (and theirs and they grow older).
People (including me) often drive faster than they should everywhere they go: highways, neighborhoods, even parking lots. Because my home is just off of the entrance, I don't have the opportunity to pick up speed, but I might if I had to go further - unless there were speed bumps. This is an instance where I think it would work - but until they are installed, if they are, my mandate for no biking on that stretch remains in effect.
When I first read these posts, I have to admit that was quite pained by some of the anti-speed-bump-look-after-your-kids-instead posts. Although the replies were to the original post, it's message was to parents in general. It ruffled my feathers and I pushed my work aside to draft a snippy "don't you tell me" response. But being quite honest with myself, I realized that these folks were right.
With this and many other scenarios, we just have to be more cautious and keep enforcing the same with our kids. Life has changed and it's not going backwards. When I was a kid growing up in the SF Bay Area (a concrete jungle), we rode our bikes for MILES, with no helmets, no cell phones to call mom when we fell and broke a bone, (yes, that happened...twice) and knocked on strangers' doors to use the bathroom. Again, times have changed and we’ve traded dangers for newer dangers. Do I wish there were speed bumps here? Yes. Will my children be hurt because there are none? God, I pray not!!
But, I've minimized that risk exponentially by 1) not allowing them to become targets, esp. in particularly risky areas, 2) riding with them dozens of times while they were younger and teaching good habits, 3) reminding them every time they leave: stay together, don't ride in the street and WATCH FOR CARS! I always tell them, "You see them before they see you, so YOU have to be the one to get out of the way".
Should people speed? No. Do they? Yes. Is it fair that our kids can't go outside, ride bikes and enjoy that aspect of childhood easily like we did? No. So, we must pursue a proactive remedy for both sides.
I spoke to my HOA president yesterday and asked if it would be ok to use my very prominent front fence line to hang a vinyl banner reading "SLOW DOWN!" The HOA posts their event banners in front of my house all the time. People can't miss it.
Also, show support, interest, and willingness to help your cause by attending HOA meetings. If you don't have an HOA, look into helping to form one.
Email your county transportation department and ask them to evaluate your street.
Call the local police or sheriffs dept and ask for more presence on your street. If you don't get any response (and you probably won't the 1st, 2nd or 3rd time) try again.
You already have the safety awareness issue under control with your kids, and like me, you probably still remind them of it time and time again. No one should question the fulfillment of your parental responsibilities in their replies here, but instead commend you for reaching out and searching for other opinions and answers. Clearly, you do have the best interests of your children in mind.
How about driver's taking on more responsibility, too, instead of having to be forced to by speed bumps or traffic tickets? Slow down, maybe even long enough to wave hello and ask your own neighborhood kids how their day was instead flying by them.
We all use and enjoy this forum for a number of reasons. To those who are a little less than elegant, your inelegance is not one of those reasons. Heated insults are not what many of us come to this forum to digest. Albeit sweetly, suggesting that a woman relocates because she fears for the safety of her kids on the road is a bit dramatic. (Especially in this market!)
There is enough to go around - like every other aspect of life.
By the way, if you DO get a speeding ticket in your neighborhood, and live in Durham, Orange, Chatham, Person, or Cumberland Counties, send me a note! I am also the paralegal for very experienced criminal defense attorney. (It's true - I just couldn't resist!)
Not trying to ruffle feathers but, in your original post, you were in the house for 3 months. Everyone around you have probably been there for decades and you want to bring change with you?
Sorry but I'll side with the residents on this one. If you feel your children are in danger, find them another place to ride their bikes. No need to turn your "new" neighborhood upside down with stop signs and speed bumps.
I cannot believe the ignorance of some of these opinions about this matter. The roads belong to us all. It is too late to change your opinion after you have killed a child by you impatience. You do not have to be anywhere that is so important that you become a safety hazard. Nieghborhoods are to live in, not your personal drag racing strip. Grow up, be responsible and wake up. If you're late, start a bit earlier. Encountering a speed zone or speed bumps with malice means simply that you do not deserve to by behind the wheel in the first place. Stop completely, look around and observe the law.
I'm sure if you looked around you could find some 25 MPH speed limit signs that could be "requisitioned" and planted on your street. That and a couple of railroad ties bolted across the street, into the pavement, should do the trick.
I don't really condone this but I do like to keep and open mind about such things.
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