A woman who lives on Waldo Avenue wants to see city leaders address speeding on the street despite the city saying it will not add "Children At Play" signs.
Carole Weinrich has lived along Waldo Avenue since last September and often sees children playing near the street when she sits on her front porch.
“If I see a car coming, I'll holler at the kids 'Car coming!'” she explained. “These kids come out to play. They run around. They're in the street."
However, Weinrich told 41 Action News that she has continued to see a big problem ever since moving in.
“I see somebody flying up the street and not paying any attention at least once or twice a day,” she explained. “They're constantly flying up and down the street and we have all these little kids that come out.”
In early May, Weinrich claimed that a woman driving close to 50 miles per hour almost hit a child playing near the street.
As a way to help address the problem, Weinrich said she talked with city leaders about adding speed limit signs and “Children At Play” warnings up and down Waldo Avenue.
However, the city’s response surprised Weinrich.
In a message she posted to Facebook, Weinrich explained how the city told her “Children At Play” warnings could not be used because they are normally "ineffective."
On Monday, 41 Action News spoke with Independence Public Information Officer Meg Lewis about the claims.
Lewis said the city was aware of the complaint but adding permanent street signs to address speeding or children in the neighborhood involves a process following National Highway Administration guidelines.
“This is something we use nationwide to ensure that you can go from community to community and understand the signs that are on the street,” she explained.
Lewis also added that “Children At Play” signs were shown to not have a great impact on fixing speeding issues.
“There are different studies that have found that they are not as effective as other means to ensure that the children are safe,” she explained.
While the city won’t be adding “Children At Play” signs, Lewis said the investigation into Waldo Avenue speeding was ongoing and the city may eventually increase police monitoring in the area or add electronic speed limit signs.
Lewis added that city had received no other complaints about speeding along Waldo Avenue.
With schools soon letting out for the summer around the metro area, Weinrich hoped a solution could be found in the near future.
“If we don't speak up, nothing is going to change and it needs to change,” she explained. “I don't want to see one of these kids get killed by people flying because there's no speed limit."
Weinrich said she planned to attend Monday’s City Council meeting to continue to call on leaders to address speeding on Waldo Avenue.
The meeting is being held at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
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