PARKVILLE, Mo. — Months after a cul-de-sac was opened to help with traffic flow through a new development, a group of neighbors has grown concerned about an alleged rise in people driving nearly twice the speed limit through the neighborhood.
Carol Broadway has lived along South National Drive for five years.
In a picture inside her home, families can be seen outside walking about and playing near the street, which used to have a dead end, but Broadway said nearby development has changed that.
“This was a quiet neighborhood until they opened up the street up here,” she said. “It’s difficult for all of us, because mostly families move in here with children. No one was used to seeing the traffic growing at an enormous speed.”
According to multiple neighbors who spoke to 41 Action News, speeding has become a growing issue in the community.
Despite a posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour in the neighborhood, Broadway said she has seen drivers going almost twice the limit.
“The cars don’t slow down,” she said. “They’re in a hurry. We’re worried about the kids.”
As a grandmother, Broadway puts out a special sign warning drivers to slow down whenever her grandchildren play outside.
Another sign, which stands outside a home a few doors down from Broadway, reads “Slow down. Children & pets at play.”
Despite the warnings, Broadway said neighbors still see plenty of speeders.
A roundabout at the bottom of a hill near her home even has tire marks that she said were left by drivers speeding dangerously through the community.
“All the parents are nervous about their kids being outside,” Broadway said. “Some of the neighbors have said if they had known what this was going to be a traffic situation here, they wouldn’t have moved here.”
Residents have had multiple meetings with city officials to address concerns with speeding along South National Drive.
Parkville told 41 Action News in a statement that progress was being made assisting with the problem:
Recommendations were made concerning stop signs at three intersections. After hearing public comments from the residents, the Board requested the Public Works Director and Traffic Engineer develop a list of additional traffic calming recommendations. We expect these recommendations to be presented to the Board within thirty days.
Parkville Alderman Philip Wasser also issued a statement, saying he hoped a fix could be decided by the end of the summer:
The BOA is in full agreement with the residents that there is a problem and something needs to be done soon to begin to deal with it. The problem is that an ideal solution, (redesign of the street) will be a lengthy process and we all know we can’t wait that long. So we are in the process of identifying some easily deployable measures such as radar speed notification signs, temporary speed humps etc. These immediate solutions will be presented in a public meeting in the first part of August.
Broadway hopes the city finds a solution soon.
“We want some action,” she said. “We want someone to hear us and we want someone to do something about the traffic.”
