Franklin residents create ‘slow down’ signs for drivers
FRANKLIN, Ind. (WISH) — Some people living in one part of Johnson County are hoping for change after they said drivers are breaking the law in their neighborhood.
A group of Franklin residents are coming up with a creative way to address what they said is an ongoing speeding problem along East King Street.
Longtime residents said this problem didn’t just happen overnight and that they have been trying to get city leaders to see eye to eye for many years with no luck.
Dozens of signs saying “Slow Down” lined up the yards of homes and trees near Young Street and East King Street Tuesday evening.
The speed limit sign reads 25 miles per hour, but for some people like Lori Waugh who lives nearby, that’s not always the case.
“The fact that people aren’t slowing down and not paying attention, it just doesn’t sit well with me at all,” said Lori Waugh, resident.
Waugh is a mother of two. She said she doesn’t let her daughters play outside in the front yard because she’s scared they might get hit by a car.
She’s not the only one feeling that way in town.
With construction going on nearby, Robin Hawhee said his neighborhood is starting to see more traffic.
Hawhee and other neighbors came up with an idea to create signs reminding drivers to slow down. At one point, the signs were being sold for $10 dollars.
“We put them out in the mornings and take them down in the evening,” said Robin Hawhee, resident. “It does seem to help on numerous days, but on other days we go back to the race track.”
Hawhee said the city is aware of their ongoing safety concerns.
A spokesperson for the city of Franklin issued a statement to 24-Hour News 8 saying,
Public safety is always our number one concern. The city has heard the complaints and worked to address them, from monitoring speeds, to sending out officers, and changing signs to make sure traffic was going in the right direction at the nearby Boys & Girls Club.”
The spokesperson said the city did two different speed studies in recent years. The average speed came back to be 2 miles under the posted limit.
The spokesperson said they will continue to work with the Franklin Police Department to make sure that drivers are following the speed limit and will issue tickets when necessary.