Toppenish Speeders Worry Neighbors About Child Safety
TOPPENISH - Speedy drivers along East First Avenue in Toppenish are worrying parents and neighbors about the safety of their children.
Toppenish local Raynaldo Flores is blind.
And although he can't see what's going on in front of his home every day, he can hear his neighbors yelling 'Slow down!'
This is the sound of those who are fed up with a problem that has been plaguing this neighborhood for over a year now.
Speeders flying by at speeds that seem twice the 25 mph limit.
"It's to the point where the people in the car...they travel so fast and it's 25 mph. It's not 40, not 45, it's 25," said Raynaldo Flores, a man who lives in the neighborhood.
Parents and neighbors like Raynaldo are convinced that soon, a speeding driver and a small child are going to meet.
And it's a tragedy that is entirely avoidable.
"There's no signs and a lot of speeders. Since I've been here, there have been almost nine accidents of kids almost being hit on the corner and through here. I've called the police five times," said neighbor and mother of three, Kathy Richardson.
But from those five calls, she has only seen 2 patrols in the area and many more drivers speeding.
Action News was in the neighborhood for an hour and a half and witnessed dozens of drivers speeding by and only one patrol.
People in the neighborhood are wondering if anything will be done to fix this problem.
"I'm just afraid that one of these kids is going to get killed or hurt really badly," said Richardson.
Toppenish Police insisted they recognize the problem and are now targeting the area the best they can with the manpower available.
"Keep calling us. We patrol the whole city but we don't see everything," said Toppenish police captain Curt Ruggles.
Not good enough for the folks around here.
"I'm tired of hearing my neighbors yell slow down. I can't watch TV without being concerned about what's going on outside," said Flores.
From here, neighbors plan to petition the city for signs and speed bumps.
Whatever it takes to get the wheels to turn a little slower in this stressed out community.
Neighbors say drivers are using their street as a short-cut through town.
Toppenish local Raynaldo Flores is blind.
And although he can't see what's going on in front of his home every day, he can hear his neighbors yelling 'Slow down!'
This is the sound of those who are fed up with a problem that has been plaguing this neighborhood for over a year now.
Speeders flying by at speeds that seem twice the 25 mph limit.
"It's to the point where the people in the car...they travel so fast and it's 25 mph. It's not 40, not 45, it's 25," said Raynaldo Flores, a man who lives in the neighborhood.
Parents and neighbors like Raynaldo are convinced that soon, a speeding driver and a small child are going to meet.
And it's a tragedy that is entirely avoidable.
"There's no signs and a lot of speeders. Since I've been here, there have been almost nine accidents of kids almost being hit on the corner and through here. I've called the police five times," said neighbor and mother of three, Kathy Richardson.
But from those five calls, she has only seen 2 patrols in the area and many more drivers speeding.
Action News was in the neighborhood for an hour and a half and witnessed dozens of drivers speeding by and only one patrol.
People in the neighborhood are wondering if anything will be done to fix this problem.
"I'm just afraid that one of these kids is going to get killed or hurt really badly," said Richardson.
Toppenish Police insisted they recognize the problem and are now targeting the area the best they can with the manpower available.
"Keep calling us. We patrol the whole city but we don't see everything," said Toppenish police captain Curt Ruggles.
Not good enough for the folks around here.
"I'm tired of hearing my neighbors yell slow down. I can't watch TV without being concerned about what's going on outside," said Flores.
From here, neighbors plan to petition the city for signs and speed bumps.
Whatever it takes to get the wheels to turn a little slower in this stressed out community.
Neighbors say drivers are using their street as a short-cut through town.
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