Residents petition Potsdam to slow street traffic

POTSDAM — Residents of Missouri Avenue and Chestnut Street have submitted a petition with 60 signatures to the village seeking the installation of speed deterrents on their roads.

Thomas L. French, 8 Missouri Ave., presented the petition to the village Board of Trustees at its Monday night meeting. He said he first began to look into ways to slow down traffic on the street after a close call last year.

"I heard a car come to a screeching halt, and there was my daughter chasing a ball," Mr. French said. "Missouri and Chestnut are used as shortcuts between Route 11 and 11B, and sometimes drivers accelerate at incredibly high rates. They whip around fast before they can even see where they're going."

Mr. French said that by his estimates, there are at least 15 children under age 12 who live on Missouri Avenue. Andrew F. Williams, 5 Missouri Ave., said many of the children are friends and often cross the street to play with each other.

Residents are worried that the speed limit of 30 mph still may be too high in the neighborhood. By installing some sort of speed deterrent, they hope to slow cars down to prevent an accident.

"Hopefully, you can take action to prevent the injury of a kid, which I think is destined to happen at some point," Mr. Williams said.

Mr. French presented trustees with several estimates for traffic humps and tables, which are rubber devices that can reduce automobile speed to 10 to 20 mph, which is about twice as fast as speed bumps allow cars to go.

Rubber speed humps can be removed in the winter to allow snowplows to pass through without issue.

He estimated the village could install two of the devices — one each on Missouri Avenue and Chestnut Street — at a cost of about $3,000 each.

"I always had a rule: Stay in the backyard," Deputy Mayor Ruth F. Garner said. "I don't feel comfortable making this kind of decision just yet."

She asked village Police Chief John A. Kaplan to work with the residents to discuss different options for addressing the problem.

Trustee George F. Regan, who owns Potsdam Taxi Co., noted there is no sign on either Missouri Avenue or Chestnut Street advising drivers to watch for children, similar to signs near school zones.

"We put a great value on our neighborhoods and residential life, so I'd really like to see this explored," said Trustee Abigail D. Lee, who lives at 20 Chestnut St.