Crazy Neighbors! or is it just me?

Well Ladies and Gentleman

I do not know what to say my sign that was outside of my house, which was on
my property with approval from the DRB or Board. Was stolen for the second time
2 days ago and now returned with a message. I have to laugh because this lunatic
did this to various other signs. The Sign originally said to "keep them Safe 20 mph Please!"
Due to the speeding in the neighborhood, keeping children safe and since my kids do not
play in the street, I found this interesting. Who is crazy enough to do this and not
care about our children. We have done our part by calling the police and the sign was
dusted for finger prints. I know this sound alittle extreme for a sign but I am tired
of dealing with this lunatic who thinks they are above the law! What do I do with such a person!

Here is a photo below, Is this person crazy or is it just me???

Some Associations purchased a radar gun (not that expensive) and amended their docs to levy fines for speeding.

Donna
This is not a problem, someone came on my property stole my sign and 3 others
and wrote on it and placed it back. The signs where a result of the speeding
not just for kids, it said Keep them Safe, we had a dog and a cat hit 2 months ago, a hit and run! The county has not responded only to say we need speed bumps which cost a fortune, out of budget for the community, so now the board will try to get a radar sign approved by the county. The board is trying, but the county is not wanting to spend money either.

As for the Kids they are not all in the street they are in their yards or sidewalks on my side of the street that is what I have seen, and they are all supervised by adults. But when you have cars blowing down the road giving you the finger for telling them to slow down and others too getting angry at slowing down, it is lunacy! If you are driving 20mph then you would not be upset for speeding or slowing down because you are already going slow.

These signs before they where stolen before, where helping, the speed limit was 20 mph, and we are reinforcing the limits. Once we get a radar sign up then we can take them down. This idea about the signs was given to be by two other communities with HOA who said it worked wonders for them, so they told the board where to get them and it was great until a bunch irritated homeowners did not want them up at all with or without approval, why whom does it hurt other than the speeding people. I am appalled at kind of disgusted at this behavior from adults

Wow, this is a cool thread.

1) Kids shouldn't really play in the streets. However, they WILL go into the street to retrieve lost balls, frisbees, and get to each other's houses.
2) Drivers should obey the speed limits. Period. And in residential areas, drive just a bit slower even. Really, as a driver, is the extra 1.3 seconds you save driving 35 over 25 really all that important?
3) I can appreciate 'mild' crimes like the removal and altering of said signage. While I don't necessarily support the thoughts behind it, I think it's a fine way to express thoughts without real damage. No spray paint, no broken windows, no threats or idiots with bigger egos than sense... just some tape, a sign, and some fun. All possible routes of reaction considered, this is pretty mild, harms no one, and nothing. Not a bad choice.

I would suggest you continue the signs to educate the drivers, as well as occasional reminders to parents of the dangers of children not watching, rushing into the street, blind spots between cars, etc.. You can work both sides of the fence, and educate everyone to drive safer, play safer, etc..

Good luck, i think you are on the right track.

Penny,

I totally agree that speeding here is the issue. It is now and will forever be in every place that we live. You are trying to solve that problem with signs and not everyone agrees with your message. You must respect the fact that not everyone has kids nor wants to watch out for them in the roads.

However, I have lived in a couple of upscale Florida developements and Kids play in the streets and almost everytime there are no parents there. I have seen it in front of my own home. Cul-du-sacs are kid heaven. My favorite Mom across from us used to say, "I watch my kids from my kitchen". Kitchen in the back, cul-du sac in the front?

Parents do not watch their kids playing unless those are tiny tots. That is what they do. If you are with your kids every single minute, watching their every move, they still are NOT ALLOWED to play in the streets. Show me a law that says otherwise and I will quit stressing this.

Does anyone Know the FL state Law that prohibits kids from playing in the streets? Where can I find this law?
I will present it to the board at the next meeting.

I also think it is absolutely absurd to blame the children- SLOW DOWN folks!!! Enough with this crazy neighborhood feud- it is so sad that some people put their poorly placed grudges above the safety of our children.

A friend of mine just gave this to me:

How can you make your neighborhood street safer? As a driver...Drive slower

Realize that speeding through residential neighborhoods will make very little, if any, difference in the total time it will take to complete your entire trip. In addition, driving at slower speeds allows you more time to react to the unexpected, such as a child darting out from behind a parked car.

I agree that both parents and drivers need to be responsible. But, we need to remember that parents are “teaching” their children the dangers of the street and drivers “know” the legal speed to drive. That is the difference!

I have a friend that lived in a small residential community in County and a child was hit- not playing in the street but crossing it. Why was it hit? Because the car was speeding and the child thought that they had enough time to get across. They may have had the driver not been speeding. Child and Driver are both at fault here. Remember- children’s perception is much different than an adult and ACCIDENTS HAPPEN. But, a driver driving recklessly by exceeding the speed limit is NOT an accident.

So, an older gentleman wanted to make a point to all drivers in the community. Late at night he sped 45mph from one end to the other end of the street. Total time 45 seconds. Then he went the speed limit 25mph. Total time 35 seconds. Moral of the story- is 10 seconds worth the life of anyone (child, adult, animal)? He posted that at the end of the neighborhood and yes some people actually slowed down.

I’m not saying that parents are void of responsibility. I am saying that drivers BY LAW need to adhere to the speed limits posted or they are RESPONSIBLE for the outcome of their actions. Driving any motor vehicle is a privilege and with that comes responsibility. BE RESPONSIBLE AND SLOW DOWN. GO THE SPEED LIMIT! There is a reason that the speed limit in a residential community on average is 25mph. Ours is 20mph.

Go on line and price speed bumps they come in all sizes and prices some not expensive at all and easily installed . Now that our nine foot wide (one way,dead end)road/drive is blacktopped people come flying by.

Good idea
However, the county will not let us put bumps in because it is a county road not private. If we wanted to we could BUT through the county guess how much it cost!! 20,000 5,000 a piece. Plus we have to get 70% approval from all homeowners. This is because it is county road.

Interesting idea. How large a community? Cost?

since it is Florida:

Stand your ground.

or

'shut uppa you face'