PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Fast and seemingly constant traffic in a Port St. Lucie neighborhood has been a source of worry for parents wanting to let their children safely play outside.
Now, Port St. Lucie police are getting involved after a confrontation between a driver and neighbors was captured on camera, and parents showed police just how bad traffic has become along SW Davis Street.
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Resident Nicole Rider said drivers use her residential street as a short cut to get around the busier intersection at SW California Blvd. and SW Del Rio Blvd.
“The amount of traffic that comes through here is like a highway,” Rider said.
Neighbor Trevor Nelson says he often has to worry about his children playing outside.
“Five to about 13 years old and everywhere in between,” Nelson said. “You can’t really ride your bike in the backyard, and we don’t have sidewalks,” Nelson said.
Rider says because of her safety concerns, she places cones along the edge of the street near signs that say “Drive like your kids live here”.
“Not in the road, right up against the edge of the grass, just to warn people or make you aware that something’s going on. There’s children playing,” said Nelson.
“We’re telling them to get out of the road every two minutes if they’re lucky,” Rider said.
Tuesday, Rider’s husband said a woman was speeding down their street.
He waved for her to slow down.
Rider said the woman turned around and started yelling at neighbors.
Rider recorded some of the incidents on her cellphone.
“We live here on this street….” Nelson is heard saying.
“Doesn’t matter, you don’t own the road,” the driver responds.
Rider said the woman did not live on their street.
“Next time the cones … I’m moving them over,” the woman is heard saying. “We have a problem when I can’t drive home from work every day because your kids are in the road.”
“Stop going down our street then, take Del Rio…” Nelson responds.
The video quickly gained attention on social media.
“I almost feel bad about all the attention that we’re getting because there’s so many people out there that are commenting that they have the same problem,” Rider said.
On Wednesday, Port St. Lucie Police officers stopped drivers on SW Davis Street to make sure they lived in the area. They asked people who did not live in the area to avoid residential areas for use as a shortcut.
Police say they will continue to monitor the street for a couple of weeks.
“I hope it keeps people away from our street and using it as a cut through,” Nelson said. “We don’t own the road, it is a public street, I understand that. But, we probably own this road more than she does because we live here.”
Rider hopes this will make a difference in making their street safer for their children.
“I feel like they’re going to be able to play, I’m excited for them it’s almost summer vacation,” Rider said.
