Sylvester- North Isabella Street is a historic part of Sylvester, but the recent addition of several school buildings has turned it into a heavy traffic area. Neighbors say, traffic along the roadway is ignoring speed limit signs and putting them in danger.
Debris litters the Downs front yard as their fears came true. A car came within feet of their home Saturday morning.
"If you look, you can see the indentations of the car tracks as they passed through the yard. They actually get into my flower bed, in this area, you can see the car tracks again before they start to veer back over to the side street which is Wallace," said Warren Downs.
They've complained to police and the Mayor about speeders along North Isabella Street. The headlamp in their yard is proof of what could and did happen.
"The speed limit posted here is 35 mph, which by the Georgia State Code, says that with it being posted 35, they have to allow 10 mph over that before they can ticket anyone," said Downs.
To stop speeders before 46 miles per hours, the speed limit would need to be reduced to 30.
Neighbors like Bill Lane who also had his mailbox hit in Saturday's accident agree something needs to be done to slow traffic along Isabella.
"It seems to be a problem primarily on this street, because There's over a one mile stretch from US 82 to where people can just race up and down this street," said Lane.
Police removed the only stop sign along Isabella, and even though the speed limit is posted 35, and there are child safety signs neighbors who walk the roadway say they're fearful.
"It's gotten to the point that we have to absolutely avoid Isabella as much as possible and try to head over to Washington which runs parallel to Isabella, but even over there it's a smaller road but people are still speeding ridiculously and you just kind of you're taking things into your own hands you end up in peoples yards and stuff trying to keep from getting hit," said Ginger Nesmith.
Residents say their complaints from November have gone unanswered, but they'll try again to get the speed limit reduced to 30, and hope police will consider increasing patrols and enforcement.
"My hope is that the speed limit will get reduces and then police can actually stop some people and get it slowed down before someone gets killed," said Downs.
Mayor Bill Yearta says, people speeding is a concern all over Sylvester and especially on North Isabella because of the residential neighborhood and the schools. He plans to talk with the police chief about the speed limit issue.
posted by jennifer.emert@walb.com
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