Dallas neighborhood demands change after string of cars slamming into houses
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A group of Dallas neighbors are demanding change after a string of vehicles have plowed into their property. They say speeding on Harvest Hill Road - near the Dallas Tollway and Midway - is so common that they don't even feel safe in their homes.
On an afternoon in February, Susan Martinez heard a boom coming from the front of her house.
"Then there was like an explosion," she said. "I got up and went running in there to see what was going on. The truck with the guy in it was in our sitting room."
She said 15 minutes earlier, her elderly mother was sitting in that room. Nearly six months later, the repairs aren't yet finished.
"We should have windows hopefully this week," she said.
Nearly every neighbor has a similar story. At least 11 cars have hit houses or parked cars over the last 10 years. The speed limit is 30, but neighbors said that's rarely followed.
"We need help to stop these people that are speeding down our street," said neighbor James Humpert.
His surveillance cameras captured the most recent hit-and-run. Early Saturday morning, a driver wandered off of Harvest Hill Road - and slammed into Humpert's brother's parked Jeep. He worries for the children in the neighborhood.
"People don't let them out their front yards because of the way traffic is," he said.
The neighbors have signed a petition and appealed to the city. Council Member Gay Donnell Willis said a reconstruction project is concluding in the area, and then the Transportation Department will evaluate and look into options such as speed cushions or additional signage.
"They don't just take a cookie cutter approach. They're going to go and assess exactly what traffic counts are, what the behaviors currently are that need to be modified so they can come up with the best solution for Harvest Hill," she said.
She also said she's asked DPD to add focus to the area in the meantime. Neighbors said it's a matter of life or death.
"Someone's going to killed. At the rate it's going, someone's going to get killed," said Martinez.