Neighbors' Frustrations Reach Boiling Point Over Speeding On Ives Dairy Road; Police To Release PSA
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Neighbors in North Miami-Dade are sounding the alarm on what they are calling a speedway.
Residents tell CBS4 cars fly up and down Ives Dairy Road and, at the intersection at San Simeon Way, collisions are commonplace.
"You are putting your life on the line," said Sheri Rosenthal, a longtime area resident.
On Tuesday afternoon, Rosenthal gathered with five neighbors in her home, where kitchen table discussions revolve around the streets.
Each shares the same fear. The neighborhood's become a racetrack.
"Look at what this car just did," exclaimed Rosenthal walking us to the edge of her yard.
Rosenthal pointed to a car that afternoon racing at Ives Dairy Road and San Simeon Way. Her home sits on the corner. She's lived there for 31 years. It's a magnet for car crashes.
"Trust me, I'm in my bedroom at night, and I hear screeching, and I brace," said Rosenthal
Over the last few years, the wall guarding her yard has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. Images show the aftermath.
Her concerns center on saving lives.
"It's about this area," shared Rosenthal.
"You've seen people die right on the other side of this wall," mentioned CBS4 reporter Joe Gorchow.
"Yes," added Rosenthal.
Her neighbor across the street, Ronda Jules, knows the fear firsthand.
"Look over the wall all the time and see an accident," added Jules. "Sometimes twice a day."
Jules says the once quiet area now sounds like a speedway. Her home camera shows a wreck last year with a vehicle attempting to make a left turn before a van slammed it.
Last Memorial Weekend, a camera captures a car crashing into her yard with her kids poolside.
It's why she put these pillars up by the wall.
We move down the Ives Dairy Road, where James Costello recently moved his family to Aventura Isles. There's only one way in and out. He's seen his share of fast cars.
"One time, I thought somebody must have robbed a bank," added Costello. "And I'm waiting, OK. The police cars will come in two seconds, chasing them. Nope. They were just driving like that."
His frustration reached a boiling following Friday's fatal car accident outside his neighborhood at NE 3rd Court and Ives Dairy Road.
"I'm starting to get worried something is going to happen," said Costello. "I'm starting to consider whether I need to move us out."
All stories lead down the same road, for officials to take tangible steps to stop the speeding. Rosenthal adds the police have been very responsive in listening to their concerns.
CBS4 has reached out to Miami-Dade District One and the police department. MDPD said it will share a public service announcement about the speeding early next week.
But residents say it's time to take more significant action.
