Frustrated homeowners house hit by cars twice now asking for more traffic awareness

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A central Lubbock family is considering moving after a car hit their house for the second time.

“We just think about just moving move somewhere else, you know,” homeowner Elizabeth Deleon said, “and that’s what I think about now, you know, because I I don’t sleep good at night. I’m tense all the time.”

The speeding cars near 46th and Ave. D. keep Deleon awake at night, wondering if one will come close enough to hurt her or her family again.

“One of my little puppies just got killed the other day, because they just don’t stop. They just keep on going,” she said.

Last week, in the middle of the night a car swerved and spun all over her front yard, scraping her home.

“It was real, real loud in the car just kept on like, like he wanted to get out of here. But at the same time, I don’t because of the trees. I don’t know why he just kept on going,” Deleon said.

The driver sped away and police are still looking for a suspect — but this isn’t the first time. Deleon’s still trying to fix the damage from another crash in 2013.

“He came directly to the door. And he took all I mean, he was no, no walls or no nothing in my bed was right there. And it shifted a little bit because of the hit,” she said.

KCBD requested an officer to track driver’s speeds along the street. Within 30 minutes the officer issued three tickets. Residential areas don’t often have to bee marked if the speed limit is 30mph.

However, a cop isn’t a long term solution. If you or your neighborhood is interested in having a speed bump installed, you can fill out an application for a traffic engineer to perform an investigation.

The following strategies are recommended by the Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE) for handling traffic concerns such as speeding, cut-through traffic, sight restrictions, and collisions:

• Enforcing general laws and ordinances pertaining to speed limits, intersection control, and parking regulations.
• Educating residents to better understand the causes of traffic problems, potential solutions to those problems, and the advantages / disadvantages of implementing these solutions.
• Installing Traffic Control Devices judiciously and in conformance with the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (TMUTCD) which provides standards, guidance, and options for traffic control devices on public roadways.
• Installing Traffic Calming Devices that manage the physical movement of vehicles or pedestrians within the roadway or within a neighborhood when the previous strategies have proven insufficient or ineffective.

To assure that traffic calming requests are processed consistently, fairly and timely, the subsequent steps will be followed:

• Neighborhood representative submits application form.
• Traffic Engineering performs a site visit and investigation within six weeks of application.
• Neighborhood Representative works with Traffic Engineering to establish a Traffic Calming Treatment Plan and acquire citizen information for a Survey Petition. Signatures will be verified to confirm the required neighborhood support level.
• If verified Survey Petition does not show 80% support, application is denied.
• If verified Survey Petition shows 80% or more support, the Traffic Engineering Department will place the street or alley on a list of approved traffic calming projects, and the neighborhood representative will be advised of the approved installation request.

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