KEARNS, Utah — A Kearns neighborhood has become a high-speed thoroughfare due to construction detours, leaving one resident worried that someone will get hurt before anything changes.
Steve Greenberg describes his neighborhood near 4800 West and 4800 South as typically quiet and quaint. But since construction began on the intersection, his street has become a detour route for commuters — and he says some are driving dangerously fast.
"Construction can happen, I'm concerned about the speeders down here," Greenberg said.
Living in the neighborhood, Greenberg says he witnesses drag racing at least once or twice daily, particularly during morning and evening commute times. With children walking to school and residents walking their dogs, Greenberg fears the worst.
"They've got to stop this construction quickly because kids could get hit tonight," he said.
Since last month, Greenberg has been calling law enforcement, hoping for action before tragedy strikes. When he first contacted police, they told him they were aware of the situation and had received other similar reports in the area.
"They said we are aware of the situation, we have actually had other reports in the area of the same concern, we are working on sending people out," Greenberg said.
But follow-up calls have left him frustrated.
"I call them again, nobody's here," he said.
Despite recent deadly incidents, wrong-way crashes actually down in Utah this year:
Unified Police Department says officers have responded to the area. Sgt. Aymee Race, a public information officer with the department, says the highest speed officers recorded was 31 mph in the 25 mph zone, but this wasn't consistent.
"These are people, you know, it's not necessarily one area, it's people who are choosing to disregard speed limits and unfortunately, we as law enforcement can't be everywhere," Race said.
The speeding has already claimed one victim — Greenberg claims a cat was injured, and he worries people could be next.
Both Greenberg and police agree that keeping neighborhoods safe requires all drivers to follow traffic laws, even when dealing with construction detours.
"We all have been through traffic situations where we get a little flustered that we are being diverted somewhere else," Race said, "but that doesn't give you the right to speed through that detour."
Greenberg has a simple message for drivers passing through his neighborhood.
"Respect the citizen because these could be your friends and neighbors, and you wouldn't want anything to happen to them," he said.
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