OGDEN, Utah — Ogden residents in one neighborhood are working to stop speeding and street racing in front of their homes.
“(It’s) very dangerous,” said Layne Beddes, who lives along Monroe street. “The noise, the mufflers on those cars, there’s the screeching tires. It’s only a matter of time before somebody gets hit and killed.”
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Neighbors and law enforcement said the area has become notorious for speeding and street racing because it’s a wide road leading to a dead end street.
“That’s where we’re seeing the issues coming from,” said Lt. Cameron Stiver with Ogden City Police Department.
It’s an issue residents say has been going back decades.
“Me and my wife and my dog almost got hit in that corner and they drove right between us,” said Arlan Toll. “The kids don’t even come out and play because they’ve almost been hit. Everybody used to play right here, and they’d pull up and spin around right in front of the kids and almost hit the kids. And nothing gets done,” Toll said.
Beddes has been capturing the driving on video on his phone and through his home security camera for a couple of months to bring awareness to the problem.
“The cars coming out here to the dead end doing donuts, and you know, counting down one, two, three and racing down the street. Some are probably doing over 90 miles an hour,” adds Beddes.
Residents say they call the police when there are incidents of people speeding on the street, and there has been some action taken, but it’s not solving the problem.
Lt. Stiver said the department is doing what they can, but enforcement can only go so far.
“We’ve increased manpower in that area for area cars, we’ve increased shifts to go out there and specifically spend time out there,” said Stiver.
He asks that if anyone sees dangerous acts on their streets to report it as it helps the department track where the danger zones are and can help fix the problem.
“They did bring a camera out for a few weeks that deterred the racing while it was here,” Beddes said, but he wants a more permanent solution.
Neighbors said they want the speed limit brought down from 35 miles per hour, speed bumps so people can’t drive fast and a permanent camera to track the drivers and license plates of people speeding in the area.
People said they want to try to sign petitions and get the attention of local government and the city council to help bring some permanent solutions to this problem, and make their streets safer for their families.
