PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Speed Busters is back on the ticket. This time, Leslee heads out to a Pasco County neighborhood where a worried mother says speeders are endangering children after school.
A mother contacted Leslee and told her that Holiday Lake Drive was filled with speeders, loaded with accidents and busy with children. There are three schools nearby, so Leslee grabbed the Speed Buster gun and headed out to Holiday.
Lori Homer is a concerned mother who lives in the Holiday Lake Estates area.
“This road, Holiday Lake Boulevard is a raceway. There are no stop signs. The road has no easement between the sidewalk and the road. It’s getting to the point that right after school, this is a speedway,” said Lori.
The speed limit along Holiday Lake Drive is 30 mph. Lori said many vehicles speed down Holiday Lake Drive when school lets out.
“They don’t want to go through the school zone. The actual school zone where they have to go 15 mph. So they turn here and fly through here,” she said describing the locations where people speed.
Leslee set down her microphone and began shooting her radar gun at a car. Her first speed bust was at 49 mph. That’s 19 mph over the speed limit.
“We are already at 49,” Leslee told Lori. “That’s typical,” replied Lori. “That’s people going to the middle school to pick up their kids.”
Leslee found a hiding place behind a dirt mound and later she hid behind a pole. It did not take her long to catch speeders going well into the 50 mph range. She even caught one flooring it at 59 mph after exiting a neighbor’s driveway.
While Leslee was catching speeders, several residents came out to express their frustration with speeders. They echoed the sentiments of Lori. They all told Leslee there have been several crashes at their location.
“It’s really bad,” said Holiday Lake Drive resident Alan Jorden. “They come by here 60 – 70 mph. I’ve seen people come through here, destroy their cars, crash and land in neighbor’s yards.”
Alex Solis lives at the house where Leslee was speed busting behind the dirt mound. He came out and exclaimed, “Yea but there’s accidents all the time here. It’s pretty bad. And speeders!” He also sent Leslee a picture of a crash that landed in his yard.
“I’m scared. My grandkids. I’m afraid to let them outside,” added Alan.
Lori told Leslee she would like to see something added to the street that would slow down drivers or she’d like to see deputies handing out tickets.
“A kid should be able to play on the sidewalk without worrying about a speeding car hitting them. They need somebody out here passing out tickets.”
Leslee spoke to Tambrey Laine with Pasco County regarding Lori’s speeding and easement concerns. Laine told Leslee she will bring the issues to the Pasco Traffic Engineering Department to see if anything can be done to help Lori and the residents with their issue. Leslee will be following up.
If you have a speeding issue and are willing to go on camera about it, please go to her Facebook page “WFLA Leslee,” or @lesleelacey on Twitter, and she may be able to bring speed busters to your street.