The City of Reno installed a speed feedback sign in the Somerset area on Sunline Dr. in-between Heatherwood Dr. and Windstar Dr. after speeding complaints came from the neighborhood.
The good news is, officials say signs like these can be very helpful for fixing the problem.
Reno Police Department officials tells us, reoccurring speeding in residential areas can have severe consequences, especially if pedestrians are around. They say if someone is driving even at 45 mph during a crash, that could be the difference between minor injuries or death.
Michael Browett, a Lieutenant at the RPD in the Traffic Section mentions "This is effecting your neighbors, this isn't effecting traffic or morning commutes... this is effecting the quality of life in this particular neighborhood."
They also say they assess if speeding in the neighborhood is a reoccurring problem or not. They'll also do things like send out mailers, make traffic stops or bring in new engineering structures, such as this sign.
Kurt Dietrich, the Traffic Engineer of the City of Reno tells us "We were able to put a speed radar in to assist motorists to knowing what their speeds are and hopefully they'll slow it down."
Dietrich adds "They remind the motorist what speed they're traveling, and then right beneath it they actually have the posted speed limit."
Browett adds "It's kind of in your face, a heads up type of thing where you're getting immediate feedback, and most drivers will react to that and slow down."
Officials say 85% of the motorists in a study were travelling at a speed of 35 mph.
Lieutenant Browett says, sometimes when drivers are familiar with an area they tend to speed.
Browett explains "Even if we wanted to enforce, there just isn't enough officers to be everywhere all the time enforcing speeding issues throughout the City of Reno."
Browett also says "If we can engineer things that get people to modify their behavior that's a win for us."
Dietrich adds "We just ask that we slow down in our neighborhoods."
To get this sign set up, the neighborhood took action through Reno Direct, a non-emergency service center.
If you would like to contact them you can call:
- 775-334-4636
- Open from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The link to the website is also provided on this page.
