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Portsmouth neighbors pushing for change as cars continue to speed

After speeding was the cause of another crash in a Portsmouth neighborhood, one neighbor is ready to move. Before that, he's making another push for help.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Cars are flying in one Portsmouth neighborhood.

Not literally, but the speeding is so bad, it seems like they are.

The problem is so bad that one long-time resident is ready to move out of the city entirely, but he's making another push for help from city leaders.

Mike Bright just finished the final touches on their yard decorations on Greenefield Drive South before trick-or-treaters came Halloween night before another crash on their quiet street.

Bright said he turned to pull his door closed when he saw a car doing 45 or 50. He said even with those numbers he's being conservative on the estimate. The speed limit on the road is 25 miles per hour.

He said he saw the car come off the ground before it came to a stop in someone's yard and caught fire.

Credit: Mike Bright
Mike Bright said a car was going at least 45 miles per hour when it crashed into a tree in his neighbor's yard and caught fire.
Credit: Mike Bright
Mike Bright said a car was going at least 45 miles per hour when it crashed into a tree in his neighbor's yard and caught fire.

The driver was okay, but Bright believes there will be a next time and it could be worse, especially since this wasn't the first time a car has crashed on the street.

This photo is from a crash in December 2013 where the car actually flipped on to its side.

Credit: Mike Bright
Mike Bright said a car was speeding and flipped on to its side outside his home on Greenefield Drive North in December 2013.

He said it's not uncommon for drivers to do 10, even 20, miles per hour over the speed limit to get their kids to school on time.

Bright said the street can sometimes feel more like a drag strip and he would support anything to slow traffic down.

"You're not able to freely walk your dog or ride bikes with kids without being in fear that there's going to be a speeder come around the corner without braking or something to that effect so it's just not a safe environment for kids right now,"  said Bright.

He's made the effort and contacted the city before including emailing police last year and they put out a speed recording device in response.

Bright told 13News Now that it was up for a while, but it went away and he never got a follow up from the city, not a call or an email.

With no permanent solution like speed bumps or a stop sign, he's reached out again. This time, multiple city leaders seem to be listening.

13News Now also reached out to Portsmouth city leaders, but we were referred to police.

Portsmouth police said they'll continue to monitor for speeders, but no tickets have been written for speeding on the road in two decades and the recording device captured an average speed of below 25 miles per hour last year.

Police have installed the same exact speed recording device, but it's just there temporarily like it was last year.

Bright is skeptical about the accuracy of the data because it has "slow down" written on it, and it might actually get people to slow down while it's out there.

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