Residents in central Columbia speak out about North Greenwood safety concerns

Residents on North Greenwood Avenue in central Columbia are starting to speak out about concerns of speeding on the road. The road connects between Ash and West Broadway: something drivers often take advantage of.

“They’re blowing down the street at 50 mph many times,” said Jerry Russo, a North Greenwood resident. “It’s really at a speed that they aren’t going to be able to stop if someone gets in front of the car.”

With the amount of children who play outside and families that are walking dogs or just enjoying the weather, several neighbors have begun to reach out to each other through social media to try to figure out how they can bring their concerns to the city before someone gets hurt.

Columbia does have a Traffic Management Program through the Public Works Department that residents can utilize to bring safety concerns to attention.

“If (a traffic engineer) sees some issues there, they’ll go out and do a more extended survey where they’ll watch to see how fast the cars are going, how many pedestrians there are, or are there schools nearby?” said Public Works spokesman Barry Dalton.

North Greenwood is on a prioritized list of about 65 streets and neighborhoods in Columbia that have concerns about speeding.

North Greenwood is #32 in line, halfway down the list, but Dalton said resident input and support is key to implementing traffic-calming measures in the long run.

“(The program is) all designed around citizen involvement and how active that neighborhood is and finding solutions to issues and trying to find consensus in that neighborhood of not only what the issues are but what the possible solutions are,” said Dalton.

Some traffic calming measures could include speed-limit signs or speed humps.

Dalton said residents can also submit a petition to the city.

“Something has to be done,” said Russo. “You have to start somewhere.”

Click here for more on the city’s Traffic Management program and how you can identify and work to solve some safety concerns in your neighborhood.