KENNEBUNK (WGME) – With a rise in dangerous speeding in town, "Slow Down Kennebunk" signs are now all over.
The public awareness campaign is focused on slowing drivers around town.
“A lot of our roadways in town are usually 25 miles an hour to 35 miles an hour,” Kennebunk Police Lieutenant Chris Russell said. “We were seeing reports of people doing 50-plus miles an hour.”
“People are getting off the highway, they’re excited to get downtown, and they’re just bombing by,” Kortney Nedeau of the Kennebunk Select Board said.
Six radar signs and countless yard signs are helping spread the message.
Residents in Kennebunk are hoping to make their streets a little bit safer as summer traffic rolls in.
“People just like to know that they can at least contribute to making a difference,” Nedeau said. “They might not be able to stop the cars but at least they can do their part by having a sign in their yard.”
“I feel like it has made a difference,” Kennebunk Traffic Safety Officer Sergeant Kevin Schoff said. “People have either sent in letters, made phone calls, made email messages.”
Another goal with this campaign is to use traffic data from the radars to perform a traffic safety study.
“Right now, statistically speaking, data wise, it’s too soon to see if it has made an impact,” Schoff said.
In the coming weeks and months, they hope to narrow down what parts of town and at what times speeding presents the greatest risk.
“Ultimately we want volunteer compliance, we want to reduce crashes and keep everyone safe on the roads,” Schoff said.