Neighbors in Vance speak on roadway’s speeding problems

VANCE, Ala. ( WIAT ) – A community in Tuscaloosa County is banding together to fight speeding in their neighborhood. Over a dozen people from the Briar Ridge subdivision addressed the Vance town council Monday night to ask for changes in their neighborhood.

“We just want you to stop. We want you to slow down,” said Josh Colburn, who says his dog was killed by a speeding driver on April 25. “Watch out for children, watch out for pets.”

In Briar Ridge, there are no speed limit signs posted which some neighbors say leads to speeding cars through the neighborhood, leaving some concerned for the safety of their children and pets.

“The car just didn’t slow down, didn’t check up, almost hit the kids and took out our dog and killed our dog, right in front of all the children so it was a pretty horrendous scene for all of the children to witness,” Colburn said.

After a hit-and-run killed the Colburn family’s dog on April 25, the Briar Ridge neighborhood jumped into action to reduce speeding in the neighborhood.

“This stretch right here, we’ve had cars hit 65 mph flying down this road from stop sign to stop sign,” Colburn said. “I bought these signs off of Amazon. If the city wasn’t going to try to be proactive, I was going to try to do something on my end to try to show some awareness.”

The Briar Ridge community says since the construction on Highway 11 started, drivers have been using their neighborhood as a shortcut.

“You can definitely tell because we know the cars that are around here,” Allyson Colburn said. “If you see a car you’ve never seen before, obviously they’re more than likely cutting through.”

Briar Ridge community members say Vance Mayor Brenda Morrison denied a previous request for speed bumps in the neighborhood, saying it could create a liability for the city as it could damage cars.

The neighborhood came up with more ideas and presented those to the council on Monday, asking again for speed tables or bumps as well as LED-lit stop signs and speed limit signs.

“We just have to implement more things for our neighborhood to avoid reckless driving because you know, one day a kid could get hurt or get killed,” Briar Ridge resident Daniel Williams said.

Vance City Attorney Scott Hickman says many members of the town council as well as the police chief live in the Briar Ridge subdivision so there’s a vested interest in solving this problem.

“Several suggestions were made so we’ll just have to look at what is the best options,” Hickman said. “Money is a concern so we’d have to look at the cost of these things also.”

Morrison was not at Monday’s town council meeting because she was on vacation. However, the council said they would look into the speeding concerns and see what solutions could be reached.

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