FENWICK ISLAND, Del. -- Neighbors living near Maryland Ave. and Island St. in Fenwick Island are looking forward to speed bumps that the town has approved to slow traffic before stop signs.
Steve and Cheryl Carey have lived at the corner of W. Maryland Ave. and Island St. for 30 years now, and have observed may speeding and careless drivers, especially during peak tourist season.
"When people are leaving the beach, they fly off, fly down our road, go through the two stop signs and try to beat the light," Cheryl Carey says. "I don't know why, but that's just what people do, and we're just not okay with that. It's just not safe."
People in the community say that drivers use both Maryland Ave. and Island St. as shortcuts to avoid traffic lights and pedestrian crosswalks on Coastal Hwy. However, many drivers disregard the 25 mph speed limit and stop signs on both roads.
"I mean there's kids walking around, pushed in strollers and we have to yell 'Slow down, slow down! You're gonna hurt somebody!'," says Tyler Azevedo, who visits his family's home on Maryland Ave. every week during the summer.
In May, the Carey's decided they'd had enough and wrote a letter to the Fenwick Island Town Manager, in which they addressed their concerns and asked for speed bumps to be installed on the both roads. The request was approved by the Infrastructure Committee and endorsed by Fenwick Island Police Chief John Devlin and Fenwick Island Public Works Manager Mike Locke in August.
According to the Town of Fenwick Island, they will be rubber speed bumps with plastic, reflective end caps to enhance visibility at night. The speed bumps will be temporarily installed in the Spring and removed just before the winter season due to potential snow removal.
Neighbors agree that the speed should help slow speeding drivers, but many feel that it's only a "start", and more efforts will be needed to resolve the issue.
"Hopefully it's going to be somewhat of a solution," says Steve Carey. "I think we still need more police presence than anything else."
The Town approved the speed bumps for $600 plus shipping costs. Money from a Dedicated Street Fund will be used to cover the cost of the speed bumps.
