Councilwoman Peggy Neely's
Tatum Sun Times Column

October 2006

North Tatum Fight Back Cuts Down on Speeding

It looks like the word just might be getting out – “Slow down when driving through our neighborhoods.”

North Tatum Fight Back residents say they’ve seen a noticeable difference in the driving habits of many motorists who travel their streets - a testament that their efforts to get out the message that speeding in their area will not be tolerated.

The neighbors made speeding – especially on Tatum Boulevard between Jomax and Cave Creek roads – their top priority when they were named a Fight Back area last year.

“We wanted to raise everyone’s awareness of the problem and I believe we have had success with that,” said David Mottram, a Tatum Vista resident and president of the Fight Back committee.

Mottram says that residents who have been attending the monthly Fight Back meetings have noted the difference, especially when there is a heavy police presence, something that has been pretty common lately.

The North Tatum area was designated a Fight Back area by the City Council a year ago after my office heard from numerous residents worried that streets in their neighborhood had become extremely dangerous over the years. They reported a sharp rise not only in the amount of traffic on their streets, but also in the number of motorists who were driving too fast and too aggressively. Some called the situation a “time bomb” just waiting to set off a serious accident.

While the residents of most Fight Back areas in the city – a new one is selected in each council district each year – use the $54,000 grant that comes with the designation to fight crime and blight, the North Tatum group opted instead to take on the traffic issues. In fact, most of their budget was earmarked for that single cause.

The group acted on two fronts – making residents much more aware of the problems and increasing police presence in the areas where problems seemed to be the worst.

The residents developed a special packet that detailed the problems and offered valuable information on how speeding and other aggressive driving could be reported, what could be done to control it and how to drive more safely. The packets were distributed to homeowners associations and schools throughout the area with an urgent message that they print much of the information in their newsletters.

“This made everyone much more aware of the situation,” said Mottram.

In addition, they worked with the Police Department to pay overtime costs for officers to patrol the area and work radar on the streets more often than they normally would. The larger police presence made motorists aware that they were being watched and led to more than 800 tickets for speeding and other dangerous traffic violations between January and July.

“The police have done a tremendous job for us,” said Mottram.

The vision the residents displayed at the outset of their Fight Back is to be applauded. Once again, they showed that strong neighborhood leadership and energized residents can pay dividends. That’s what the Fight Back program is all about.

Now, our hope is that everyone in the North Tatum area will continue to remain active so that their Fight Back efforts can continue even after the program officially ends in December.

Phoenix City Councilwoman Peggy Neely represents District 2, which includes most of northeast Phoenix. She can be reached at 602-262-7445 or through e-mail at council.district.2@phoenix.gov.