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Neighbors pitching in to solve issue of speeding drivers

Jane Reuter

SUMMIT COUNTY – A Summit County neighborhood is taking the issue of speeding drivers into their own hands.

The Mesa Cortina Homeowners Association has offered to pay for the installation of three speed humps on Royal Buffalo Drive, which passes through the heart of their neighborhood.

The Summit Board of County Commissioners recently agreed to the idea, though they first want to survey the homeowners to be sure they support the plan.



“We’re just trying to reclaim our neighborhood,” said Jon Whinston, president of the Mesa Cortina Homeowners Association and a seven-year resident of the area. “People go fast, especially when they’re late for work, late for a powder day, whatever.

“We understand that the county has some budgetary issues, and we understand that from a governmental perspective, they may feel there are more important issues they need to spend their money on. Money is not the issue with us. The association has approved the spending of the money to make our neighborhood safer and more pleasant.”



Tentative plans call for the installation of a series of three speed humps. The homeowners association will pay for them, and the county will provide striping and signage.

Mesa Cortina includes about 200 homes. At last count, 60 percent of the homeowners there were full-time residents, many of them with children. Royal Buffalo also is a commonly used alternative route for people driving to and from the Wildernest subdivision. The street is posted at 30 mph, but residents say it’s a rare day when they see cars going that speed.

“Nobody does,” said Jeff Leigh, who sits on the homeowners association board. “The county put out some clocking equipment, and had some people doing 60 mph.”

Whinston, who has four children, said the family avoids Royal Buffalo when they’re recreating.

“I don’t let them go on that road,” he said. “If we’re going to go bike riding, we either drive down to the bike path or go on a side street.

“We have neighbors who walk their dogs, neighbors who run, children walking home from the school bus – everything that goes along with a residential neighborhood is inconsistent with a high-speed thoroughfare,” Whinston said.

The association hired off-duty sheriff’s deputies to patrol the area two years ago, and has since spent about $5,000 on that effort to help slow drivers down.

“When they’re (officers) not there, it doesn’t work,” Whinston said. “Speed humps are always there.”

Mesa Cortina homeowners believe the humps have worked in other Summit County communities.

A series of four was built along Willowbrook Road in Silverthorne’s Willowbrook subdivision a few years ago.

“I know we’ve received mixed reviews, but in general, the residents are pretty happy with them,” said Brett Bowles, the town’s streets superintendent. “It’s really slowed down the bigger trucks, which is what the residents wanted to make the pedestrian crossings safer.”

Jane Reuter can be reached at 668-3998, ext. 229, or by e-mail at jreuter@summitdaily.com


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