A traffic sign standing at the end of Rit Palmer's block hasn't stopped drivers from going 50 mph over the speed limit.
Palmer said he's tired of it.
"Sign says 25 mph," a sign in front of Palmer's house on South Division Street reads. "PLEASE SLOW DOWN."
But complaints from people in at least two neighborhoods in Carson City, including Palmer's, could lead a city commission to spend $20,000 on dips, markers, signs and the first speed bump ever on a city-owned street to slow speeders.
The Carson City Regional Transportation Commission will vote on the plan tonight.
Patrick Pittenger, transportation director, said the city is trying to help people living around South Division Street in downtown and on Gregg Street on the east side of the city who complained about speeding at the commission's meeting last month.
"We're trying to give customer service here in Carson City," he said.
The city doesn't have a lot of things to slow speeding besides signs now, he said, because the problem has grown with the size of the city.
City employees are working with the sheriff's department to deal with the problem, however, he said, and they hope the bumps and other things will help when officials can't be around.
Palmer said more police have come by his street recently and that does help. Drivers eventually return to speeding once police are gone, however, he said.
The average car goes between 35 and 40 mph down his 25 mph street, he said, which people often use to avoid the heavy traffic on Carson Street.
"A frigging armored truck went by today about 50, grinding out gears and flying," he said.
Cliff Peterson, who lives on Gregg Street, said speeding "is a real problem here."
It's not going to get better without the help of the city, either, he said, because drivers use the street as a shortcut to get from Fairview Drive to Highway 50 or to Empire Ranch Golf Course.
"Between all that, we have people that use us like a raceway," he said.
One of the best things the city could do, he said, is to artificially narrow the width of the street by painting on lanes.
Pittenger said all these things are important, but people need to remember that it will take a comprehensive approach to fix the problem.
"Traffic calming doesn't begin and end with speed humps," he said.
- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.