New sign program tells drivers to slow down

Mount Prospect resident Jeanne Scaramuzza got tired of drivers going 40 mph down her residential street with its 25 mph speed limit, just blocks away from Holmes Junior High.

So she got her neighbors together on the 2100 block of Haven Street and became part of a new village police program called Keep Kids Alive Drive 25.

On Scaramuzza's and her neighbors' front lawns are signs in red-and-black print that tell drivers to slow down with the slogan, "Beware! Drive with care." Other signs alert drivers to the proper speed limit.

"Speeding has always been an issue (on Haven Street)," Scaramuzza said. "People aren't paying as much attention to driving as they should."

The program targets speeders in residential areas, said Mount Prospect officer Dirk Ollech. The objective is to visually make drivers stop and think about how fast they are going down a street where people live, he said.

The signs can be provided to neighborhoods by the Mount Prospect Police Department if residents want to join the program, which is free.

What's generally required is a steady stream of speeding complaints from residents on that street and someone willing to head up the sign campaign, Ollech said.

So far, Haven Street is one of the few areas to be part of the program, he said. The 4000 block of Emerson Street is also participating, he said.

If Mount Prospect residents are interested in implementing this program in their neighborhood, they can contact Sgt. Michael Eterno at (847) 818-5248.