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Mount Prospect Police Launches New Program To
Curb Speeding On Residential Streets.
John Dahlberg, Chief of the Mount Prospect Police Department
announces the implementation of the Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 program in Mount
Prospect.
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 is a safety campaign targeting observance of
residential speed limits. In most towns and cities throughout the U.S. the
residential speed limit is 25 mph, thus the slogan. The objective of this
program is to visually reinforce residential speed limits by way of
non-traditional signage reminding motorists within the Village that adherence to
speed limits is ultimately their responsibility. Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 lawn
signs can be purchased or provided to a neighborhood by the Mount Prospect
Police Department if a neighborhood agrees to participate in an established Keep
Kids Alive Drive 25 enforcement protocol. Residents then display the signs in
their front yards in an effort to make motorists more aware of the existing
speed limit.
“The signs appear to capture the attention of motorists, even more so than
traditional speed limit signs, and drivers tend to be more cognizant of the
speed at which they are traveling on streets where the signs are in place.” said
Sergeant Michael Eterno.
Sergeant Eterno, Supervisor of the department’s traffic unit, started the
program in Mount Prospect in the beginning of October 2007 when signs were given
to residents of the 2100 block of west Haven Street. The traffic unit had
responded in the past to complaints of speeding in that neighborhood and
addressed the issue by assigning extra patrols and placing the “speed trailer”
in the area. In an effort to supplement law enforcement resources Sergeant
Eterno contacted neighborhood resident Jeanne Scaramuzza and offered her the
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 yard signs. The program was welcomed by the residents
who were given signs a short time later. Since the start of the program here in
Mount Prospect signs have been used in four other neighborhoods.
If Mount Prospect residents are interested in implementing this program in their
neighborhood they can contact Sergeant Eterno at 847-818-5248.
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