WAYNE, Mich. – Barreling down the street, blowing past stop signs, and engaging in distracted driving. Sometimes, drivers reportedly hop the curb.
Residents and parents are voicing their frustrations about the dangerous driving on Gloria Street near Taft-Galloway Elementary School in Wayne.
They’re concerned that the reckless behavior of drivers could lead to serious injuries for students, parents, or school employees.
Residents are hopeful for change.
“Just because I live right in front of the school, I see arguments,” Kyle Thurston said.
Parents picked up their students on Wednesday (May 21) without incident.
However, the situation is different on other days.
Rebekah Jones, a parent, said we see people who don’t follow the speed limits and barrel right through the stop sign.
The community is demanding action.
“I don’t see the city doing anything about it,” said Dan, a neighbor who didn’t share his last name.
An online petition urges city and school officials to enhance traffic safety.
The petition claims that children, parents, and employees “are put in jeopardy due to drivers disregarding stop signs near the school.”
The organizer of the petition has even reported close calls involving pedestrians.
In response, the mayor explained there are plans in motion to install speed humps.
According to the latest state data, children account for 5.5% of pedestrians killed and 11.6% of all pedestrian injuries.
To help reduce these alarming statistics, Wayne police have been studying traffic patterns since 2023.
They utilized a traffic monitoring device to assess speeds, compliance with speed limits, and instances of speeding.
The police concluded speed humps would be the most effective solution for enhancing safety in the area, and the proposal is moving forward.
“I support speed humps,” Thurston said.
If it helps, I would support it, Jones said.
Meanwhile, police noted that the traffic backups are partly due to a bus driver shortage.
The department suggested that the school conduct a traffic engineering study of its parking lot to explore potential improvements.
Local 4 did reach out to Wayne-Westland Community Schools, but it didn’t have a comment.
