Resident petition seeks speed humps on West McNeely Avenue after reported high speeds

Alex Hargis, a Mooresville resident of 270 West McNeely Avenue, urged the Board of Commissioners during the June 2 public-comment period to evaluate West McNeely for traffic-calming speed humps, presenting signatures from the majority of households on the street.

Hargis said the safety concern is longstanding; he told the board he had been told the street "does not qualify because of the 20 mile per hour posted speed limit," and asked the board to apply the same criteria used on nearby streets that have speed humps. "Public safety should not be dictated solely by policy," Hargis said.

Hargis said he had spoken with Sergeant Dingler of the Mooresville Police Department, who shared a 2024 speed study recording a top speed of 79 mph and average speeds above the posted limit. Hargis cited multiple incidents, including a vehicle that struck a telephone pole, a dog struck by a car and a vehicle that missed a turn and crashed into a house. He also noted Parkview Elementary is on West McNeely, and said school-related slowdowns during drop-off and pick-up hours can mask higher speeds at other times.

Hargis requested that the board consider raising the non-school-zone posted limit to 25 mph so the street would become eligible for speed humps under current criteria, and asked that West McNeely be evaluated under the same standards applied to nearby Boger Street and East McNeely. No formal action was taken at the meeting; the item was raised as public comment for the board and staff to consider.

The petition and the resident's request were placed on the public record; Hargis said neighbors had pursued similar requests for more than a decade without resolution.