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Residents urge Norristown council to act on neighborhood speeding, seek speed bumps and patrols
Summary
Residents from West James Street and other neighborhoods told council they are experiencing frequent, dangerous speeding and asked for traffic calming and increased police patrols; council heard multiple public comments and acknowledged jurisdiction and enforcement questions.
Residents pressed Norristown Municipal Council during public comment on April 21 to address what they described as persistent and dangerous speeding in residential neighborhoods.
Patty Griffin, who said she lives on the 1300 block of West James Street, told council she “has personally witnessed people going as fast as 60 ... on a 25 mph residential street” and described regular near-misses, a recent fatal strike of a pet and limited police patrols. She asked the municipality to make more traffic enforcement available and to install speed bumps.
Other commenters echoed the request. Caitlyn Falco, who also lives on the 1300 block of West James, called a speed bump a “practical, proven solution” that forces drivers to slow down without continuous enforcement. Mike Patel and others noted some streets’ jurisdictional status had been unclear in previous conversations; a council member said staff had checked local maps and confirmed that several affected streets are municipal (not state) responsibility.
Council response and context: Council members acknowledged the frustrations and queried whether the streets in question fall under state or municipal jurisdiction; staff indicated that some streets residents believed were state-owned are in fact under the municipality’s jurisdiction. Council did not adopt a specific traffic-calming measure during the meeting but heard repeated calls to add patrols, targeted enforcement and traffic-calming devices where appropriate.
What’s next: Residents asked for clearer follow-up from public works and the police department. Council members suggested staff will continue investigating jurisdictional status, enforcement options and the municipality’s speed-bump policy and report back at a future meeting.
Quote: “We have small children, pets, and families that live on our street... I am frustrated and angry that this has gotten to this point and everyone passes the buck,” Patty Griffin told council during public comment.
Ending: The council did not vote on a traffic-calming measure at this meeting; residents may press for action at upcoming meetings or through direct outreach to the public-works and police departments.
