MERIDIAN-KESSLER — Residents in one north side neighborhood are raising new concerns about speeding issues they've seen on Meridian Street, issues they told WRTV they've seen for years. The renewed urgency comes following several crashes in the last week, including one where a person slammed into the fence of a home while the homeowners were having a birthday party.
“I'm not afraid of many things, but I am afraid to walk my children on the street I live on," James Montague said.
According to neighbors, speeding has been an issue on North Meridian Street for a long time.
“Everybody treats it like, I don't know, the first straightaway at the motor speedway," Megan Montague said.
Megan and James Montague have lived in the neighborhood for over seven years. Since they moved in, they've seen the number of accidents continue to rise.
“I think we’re probably averaging one to two accidents a week, many weeks," Megan said. "It’s definitely increased since we’ve purchased our home.”
"We’ve actually done three years in a row of traffic studies that meet the federal guidelines for data collection, and we have shown that the average car is driving 15 mph over the speed limit 24/7 down our street" James explained. "Someone was going 103 mph in the middle of the workday.”
Many neighbors told WRTV they have personal experience with the issues that the speeding on Meridian Street causes, whether it's the actual damage that these accidents make to the infrastructure of their homes or just the memories that leave a lasting impact.
“I would never imagine that after my child's birthday party, I would have to call the school counselor and ask her to offer grief counseling sessions because a woman tragically passed away during my child's birthday party… in my front yard," James said.
“Unfortunately we’ve had a fatality now and that is distributing that we cannot get someone to listen to us," Kim Kourany, who lives right off Meridian Street, told WRTV.
Kourany has been just one of many neighbors who have asked the city for help. She told WRTV she gets no response.
“I submitted a request Indy ticket to put in a traffic signal at 43rd and Meridian," Kourany said. "And to this day, two months later, it has not been looked at by the city.”
It's the same sentiment felt by Megan and James, who have both reached out to DPW with their concerns.
"We have gotten nothing," James explained. "Except being told we're wrong."
James, along with many other neighbors, have worked with the Meridian Street Foundation to conduct studies on the speeding issues on Meridian Street.
“When you look at all the work that’s been done and how hard these neighbors have tried to get this issue addresses and the fact that the city hasn’t been responsive yet, [it] is concerning," John Barth, City-County Councilmember for District 7, emphasized.
He's been working with neighbors to get the issues addressed.
“I immediately communicated to the DPW director that this was a very significant issue," Barth said. "And it's not one that DPW can walk away from.”
Barth told WRTV he has also been in contact with IMPD north district officers, who said they will start doing more targeted enforcement along Meridian Street in the coming weeks
WRTV reached out to DPW and asked what changes are planned for North Meridian Street. They told us nothing is currently in the works.
Neighbors have one response.
“Sit out here in a chair and just watch… and you can watch the near miss accidents that happen all day long," Megan said.
Data from the Indiana State Police showed there have been almost 40 wrecks at the intersection of 43rd and Meridian Streets in the last five years. This year, the intersection has already seen 10 crashes.
