More speeding woes emerge, including from council

Speeders occasionally are an issue on “The Andy Griffith Show,” but the problem has picked up steam in modern-day Mayberry and prompted concerns from citizens including a councilwoman.

“I don’t think people even know the speed limits anymore,” Commissioner Marie Wood commented during a recent meeting.

“It is a big problem all over the place,” she added. “Everywhere I go, somebody’s about to run over me.”

Wood was speaking during a late-September meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners, her remarks punctuating concerns raised earlier in the session by local citizen Norman Schultz.

Schultz, who lives in the 400-block of South Main Street not far from the Municipal Building, had spoke about that stretch of road where he says speeders are prevalent.

“I’m concerned about safety,” Schultz said during a public-forum portion of the meeting.

“We’ve seen a lot of close calls,” he related. “I can tell you from sitting on my front porch.”

Schultz said this is a particular problem during the fall tourism season in Mount Airy, including Mayberry Days held last week and the Autumn Leaves Festival on tap later this month.

That typically produces heavy traffic volume on South Main with vehicles parked all along the street, further increasing the hazards from speeding to pedestrians including children.

That was echoed Wednesday by Mark Brown, a driver for Mayberry Squad Car Tours located on the section of South Main in question.

“It is a big concern,” Brown said while cleaning one of the cars — being careful not to step into the roadway as a vehicle whizzed by at an estimated 50 miles per hour.

“It’s the locals who are speeding, not the tourists,” he observed.

The speed limit in the area is 35 mph, but Schultz said at the meeting that drivers often are doing 45 or more.

“Once you pass City Hall, it’s a drag race.”

Crackdown urged

Schultz pointed out that no town likes to have the reputation of being a speed trap, but suggested that city police should hand out more tickets in an effort to curtail violations.

“If you do that for a certain period of time,” said Schultz, who has acted on the police-themed television series “Blue Bloods,” “that will get the word out.”

South Main Street is not the only hot spot for speeding, with Schultz also mentioning the area around the Andy Griffith Playhouse on Rockford Street.

“That is truly an accident waiting to happen.”

Problems on North Main Street above West Lebanon Street also were cited during the recent council meeting, including the disclosure that a pickup had run into a speed trailer parked there by police as part of efforts to remedy the situation.

The concerns prompted City Manager Darren Lewis to address the matter to the meeting audience.

“I promise you, Chief (Dale) Watson and his staff are continuing to work on it,” Lewis said of the city’s top law enforcement official.

Commissioner Wood acknowledged this in her comments while also mentioning that controlling speeding starts at the source.

“I know we’ll work to make it as best as we can,” she said.

“But people have got to slow down.”