SEBASTIAN — The speed limit will now be 30 mph along the entire length of Barber Street, in both directions, the Sebastian City Council decided Jan. 28, after listening to concerns from citizens living along and near what has become a virtual speedway through residential neighborhoods.
“We want our street back!” Linda Jereb implored the Council, speaking on behalf of herself and other Barber Street residents.
The current speed limit is ignored, as drivers fly through residential neighborhoods, she says, and residents are afraid to cross the street, walk their dogs or allow their kids to play in their own front yards.
With a group of residents present to support her statements, Jereb delivered her presentation, which included written testimonies from other residents – personal experiences of the dangers that exist on the heavily used roadway.
Barber Street extends from U.S. 1 west through the residential neighborhoods of the Sebastian Highlands, curves northwest at Skyline Lane into a long, straight shot to County Road 512, then across County Road 512 to Hardee park, where it turns back east as Lake Drive.
Residents walking along Barber say they can pretty much tell when vehicles are exceeding the speed limit, which is posted 30 mph in some places, 35 mph in others, Jereb says.
Especially after the road repaving, 45 seems to have become the popular minimum, with many drivers driving even faster during the morning and afternoon rush hours.
Parents have said they don’t walk their children to the park anymore; and one family, who had planned to purchase a Sebastian home they loved, decided against it and bought in Micco instead, primarily because of the fast Barber Street traffic.
The speed limit on Barber, several residents wrote, has become a joke.
“No one follows the limit. When you do, you are tail-gated, people rant and rave at you, pass you on both sides, pass on the double yellow line and make rude hand gestures.”
Another resident told Council, “We’re really nervous. It’s hard to pull out [onto Barber.] You can’t see the oncoming traffic on the bridge at Joy Haven. There’s this huge fence.”
Jereb has done more than talk about the problem: she has gathered strong community support, and has started a petition drive – both “hard copy” and online – on the “Barber Street Is Residential” Facebook page, and already has “hundreds of signatures.”
“More signs and more enforcement are needed,” Jereb told Council. She is currently working to raise money for individual yard signs which say “Because We Live Here, Because It’s the Law.”
Speed bumps, traffic surveys, blinking yellow lights, traffic lights with sensor plates to discern when traffic flow is heavier are other possibilities in addressing the problem, she says.
Jereb shared her own Barber Street traffic experience. She’d been training her energetic puppy, Jake, to be a service dog and was walking him along Barber. He pulled the leash from her hand and raced off.
“I yelled at him and chased him as he headed for the road. I raised both hands toward the traffic in the international sign for stop. Then I saw his body flying to the side of the road. Nobody stopped.”
She told Council, “I’m not just here for Jake. Something should be done before it is a mother standing here showing you pictures of her child!”
Council member Bob McPartlan said when he rode his motorcycle on Barber, he discovered that the speed limit was a confusing 30 mph in one direction, 35 mph in another.
“We should make it uniform,” he stated.
“How can we get the speed limit uniform?” asked Council member Andrea Coy. “We need a serious campaign. We announce to the general public, if you go 35 in a 30 you WILL get a ticket!”
Council decided that making the signs uniform – at 30 mph – was something that could be done right away.
“If I get consensus tonight, I can get these [new speed limit signs] going tomorrow,” City Manager Joe Griffin said. And he got it.
