LINCOLN PARK, Mich. – A Lincoln Park man was tired of watching drivers speed past his house. So, he made his own speed bump with store-bought asphalt to slow them down.
It lasted less than an hour before police told him to take it out.
Sunday afternoon, Dale Wells spread asphalt across Moran Avenue.
A faint black line on the pavement is all that remains of his do‑it‑yourself traffic control.
“It’s dangerous,” Wells said, explaining that he routinely sees drivers racing down the street and blowing through a nearby stop sign.
“They run through that stop sign like crazy, especially at 10 o’clock at night,” Wells said. “They see no lights and just keep going.”
Wells said he put the asphalt down around 6 p.m. Sunday (May 17).
Minutes later, officers were at his door, telling him he had to remove it for safety reasons.
The move frustrated Wells, who said he resorted to building the bump after feeling that calls to the city and police about speeding were going nowhere.
Some neighbors say they understand why he did it.
“Obviously a little crazy, but he’s not wrong,” said Raquel Diaz, who lives on Moran Avenue and has two young children. She said speeding drivers keep her kids from playing in the front yard.
Her biggest fear, she said, is “obviously my child or any child getting hit by a car and it being fatal.”
Local 4 contacted the Lincoln Park Police Department to inquire about installing speed bumps on Moran Avenue.
The Police Chief said there are currently no speed bumps anywhere in the city, but that could change in neighborhoods if residents file formal complaints with the police.
From there, officers could conduct a traffic study, determine whether speeding is a significant issue, and then present their findings to the City Council for consideration.
People can call the police to report their issue or email traffic@citylp.com.
Shortly after Local 4 spoke with police, an officer was seen monitoring traffic on Moran Avenue, exactly the kind of presence Wells said is needed.
Residents along the street said they hope the city will either approve legal speed bumps or increase enforcement before someone gets hurt.