A Collin County father is taking a stand for safety in his neighborhood with a decidedly DIY approach.
Michael Poitevint, of Prosper, fashioned a sign out of scrap wood in his garage, spray painted “25 mph” in bright red across the front and has posted it in the bed of his pickup truck parked along the 700 block of Livingston Drive in his Prosper neighborhood.
“I finally decided, ‘You know what? Let me at least make people aware of what the speed limits are in the neighborhood,’” Poitevint, an engineer, said about his effort.
Poitevint’s block is packed with kids in the afternoons — he estimates there are at least 25 school-age children who live there.
Folsom Elementary School is situated around the corner from Poitevint’s house and many of those who speed along his street appear to be parents who have either dropped their children off or are arriving to pick them up, the father of two said.
Poitevint first posted his sign in April, soon after a child was hit by a car while in a crosswalk near his neighborhood.
“It was a little bit of a wake up for us. It was scary,” Poitevint said. “Everybody was worried. ‘Is the kid going to be okay? And what can we do to just make people a little bit more aware.’”
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There was a second accident on Sunday evening on La Cima Boulevard. A pickup truck hit a girl who was riding her bicycle. The speed along La Cima is 45 mph, as opposed to the 25 around the corner on Livingston. But the concern is clear.
Prosper police have been responsive to speeding complaints from the neighborhood, according to Poitevint, but they can only stay and enforce the speed limit for so long.
A spokesperson for the Prosper Independent School District noted that they are aware of Poitevint's effort.
"The safety of our students and their families is also very important to us," a statement from Prosper ISD began. "Although patrolling is under the jurisdiction of the Town, the Prosper ISD Police Department also regularly patrols school zones to ensure safety."
“For the most part this is actually, it has worked,” Poitevint said about his homemade sign. “And I know it’s a novelty, and I’ll have to come up with something else in a couple of weeks. I’ll try whatever I can.”
