PALATKA, Fla. — After months of voicing concerns over dangerous speeding, residents in the Viking Manor neighborhood are finally seeing change. The city has approved plans to install speed tables aimed at slowing down traffic in the residential community.
“You can hear them from inside your house because they come by so fast,” said Viking Manor homeowner Lance Hutcherson.
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Neighbors said the streets felt more like a raceway than a quiet neighborhood, even with 25 mph speed limit signs clearly posted.
“People go too fast. They don’t know about that 25 mph,” Hutcherson added.
Residents reported vehicles speeding through at up to 65 miles per hour, but early traffic studies failed to reflect those conditions. That changed after neighbors pushed back, prompting a second, more thorough study that better captured the issue.
In response, the city decided to move forward with speed tables to help calm traffic. The decision followed weeks of organizing by Palatka Police’s Community Ordinant Policing Team, which conducted a 23-day door-to-door petition drive.
“So we did a petition so we could show at our city commission so they can make a decision on what to do,” said Palatka Assistant Chief of Police Matt Newcomb.
Nearly 90% of households supported the traffic-calming measure.
Newcomb said it’s not the first time they’ve taken this kind of hands-on approach to respond to residents.
“This is the second time that we’ve done that. We did it in another neighborhood over off of Campbell Street,” he said.
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“And then we let them know we’ve heard your concerns and we’re gonna present this to the city commission, and of course, the city commission backed what our recommendation was,” Newcomb added.
The city plans to install three speed tables — wide, flat-topped humps in Viking Manor.
Final approval of the project’s cost is expected at Thursday’s city commission meeting. Installation could begin within the next six to eight weeks.
For longtime residents like Butch Puryear, staying involved made all the difference.
“Well, I think that’s one thing about working with city government that you have to stay on top of them,” he said.
Residents said they’ll continue holding the city accountable and hope Viking Manor’s success will lead to similar changes in other Palatka neighborhoods.
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