It is no secret that the city of Oxford is growing. One of the largest places of growth is Sisk Avenue with the new high school as well as the commercial and residential development, Oxford Commons. The number of people and businesses isn’t the only growth in that area, however, with an increasing number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit on the once quiet road.
“With the development of the Oxford Commons and the mass growth out there, three schools in that vicinity so traffic has increased tremendously,” said Oxford Police Department Deputy Chief James Owens. “That attributes to the vast number of motor vehicles in that area.”
The large number of cars is not the only issue facing the community but also the speed at which they travel, something Owens said the department is addressing.
“We’ve increased our stationary radar and our mobile patrols in that area,” he said. “We’re letting motorists know they’re speeding and to slow down. It will continue until we believe we’ve made some steady progress.”
One solution to the problem may be an unpopular one but the city is focused on what to do to make the road safer.
“We’re going to slow folks down out there,” said Mayor Pat Patterson. “Speed humps are controversial for the neighborhood and for everybody. It’s kind of a last resort type of answer but it looks like we’re moving toward that.”
Patterson made it clear that while the speed humps are a distinct possibility, nothing has been finalized yet.
“No speed humps yet, no final decision has been made there. We’ve been really focusing on speeding in that area.”
Given the amount of schools and homes with young families around the road, Owens said the police department is committed to making it a safer place for Oxford children and all travelers.
“That’s No. 1 for us with the schools and making sure the children can get to and from school safely, to make sure motorists are abiding by the speed limit to get to work and school safely,” he said. “That’s why we’ve increased the patrol and that’s going to continue on. We’re not going to let up on this. I think the officers have been very effective so we are going to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Michael Quirk is a HottyToddy.com staff reporter and can be reached at michael.quirk@hottytoddy.com.
