Residents in East Longmeadow have noticed an increase in drivers speeding excessively. Some say it’s always been a problem, but it’s getting out of hand. 

"I don't want anybody coming around the corner and hitting anybody. It's not worth the hustle," said Joshua Sand. "It's not worth going too fast around that if somebody gets hurt."

He lives on Marshall Street on the corner with his dad, Christopher. He said in the winter, people slid off the road from taking the turns too quickly. Christopher Sand lived in this house when he was a kid and now owns it. He has seen speeding for as long as he can remember. He recalls two deaths on Maple Street through the years. 

"I don't want to see anybody hurt again. I've lost friends in my life and it's one of the hardest things to do," Christopher said. 

The speed limit on Maple Street is actually 35 mph, and then drops to 25 mph towards the center of town. People speed through Marshall Street and use the road to cut through to the other road. 

"Going 55 in a 35 mph zone in a residential area doesn't work," Christopher said. 

The yellow slow down signs line the streets, but they don’t seem to be working either. Christopher and his son Joshua have taken matters into their own hands to come up with a creative way to try and encourage drivers to watch their speed.  

"People are cruising and the sign doesn't always catch the eye of everybody, and if you have something else out there for example like the tin man that we have out here, he has the hard hat on, the vest on, it catches your eye as you go by," said Joshua. 

"We, as humans, we see something different, we pause and slow down, and it's kind of working but we still need the help of our police to get together with us to see if we can figure out a plan," Christopher added. 

He said surrounding towns, like Hampden, have really cracked down on speeding. He’s seen tickets given in problem areas in surrounding areas and wants to see his town do the same. A lot of kids are in the neighborhood. Pedestrians walk on the road and people bicycle through the area, too. The Sands went to work with police to come up with a solution to keep everyone safe. 

"We are really just trying to work with the town, work with residents, and work with the police officers, and do it as a community, because us as a community have the opportunity to change things," Joshua said. 

Christopher added he would like to see the town explore options with funding that will implement more police patrol in the area, or see speed cameras to encourage others to slow down.