MILTON, DE – A Milton family frustrated with frequent speeding on their street has launched a website to document the problem, but the initiative has ignited debate over their approach.
Joel DeMott, who lives on Atlantic St., set up multiple cameras outside his home and created MiltonSpeeders.com to livestream footage of vehicles allegedly exceeding the speed limit. DeMott said the effort was a last resort to address safety concerns for his family. As well as produce proof that there was an issue.
He said they had previously put up signs, and parked in the road, but stopped due to neighborhood frustrations.
“We’re not crazy—we’re just fed up, we’re tired of people speeding by,” DeMott said. “The message is we’d just like people to slow down.”
While some community members support the effort, others have criticized the use of cameras, citing privacy concerns and questioning whether the website is an appropriate solution.
DeMott said he’s willing to remove the cameras if the town or state implements other measures to address the issue, such as radar speed signs or other traffic-calming solutions.
“We bought the house, we own that, we know that there’s an issue—and we’re just trying to do something about it,” he said. “A radar, a radar sign that would clearly display how fast these people are going and collect data on how many there are, that would be great.”
Mayor John Collier acknowledged the controversy, noting that the council is working on a resolution to the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), which has jurisdiction over the road.
Collier also pointed out that the cameras might be contributing to new issues, with some drivers speeding even more, revving their engines, or engaging in other disruptive behavior in response.
“The town doesn’t have the resources to park a police officer out here 24/7, and this is what this is gonna escalate to if we don’t figure out how to resolve it for the time,” Collier said.
Collier says the town council plans to discuss the resolution and potential solutions, on both sides of the issue, at its meeting on February 3.