Donna Orkin watches drivers fly down her street in Northpointe subdivision during the day and, in the evenings, hears drivers drag racing on nearby Old Canton Road.
“Everybody is in a hurry. Nobody knows what 25 miles an hour is,” she said.
A resident of Northpointe since 1982, Orkin said her street was once “very residential, very neighborly” but speeding has grown worse through the years.
“If you’re out walking or walking your dog, it’s scary,” she said. “It’s a bad situation.”
The installation of public access gates on Northpointe Parkway has caused drivers, who are in a hurry, to look for quicker options to get to County Line Road, she said. “I think it’s gotten worse since they put up the gates on the other street,” she said.
Complaints about speeding in northeast Jackson as well as drag racing in the area of Adkins Boulevard and North Canton Club Circle have been posted in recent weeks on Nextdoor, the hyperlocal social networking service for neighborhoods.
Speeding is not the most burning issue in Jackson, but it’s one that concerns people, said Ward 1 Jackson City Council member Ashby Foote.
Drivers going faster than the speed limit is an ongoing issue in Jackson, partly because the Jackson Police Department needs more officers, he said. “That’s one of the problems you have when you have problems keeping a force fully manned,” he said, explaining that some individuals realize they can take advantage of the situation.
Obie Wells, commander of JPD Precinct 4, which is located at 5080 Parkway Drive in Colonial Mart Shopping Center, encourages anyone to report incidents of speeding and drag racing they may experience. If possible, give the make and model of the vehicles involved, tag numbers and the location and time, he said.
It’s OK to call and make a report, even if you think JPD won’t make it in time to catch the offender, he said.
“We can’t be everywhere at one time,” Wells said. “With information from the public, we can come up with a plan. One thing we can do is get help from our traffic division. I can get them to set up radar in the area.”
Wells said he welcomes calls about any issues. Precinct 4 office is staffed from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and may be reached at 601-960-0004.
Non-emergencies may also be reported by calling 601-960-1234. Problems may also be called into the Mayor’s Action Line at 3-1-1.
Wells said he can also be reached by e-mail. His address is owells@city.jackson.ms.us.
“They can email with their concerns and we’ll do everything we can to try to address them,” he said.
Wells said he recently signed up for Nextdoor as a tool to keep up with what citizens are talking about and is learning more about how it works.
“I don’t get every neighborhood in the precinct right now, but I’m learning,” he said. “I do get areas here and there.”
Sam Brown, public information officer for JPD, said he always recommends this: If you see something, say something.
“A lot of people won’t pick up the phone and dial and then they wonder why the police does not respond,” he said. “It’s because we haven’t gotten a call.”
Some drag racers communication on hidden, underground apps, not mainstream social media, to avoid law enforcement, he said.
“A lot of times when you hear about drag racing and respond, they’re gone,” Brown said. “It’s like a cat-and-mouse game.”
Drag racing occurs in all parts of the city, he said.
Last summer, JPD had a detail dedicated to Sunday cruising.
“We had officers come in and set up in parking lots where they frequent and keep them moving,” he said, explaining that the detail was carried out across the city, including northeast Jackson.
