FOR 42 YEARS, Randy and I have lived in the same house along an arterial street through Faribault. And in those four-plus decades, traffic volume has increased significantly due to growth on the south end of town. Speeding and crashes have also risen, based on my observations.
For example, less than a year ago a Suburban, pursued by a pick-up truck, took out the power pole by our home, crossed our front yard (almost hitting our house) and destroyed a newly-stained fence panel. Other crashes have occurred within eyesight of our home.
I don’t know the cause of most crashes. It could be inattentive/distracted/impaired driving, a medical issue, driver error, speeding… Without reading police reports, I can’t say.
But frankly, I am growing weary of all of this. The speed. The crashes. The disrespect for the Willow Street neighborhood.
Willow Street runs for 10 uninterrupted blocks from Division Street to Tenth Street through an all-residential neighborhood with one exception, an automotive repair shop in the 200 block. That’s a lengthy stretch of roadway without anything to slow down motorists. And, no, I’m not advocating for a stop sign. But something needs to change.
Those of us who live along this street deserve to be respected, to feel safe in our homes, to be seen as a neighborhood and not just a route for drivers to quickly get to their destinations.
A few days ago, the Faribault Police Department installed a temporary electronic speed monitoring trailer along the southbound side of Willow near our house per the request of City Councilman John Rowan. I’m thankful to see this in place as a speed deterrent. If that data is recorded, I’d like to see the results.
Curious as to how fast motorists were driving, I decided to observe. But before heading outside to watch numbers flash across the electronic screen, I made a small sign with two words: SLOW DOWN. I stood along the sidewalk by my house and watched, my head swiveling between oncoming southbound vehicles and the sign. Drivers could not see me and my sign until they were closing in on me and the speed trailer, meaning I did not affect their speed.
I set the parameters of only tabulating speeds of 35 mph or faster. I wanted to give drivers some grace. The speed limit is 30 mph.
I didn’t have to wait long. Within five minutes of planting my feet on the sidewalk late Monday afternoon, I observed five vehicles driving 35 (2), 36, 38 and 42 mph. One defiant driver even gunned his black pick-up truck to increase his speed when he saw me with my SLOW DOWN sign. The same happened mid Tuesday afternoon when I observed again for a short time, but did not tally speeds. The top speed, though, was 40 mph.
Between 4:30-5:15 p.m. Monday, I recorded 18 vehicles driving anywhere between 35-45 mph. I did not count the total number of vehicles driving southbound on Willow. But suffice to say that, along this busy street, traffic was steady, if not heavy.
Tuesday morning I was back on the sidewalk again with my sign at 7:40 a.m., when people are mostly driving to work and school. Within the first 10 minutes, I noted seven vehicles traveling between 35-38 mph. Thirty minutes later, when I left my post, I’d tallied 12 motorists driving too fast, most in the upper 30s. I also noticed drivers on their cellphones both days, a violation of Minnesota state law.
Based on numbers displayed on the electronic sign, I could have issued 30 warnings or citations for driving over the speed limit. But that is not my job. It belongs to law enforcement. Councilor Rowan requested extra patrols along Willow Street. I am grateful for that.
If existing traffic laws are enforced and Willow Street becomes known as a “speed trap,” that could act as an effective deterrent to speeding.
Something needs to change. Willow Street needs to be seen as the neighborhood it is, not as the thoroughfare it has become for too many drivers. People live here, walk here, bike here, try to back safely out of their driveways and cross the street here.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But education, prevention, traffic law enforcement and police presence seem logical starters.
THOUGHTS? IDEAS? Please share specifics.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
this situation is one that is prone to bad outcomes, as you’ve already seen and experienced. i hope that this will change for you, and glad your city council member is on board. people can be so thoughtless when driving, not considering others, and it often causes accidents that didn’t have to happen. everyone deserves to live in a place where they don’t have to worry about speeding vehicles, and that they are respected and entitled to a peaceful and safe place to live.
one of the things our police are doing is periodically enforcing speed limits and/or distracted driving for a set amount of time in certain trouble spots. they announce they’ll be doing it and set up signs that monitor speeds like you showed in your picture. they publish how many tickets they gave out, to support their efforts to keep the town safer. they do this on a rotating basis. perhaps your monitoring would be a good thing to bring up at a city council meeting if your member will speak up about it in an open forum. maybe gather a group of fellow concerned citizens to attend and sit in the audience holding signs like yours. safety is paramount to a community and it would be in everyone’s interest if the powers that be helped to support that in any way needed.
here we are always trying to find a safe way for bicyclists, walkers, runners, cars, buses, and emergency vehicles. the city has added dedicated bike lanes, lowered speed limits in the city and some neighborhoods, added pedestrian crossing paint on streets, etc. we still have people who ignore all of this and endanger everyone. of course accidents happen when people are not paying attention or following speed limits. it’s an ongoing battle here, but we are trying…
Beth, I appreciate your thoughtful reply with specific suggestions. I hope to attend a Council Chat next week which is an informal gathering of elected and city officials. Residents can casually talk with council members, etc. about concerns. This might be a good starting point plus getting others to join me in advocating for something to be done about the speeding along Willow Street. Your information is helpful. Thank you.
you’re right, that might be just the opening you need. i’m glad i gave you some ideas –
You did, Beth. Thank you again for the suggestions.
I’m sure its frustrating to have traffic speeding by your house all day… maybe some speed bumps could help?
It’s interesting that you suggest speed bumps as Amber did also. I told her that would likely result in airborne or damaged vehicles. I don’t think speed bumps will work on this street.
Maybe you (or better a group of equally concerned people) could talk to your councilor about what they might suggest other than increased patrols? Speed bumps might be counterproductive. Maybe stop signs? Or some judiciously placed stop lights? I can see the city wrestling with diverting funds for such things but they might have to if Willow is becoming a preferred arterial for reaching downtown from the south.
Willow has long been the preferred route into and through Faribault from the south. Speeding is not a new issue. I’m just getting fed up with it because it’s been getting worse. I don’t have the answers, but I don’t see a stoplight or stop sign as viable options. There’s a stoplight several blocks from my house. I don’t want either a stop sign or a stoplight by my house or the noise would be worse than it already is. Semis travel this road along with regular motor vehicle traffic.
I’ve contacted the city council, mayor and police chief. I agree that it needs to be more than me expressing concerns. But it’s difficult to rally people when they feel like nothing will change. I’ve invited the council and police chief to stand on the sidewalk by my house, watch the traffic and note the speeds on the electronic sign.
I just came inside from a half hour of standing along the sidewalk with my SLOW DOWN sign. In that time period, 10 vehicles drove between 35-40 mph. The worst was when a driver saw my sign, then swerved his/her vehicle toward me. Yes. I felt threatened. I should have written down the license number. But I was so shocked that I failed to do so. Thankfully the sidewalk is higher than the street. But, still, this was dangerous and truly threatening behavior. Who does that?
Well done Audrey, for taking such an active role in fighting this neighbourhood problem, especially after the impact on you and Randy from the recent motorbike crash outside your home. UK police use automatic roadside speed cameras, which record speeding cars and result in automatic fines being issued to the car owners. They are proven to reduce dangerous driving, and repeat offenders can be banned from driving. I hope your council meeting will result in positive action. Good luck.
I appreciate your comment from the UK and how speeding is handled there. I don’t know what options are available in the US, only that something needs to be done.
When I was outside late yesterday afternoon briefly with my SLOW DOWN sign, a speeding driver saw me and actually veered hard to the right and then back. I was appalled by this threatening behavior. I should have taken down the license plate number, but I was so shocked I didn’t think of it. Even after eight months on the Saturday morning political protest line, no one has steered toward us, although plenty have driven aggressively and too close for our comfort. What is wrong with people? Someone threatens me with their vehicle because I’m holding a SLOW DOWN sign.
What sort of people do that? Such arrogance and aggression when all you’re doing is gently asking them to drive responsibly. A shame it wasn’t captured on camera- surely such threatening behaviour is a criminal offence, to add to dangerous driving. Stay safe Audrey.
Yes, you have to wonder why my request to slow down prompted such rage that a driver veered toward me. Totally dangerous, reckless and disrespectful. My daughter said the same to me about staying safe. Thank you for your care, Judith. I wish you were here to stand beside me along Willow Street with a sign.
Speeding seems endemic here as well.
I’m sorry to hear that, Michael. What’s being done about it?
Speeding is endemic everywhere I’ve ever driven in this country. If anything, it seems to have only gotten worse in recent years.
There is a stretch of road in the town where I live that goes through the college campus. Because there is a lot of student pedestrian traffic, permanent speed monitoring signs have been installed that either show your speed or flash the words “SLOW DOWN” if you are going more than 10 mph over the limit. Just beyond this sign, there is a speed limit sign to remind people what the posted limit is.
I don’t know if this stretch is patrolled more heavily than other areas in town, but I have personally noticed a lot more people pulled over for speeding along this stretch since the signs were installed. Others in town have noticed it too, and word has gotten around.
I’m sure that you can imagine what has happened since then. People are definitely paying closer attention to their speed when driving through that area! Increased enforcement (or at least the perception of it) does change behavior.
I fully agree that increased enforcement (or the perception of it) can change behavior. Thank you for sharing how your Missouri community has addressed speeding on one particularly troublesome stretch of roadway. The same needs to happen on Willow Street!
People wont do anything about it until tragedy strikes and some will still look away. It’s not saving you any time driving like this through residential neighborhoods
Unfortunately our street is a major roadway through town that happens to run through an all-residential neighborhood. There really aren’t other options. If only people would slow down and respect that Willow Street is a neighborhood. I hope to get someone to listen to me tomorrow evening when I attend a Council Chat.