Frisco dads say 20 is plenty on neighborhood roads
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA-TV
First Published: Nov 24, 2009 9:59 PM CST
Twenty is plenty. That's the message a group of Frisco fathers are getting out.
The fathers said they want drivers to slow down, and have teamed up to force action along Ironwood Drive in Frisco.
Chuck, Cris, and David with WFAA Reporter Steve Stoler
The Heather Ridge Estates Homeowners Association put up signs at entrances into the neighborhood asking people to drive 20 mph to keep neighborhood kids safe.
The neighborhood is filled with families, and it's a common site to see children playing in front of their houses. Parents said they fear speeding cars won’t be able to stop if a child ventures into the roadway.
“Sometimes if a car is going too fast, and they quite frankly do all the time, the concern is that they won't be able to stop in time and that's when we have a serious problem," said Cris Bengis.
Bengis and two other Frisco dads felt they had to do something before a child is hurt or killed. So, they created
SlowDownFrisco.org.
“There was one instance when I saw a car going 50 miles an hour," said Chuck Altman, one of the founders of the site. "I actually jumped into the street and threw my hands up into the air and forced the car to stop. He screamed some things that I wouldn't share with you right now."
The site asks drivers to make a “twenty-is-plenty” commitment not to drive more than 20 mph through Frisco neighborhoods.
David Box, another Frisco father who helped start the organization, said the site is already having an impact.
“I was speaking to someone who took the commitment today and he said it made a difference as he drives through the neighborhood," he said. "He looks and says, 'I'm driving 25. I just made a commitment to drive 20. I need to slow down.'"
One-hundred-and-fifty-six people have already made the commitment to slow down. The three dads who started the non-profit organization hope that might save a life.
