Speeders worry NE Bend neighborhood

Some residents in the Empire neighborhood of northeast Bend say they have noticed more people speeding through their neighborhood recently.

Megan Oxford, who lives on Sierra Drive, said Tuesday she doesn’t feel safe letting her dogs and children play out in front of her house.

She said the problem has become more and more prevalent lately, and on numerous occasions she has yelled at drivers to slow down as they are passing by.

Oxford said she wants people to be more aware of their speed when they are going through a residential area.

“They’re not paying attention,” Oxford said. “Half the time, I think it is people who are in a hurry, half the time I think it is people who are on their phone — who knows? But, you know, I’ve stood out there playing in the yard trying to slow people down, and they just don’t care.”

Oxford added that she bought a house in the neighborhood so she could enjoy the slower pace.

She said she hopes police will be able to help out the neighborhood and slow people down.

Bend police Sgt. Eric Hagan said the department is constantly working to increase its presence in highly trafficked areas.

“What we try to do is we have radar speed boxes that collect data for us,” Hagan said. “So we try to get those in those locations, to really pinpoint the time, so we can do a resource allocation, and from there, we try to get our units into those areas.”

Speeding is one of the top causes of crashes in Bend, according to police.

The department said they currently have three positions dedicated to traffic enforcement, covering 32 square miles and over 92,000 people.

They are working on doubling that count, to six dedicated traffic positions in 2018.

Oxford said she would like to see a speed radar sign put in, to make people aware of how fast they are going.

“Probably be the best start if we had a speed checker there. I think that it would solve a big portion of the problems,” Oxford said. “I don’t ever think it will solve everything, but I think it will slow the vast majority of people down.”

Oxford added she believes the largest hurdle is getting people to realize just how fast they are going in a residential area.