Tracy Press

On one corner in southern Tracy, two residents are making a personal stand against reckless driving.

Cera Renault/Tracy Press - caution: Jackie Garcia holds up signs in her neighborhood urging drivers to slow down Friday. Garcia and her husband, Jim, have seen improvement in drivers’ behavior since the crusade began.

Jackie Garcia and her husband, Jim, moved into their southern Tracy neighborhood 10 years ago. At the time, Garcia said her street, Chaplin Court, was fairly safe and saw little traffic.

She’s since seen traffic violations become more frequent over the past few years and has taken it upon herself to bring her street back to its once tranquil state.

Garcia can be found nearly every afternoon at the four-way stop on the corner of Chaplin Court and Harlow Street patrolling traffic. She said the sidewalks are scattered with young children, and she said she spots between 30 and 40 drivers speed through the intersection every day.

She established her post about four weeks ago after the car of a hit-and-run driver smashed her truck’s bumper.

“Everybody’s in a hurry to get where they have to go,” she said. “This is my neighborhood, and I want it to be safe for everybody.”

Vince Weyant, a traffic officer for the Tracy Police Department, said the intersection isn’t any more dangerous than any other in town.

“She has a legitimate complaint about speeders in that area,” he said.

Weyant suggested Garcia and other concerned residents join the Traffic Education and Monitoring program, which trains volunteers to use a radar gun in their neighborhood, note speeders’ license numbers and the date. When a speeder’s license is called in, the police police department doesn’t issue a ticket, but sends the speeder a letter of warning.

The TEAM program has helped been in operation for the past 11 years.

• To contact reporter Danielle MacMurchy, call 830-4280 or e-mail danielle@tracypress.

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