What if it had been a child or a pet?

It was the first thought that crossed the mind of Kimberly Perdue when she took her dog outside for a walk on a Sunday morning only to find the York Regional Police investigating a detached hydrant and vehicle bumper left on the curb across the street from their McBean Avenue home.

“Speeding is a common concern on our street,” her husband Brian Perdue said. “We have lived here 20 years and it has progressively gotten worse and worse.”

Two side streets funnel onto McBean Avenue, giving drivers access to Bayview Avenue, a major corridor in town. Speeding, coupled with distracted driving, has caused concern for the Perdues. as well as others on the street.

“We have a lot of young children in the neighbourhood and people need to slow down before something serious happens,” he added. “What if it had been a child? We are always worried someone is going to get hurt.”

York police confirm the hit-and-run involving the hydrant was investigated, the driver found and charged with failing to remain, fail to report and careless driving. The police could not confirm if the careless driving was specifically related to speeding.

“We wish the town would consider putting in speed bumps to slow down drivers,” he said.

Town of Newmarket engineering director Rachel Prudhomme confirmed the town receives a steady stream of speed mitigation requests during the summer months due to residents being home more often.

“It’s pretty standard for us to get one request a month,” she said. “But there is a process to make such a request.”

To make a request for traffic-calming measures, residents must submit a petition to their ward councillor, regional councillor or mayor to be presented at a committee of the whole meeting. The town requires the petition to have 25 per cent support or more from the households on that street, with a minimum number of 10 households interested in considering a change to traffic-calming measures.