Speed concerns accelerate to social media conflict in Milton

A couple’s efforts to prompt drivers to obey the 25 mph speed limit near their house on Atlantic Street in Milton spilled over into social media in recent days, as they tried to shame speeders on their website and YouTube, and a local Facebook page filled with complaints about their tactics.

Joel and Kelly DeMott had placed signs in front of their house urging drivers to obey the speed limit. In recent months, they begun parking their vehicles in front of two houses they own on Atlantic Street that are on opposite sides of the narrow road and a few doors apart. That requires drivers to slow and weave between the DeMotts’ vehicles.

“We just want people to do 25,” Joel said. “I’m just asking that they slow it down.”

The DeMotts established a website called miltonspeeders.com and began posting videos – gathered first from a Ring doorbell and more recently from a camera on the house’s front porch – of vehicles passing, some beeping their horns. Livestreams of the street are being posted daily on YouTube.

Those actions drew loud honks from vehicles passing the house as well as complaints and threats on the Facebook page, Simply Milton Delaware. 

Mayor John Collier said a solution will be presented at the Monday, Feb. 3 town council meeting. He declined to provide details in advance or say which issues the plan addresses. 

“I’ve investigated everything under the sun to deal with this,” Collier said. “We are going to take measures to ensure the safe flow of traffic on that street.”

DeMott said he and his wife tried for a long time to convince the town and its police department to take action to stop speeding and keep tractor-trailers off Atlantic Street.

Collier said town police have set up speed traps and used radar to catch speeders and discourage others.

He was also concerned that the DeMotts’ parking vehicles to slow traffic poses a safety hazard, especially for emergency vehicles. But the mayor said parking is legal along the state road.

Collier also noted the 25 mph speed limit is the lowest possible on a state road. 

Joel posted an open letter Jan. 22 on miltonspeeders.com, explaining his position and offering to work with others to solve the speeding problem.  

“This website was a way for me to channel my frustration into making some kind of change; some kind of action,” he wrote. “I see both sides, and I'm willing to have a civil discussion about our problem with anyone at any time. Write me a letter. Stop by. We're your neighbors.”

He tried to assure the community that he was simply trying to resolve a dangerous situation. 

“First, let me assure you that my family and I care deeply about this community and our neighbors,” he wrote. “Our actions are rooted in a desire to improve safety and quality of life for everyone who lives here. Nothing more.”

DeMott wrote that he is an Army veteran who served six years as a lieutenant with the Rehoboth Beach Fire Department and worked as a police dispatcher and 911 operator for Chester County, Pa.

“I'm an honorable person – one who stands up and volunteers to help people like you, our neighbors, in times of crisis,” according to his letter. “Over those years, I’ve heard and witnessed far too many devastating accidents, pulled too many dead bodies out of and from under vehicles.”

DeMott said he has post-traumatic stress disorder from his experiences.

The DeMotts moved to Milton three years ago from Rehoboth Beach with their two young daughters. Joel said he worries about them walking to the school bus stop. Also, the family’s 8-week-old kitten, Boots, was recently run over and left dead in front of their house.

Dana Long, who has lived in her Atlantic Street home near the DeMott residence for 61 years, said she understands the family’s predicament, as she too has complained to the town about speeding on their road several times over the years.

“It’s always been a problem with speeding,” Long said. “Nobody does 25.”

But Long said she believes the DeMotts create additional safety hazards by parking their cars on the road, as it contributes to bumper-to-bumper traffic and vehicles crossing the center line.

“There’s going to be an accident,” she said. “The school bus traffic is very heavy.”