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Samantha Hayes ReportingEvery day you probably think about traffic. It has been a top concern for neighbors in Kearns where a major road has been the focus of a new project. The sheriff's department has been working with neighbors in the last few months to decrease the number of crashes, including those involving pedestrians.
5400 south in Kearns is what you would call a very busy road. Just don't say that to Diane Pope, who lives next to it.
Diane Pope, Kearns: "This road is terrible. Busy is not the right word. It's always like this.
It's always been a safety concern, especially for parents of school children who have been walking along the shoulder.
Jana Helsten, Kearns: "I was hoping and praying every day he would get to school safely because it's very scary, very frightening to know my son has to walk there because there's no sidewalk."
Jana Helsten and other neighbors have been the squeaky wheel and now 5400 south is getting a lot of attention. Deputies say regulating commercial trucks, cracking down on speeders and building this sidewalk has made a real difference is safety for this community.
Captain Dave Burdett, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department: "We've had a number of auto pedestrian accidents here. It's a high traffic area and there's a hill making visibility difficult."
The sheriff's department designated a special traffic unit to focus on those issues, two deputies concentrate on catching speeders and, specific to this stretch of road, overloaded cement trucks.
Cpt. Dave Burdett: "We were averaging a spill every two days with overloaded cement trucks, and with increased enforcement and inspection that has almost ceased. I haven't seen a spill in weeks."
A special traffic unit has cracked down on overloaded cement trucks, and drivers going over the speed limit, especially in school zones. And perhaps most important, a sidewalk has been put in along the road up to 56th south where many children have been walking to school along the shoulder.
Capt. Dave Burdett, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "Traffic concerns are number one when I go out into the community. This is why we decided to focus and form a new traffic unit. And I think we've made a real difference on 54th south."
The special traffic enforcement unit is two deputies; they were pulled from patrol. That, at first, was a risky maneuver because Captain Dave Burdett says that division is understaffed, but apparently the concentrated effort on traffic enforcement has lessened the load, so to speak, of patrol deputies. So far, a very successful placement of resources.
