Who is behind the slow down 'grandmas at play' signs in Salt Lake?

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SALT LAKE CITY — A District 2 councilman in Salt Lake City has taken the issue of speeding in neighborhoods personally. In a self-funded project, Alejandro Puy has created innovative signs he hopes will get the attention of drivers in West Salt Lake neighborhoods.

And it seems that the neighborhood wants more.

"I ran out of signs, almost," Puy told KSL NewsRadio hosts Dave and Dujanovic. "I have a couple left and (I've) ordered a new batch.

"So neighbors are asking for more."

Puy's message is clear. "Drivers need to slow down in neighborhoods," he said.

He lives by an elementary school, and said "cars fly by it … we're talking 15 or 20 mph over the speed limit."

"As a council member I'm receiving probably dozens of messages a week telling me about their issues with speeding in the neighborhood. It's overwhelming."

The signs, some of which say, "slow down, Grandmas at play," and "slow down, traffic school is boring," aren't signs that were created by the city. In other words, they aren't "official." The messages are edgier, he said, and that's why he decided to pay for them himself.

In a self-funded project, Alejandro Puy has created innovative signs he hopes will get the attention of drivers in West Salt Lake neighborhoods. (Photo: Alejandro Puy)

He told Dave and Dujanovic that his goal is to capture attention. "Maybe we see those (official) signs too often, and we need to have something to make us laugh … makes us slow down in our neighborhoods."

In May, the Salt Lake City Council voted to reduce speeds in most neighborhoods to 20 mph. In the same month, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced she'd included $2 million in "traffic calming" projects in her yearly budget. Those measures include partnering with UDOT's Zero Fatalities education program and the creation of the Safe Streets Task Force.

The latter is a joint effort between SLC police and transportation officials to identify dangerous traffic areas.

Puy supports the efforts by the city. But he says safety comes down to drivers.

"We can re-do all our streets … but it's up to the drivers to realize, that maybe it's not their kid, but their neighbor's kid, or their neighbor's dog. We need to be doing our best to keep our streets safe."

Puy asks drivers to consider how much time they actually save by driving 10 miles over the speed limit, and if 30 seconds is worth the possibility of killing someone by speeding.