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Pacific Beach neighbors revved up about speeding on their street

CBS 8 is Working For You to see what traffic calming measures will work to slow down cars going faster than the 25 mph speed limit on Turquoise Street.

SAN DIEGO — Cars zipping through a residential neighborhood in Pacific Beach have people who live there revved up.

Families say they've complained to the city and police. But cars continue to speed past the posted 25 mph speed limit on Turquoise Street near an elementary school

CBS 8 brought a speed gun to the neighborhood to see how fast these drivers are going and what can be done to slow them down.

Cars are seen speeding past the posted 25 mph speed limit on Turquoise Street between Cardeno/Fanuel and Dawes Streets in Pacific Beach.

Neighbors say they've had enough.

“It feels like the La Jolla freeway on-ramp,” said Theresa Panish.

She lives on Turquoise near the Cardeno/Fanuel intersection across from PB Elementary School. She says her dog Kip was hit and killed by a car and recently she had a close call.

“A guy swerved around me and all I was doing was taking the trash out. I felt like my life was in danger,” said Panish.

Her neighbor, Ginger Martin's dog, was also killed and she's had another dog hit by a car and survived.

Ginger and her family and neighbors now walk together across the street to school.

“One of my sons was almost hit by a car going to school,” said Martin.

Panish shared e-mails with CBS 8 to Councilmember Jennifer Campbell's office about a 2015 study the city did, which found 85% of drivers were going 35 mph in front of her home on Turquoise.

“They are literally racing down our street and we are powerless to get enforcement,” said Panish.

CBS 8 called San Diego Police Department and spoke to the captain at Northern Division. 

Captain Scott Wahl says they’ve received complaints and despite being short staffed, they’ve been able to deploy overtime detail dedicated to enforcement on Turquoise and report six accidents in the last year.

“There is a lot of car accidents at this intersection, a lot of car accidents,” said Martin.

We reached out to the city who says when the study was done in 2015 engineers recommended VCalm signs, like the ones in both directions on the hill on Turquoise.

The VCalm signs warn drivers about their speed but nearby neighbors rejected it so they installed edge lines as a calming measure.

“We still see people speed through them (VCalm device). Maybe it brings awareness, it certainly hasn't slowed the traffic,” said Panish.

The neighbors CBS 8 spoke with say they want more to slow down cars.

“We would like to see speed bumps, roundabouts, a stop sign,” said Panish.

Campbell's office says roundabouts are not recommended.

The city says since it's been seven years since the VCalm sign was rejected, they can revisit the issue if neighbors file a request on the 'Get It Done' app.

“We love our neighborhood, and we want it to be safe and right now it doesn't feel like it is,” said Panish.

Until the cars slow down, CBS 8 will continue to work for you to find out what type of traffic calming measures can be installed on the street.

If there is a story you would like CBS 8 to look into e-mail: WorkingForYou@CBS8.com

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