Northpinellas: Antispeeding vigilante gets ticket for her efforts

KENNETH CITY - A dispute with a local activist has turned this town's reputation as a speed trap upside down.

Rather than just ticketing speeders, the Kenneth City police are also ticketing a woman who says she only wants to stop drivers from speeding along the two-block stretch in front of her house.

Kali Gillespie's solution is a flashing yellow light installed at the edge of her property on 46th Avenue N.

The light, she has said, is necessary because police do not enforce the speed limit there. The officers, she has said, do crack down on speeders elsewhere in the town.

The police say the light is a nuisance, distracts drivers and is an illegal device on the town's right of way.

"Drivers coming along there don't have the slightest idea what this thing is," Kenneth City police Chief Jim Ernst said Thursday.

Ernst said the town has received calls from drivers wondering why there is a flashing light in front of Gillespie's home.

Police ticketed her last year, saying she had violated a Kenneth City ordinance, but a judge dismissed the ticket in late April. For a few days after, Gillespie kept her light turned off, "which made me extremely happy," Ernst said.

Then, Ernst said, she turned the light back on. He sent his officers out to issue another ticket, this time using state law. The officers also confiscated the $30 light to use as evidence.

Now Gillespie, 68, must decide whether to pay the $73.50 fine and keep the light off permanently or go back to court.

Gillespie said Thursday she is not sure what she's going to do. But she is unhappy with the police.

"I believe that it's bully policing," she said Thursday. Gillespie said she was also upset by statements officers have made to the media alleging that she is a chronic complainer.

"That's very hurtful," Gillespie said. "I have tried to be a positive part of this community."

That may be, but Ernst said Gillespie has threatened to cause trouble by saying she had 30 neighbors who were also ready to put up lights.

For his part, Ernst said the solution is simple: "At this point, I just want it removed."

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Comments on this article

by Mary	05/30/07 10:18 AM
It's not just "old" people that don't like speeders. I am 26. I live on a road that is supposed to be 30mph. Kids have been hit on our road. Cops are not enough. Speed bumbs or flashing lights may help. I commend Kali and I have considered the same.

by Don	04/09/07 11:58 PM
It's really not a traffic control device. My won neighborhood has a hard time with speeders, took the petition we were told to, all signed, no action from our city. Cities need to communicate better!

by AJ	04/09/07 09:38 PM
I feel uneasy about this comment but here is a classic example of a retired person with nothing better to do with her time. These old crabs need somwhere to live out their remaining days but please, find another hobby besides harrassment.

by Phil	04/09/07 09:27 PM
I wish Kali the best success. Since the tax payer funded police are not doing their job the city should be paying her for taking up their slack.

by AIDA	04/09/07 08:17 PM
SPEED BUMPS, until then, keep the light! She has the right to her peace of mind and safety! Had the police been doing their jobs correctly, this would not have been a problem in the first place! I commend her for her standing up for her rights!

by Alex	04/09/07 08:08 PM
Mark your calendars..the next time someone has an accident on the street related to speeding car..I smell lawsuit against K City

by Sigmund	04/09/07 05:36 PM
The light should be removed, but I feel her frustration. Speed bumps slow down low cars, but SUVs barely notice them. Raise speeding fines in residential areas. If it really hurt the wallet to go 35 in a 25 zone, or you needed a bank loan to go 45...

by Debbie	04/09/07 05:02 PM
I dont see anything idiotic about the situation,if u travel this area then just slow down and hopefully no children would be involved because some people decide to speed,think about it if u speed.

by Ben	04/09/07 04:13 PM
I travel this street every day to get home. The light is annoying and serves no purpose. What if we all installed our own traffic control devices. This lady is a nut job. Let the police do their job. Also, what's with the camera?

by Diane	04/09/07 03:42 PM
Others have been successful in geting a petition together for stop signs and speed bumps. Why can't she and her neighbors do that rather than escalate this any further by putting up more lights? She's sore because she lost!

by Paul	04/09/07 03:26 PM
I certainly admisre Mrs Gillespie for her efforts in trying to slow speeding cars down. Has she requested a speed bump in the road that would slow folks down ?????

by Kathie	04/09/07 03:17 PM
I'm inclined to agree with JT. If the police won't do their job, more power to those who will. Let's see flashing lights all over the city to make speeders wonder what the light is for. Maybe it'll slow them down. Get the lazy police off their duffs

by Belinda	04/09/07 02:58 PM
Get speed bumps on your street!! Thats what I am doing!

by Amy	04/09/07 02:54 PM
I say have the neighbors put up the lights and then when everyone gets a ticket you can fight the Police Dept in Court.

by Paul	04/09/07 02:34 PM
Perhaps the reason the police are enforcing this is because the light IS slowing drivers down thereby cutting into the towns revenue gained from the issuing of speeding tickets.

by Ralph	04/09/07 02:23 PM
Insanity and speedtraps. Studies show the majority of speeders on local streets are the people who live on them.

by ROGER	04/09/07 02:10 PM
LEAVE THE LIGHT ON UNTIL THE POLIICE AGREE TO ENFORCE TRAFFIC REGULATIONS. THE WANT TO ENFORCE A TRIVIAL ORDINANCE, INSTEAD OF PROTECTING THE LIVES OF RESIDENTS. TYPICAL FLORIDA OPERATION !!

by JR	04/09/07 02:05 PM
She could ask the city to install a speed bump instead and offer to pay for it.

by Eileen	04/09/07 01:26 PM
I think it was disrepectful for Officer Ernst to degrade her with names. She deserves better than that. I don't blame her for doing what she needs to do. We have speeders in our neighborhood and no one does anything about it either.

by Sara	04/09/07 01:02 PM
I have driven past this light and don't find it to be a nuisance. I actually assumed it was a light indicating her drive way or house at night. The only thing that keeps me from speeding through there is Kenneth City's reputation! :)

by Ellen	04/09/07 12:56 PM
It is the precedent. One person may decide they do not want trucks driving by so posts a sign. Someone else may not want SUVs driving by and posts a sign. I understand her concerns but she cannot make her own laws.

by Barbara	04/09/07 12:27 PM
Why are the police enforcing this? It seems like more of a city codes issue. If she was in St. Pete, she would have had a citation in about a minute.

by James	04/09/07 12:09 PM
I think that the Police / Sheriff's Dept. are just plain lazy in my neighborhood the police don't come unless they are called. we call and report reckless / drunk / speeding all the time.Same story, We have to catch em in the act. We can't win!

by Patrick	04/09/07 12:07 PM
God, Kenneth city is the biggest joke when it comes to their cowboy cops. Their legacy is known throughout the nation as totally insane.

by Louise	04/09/07 10:22 AM
What I feel should be done is the City should install a speed bump in front of her house and a few more down that road. Don't you think this would solve the problem? I see speed bumps everywhere.What is a few more going to hurt.This would end it all.

by JT	04/09/07 10:16 AM
I am inclined to believe speeding is a problem. Seems like bully policing to me. Removing light doesn't solve problem. To solve the problem officers need to ticket speeders or install traffic calming devices. They just don't like the criticism.

by Matt	04/09/07 09:55 AM
I pass by her light often. It is a distracting nuisance. There's a speed limit sign across the street and I often see KCPD running radar nearby. Be a good neighbor and remove that idiotic light =)

by Darryl Hall	04/09/07 09:20 AM
Now I know why I moved away; you have those who think any forward motion is too fast and do not care how much distraction or interference they do to traffic. There is a reason the public is not allowed to put up flashing lights.

by Evan	04/09/07 07:48 AM
Police must enforce the "light"law. She should work with the City Officials to reduce the Speed Limit. At the same time the Police should have an officer check for speeders in her area to see if she is correct.