TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Seminole Heights man is resorting to shock value to get drivers to pump the brakes.

“If I just had a sign that said ‘slow down,’ you’re not really going to look at it,” said Joe Freeman, who lives on East Frierson Avenue. “You put a big dirty word, suddenly everyone is paying attention.”

While Freeman says speeding down residential East Frierson has long been an issue, it became much worse when construction closed lanes on nearby Nebraska Avenue.

Finally fed up, Freeman grabbed some cardboard and spray-painted “slow f***ing down” to create a sign outside his house.

“The first thing that came to mind is the phrase we can’t say on TV,” he said. “And it seems to be working.”

“Yes, you can pass through, you’re going to have to pass through, we get that. But slow down. We live here,” explained another frustrated Seminole Heights resident, Ken Hacek.

Hacek lives a few blocks away from Freeman. He helped launch the Heights Traffic Awareness campaign, a grassroots effort to get drivers to slow down through Seminole Heights.

They also use signs…theirs are just more polite.

“We started hearing from neighbors anecdotally,” Hacek said. “‘Hey, I walk my dog up this street every morning and it seems to make a difference.'”

Despite the nasty word, the response from neighbors on Frierson so far appears nice.

“So far I’ve had nothing but positive feedback,” Freeman said.

Freeman plans to keep it up as long as he needs to.

LATEST POSTS