Mayor, couple put brakes on Milton speeding controversy

Weeks after causing a stir by launching a website that shamed alleged speeders on Atlantic Street in Milton, a couple has shut down the site, saying they accomplished their goal of bringing attention to the problem, and they want to work on solutions. 

Joel and Kelly DeMott made the announcement just after 2 p.m., Jan. 29, about four hours after another statement that they had stopped accepting comments on the site due to harassment and threats they had been receiving.

They said they decided to take down the site, MiltonSpeeders.com, after a conversation with Mayor John Collier in which they agreed about the speeding concerns in the 25 mph zone.

“During our discussion, the mayor reaffirmed our First Amendment rights, making it clear that we were fully within our legal rights to maintain the website,” the statement says. “At no point were we asked or pressured to take it down.

“However, after careful thought, I suggested taking the site offline as a way to reduce tensions and allow for more productive discussions about road safety in our community,” the couple wrote. “While our goal has always been to promote accountability and awareness, it has become clear that the controversy surrounding the site is creating more division than solutions. Rather than continue fueling conflict, I believe this is the most responsible step forward.”

“We had a long, pleasant conversation today,” Collier said Wednesday night. “At this point in time, [Joel has] made his own decision to take down his website.”

The mayor said some drivers were blasting their horns and screeching their tires near the DeMott house in apparent response to the couple’s tactics.

“I’ve tried to defuse the situation,” Collier said. “It was getting out of hand.”

Joel DeMott said he was surprised by the fact that the couple’s actions drew such an angry response.

“I feel like the mob won,  but I feel I made my point,” DeMott said.

The DeMotts upset some people when they began to park their vehicles along Atlantic Street, a short distance away from each other and on opposite sides of the street, to slow speeders. The mayor said he worried the parked vehicles, while legal, posed a safety hazard, as passing vehicles have to weave between them and cross the center line.

The couple took their efforts further when they launched the MiltonSpeeders.com website, on which they posted videos of cars beeping horns and allegedly speeding while passing their property.

Collier said he drafted a resolution he will present at the Feb. 3 town council meeting asking the Delaware Department of Transportation to allow the town to create a no-parking zone on Atlantic Street between Chestnut Street and the town boundary. That would prevent the DeMotts from parking their vehicles to slow traffic.

Joel DeMott said the couple only parked on the street for three or four days to make a point, and they have already stopped after the backlash they received.

Collier said he would also like to pursue a federal grant that would pay 80% of the cost of improvements to address speeding issues in the town.

“Importantly, this does not mean that concerns about speeding and road safety are being ignored,” the DeMotts wrote in their statement about closing down their website. “Solutions are being discussed, and I look forward to seeing positive changes come from this conversation. I appreciate those who have supported the effort and those who have engaged in good faith discussions about how to make our roads safer.”