When she struggled to get the help she was looking for from authorities, a Bay area resident became something of a vigilante safety hero to her neighbors.

This week’s Traffic Inbox looks at 69th Avenue North, just west of 66th Street in Pinellas Park.

Carrie Esposito’s son, like many kids, plays basketball in and around the street. She is afraid her son will become a statistic because of speeding drivers.

“I see a little memorial on the corner. You know, little balloons, teddy bears, which is kids that have gotten killed from drivers that are speeding,” she said. “So for me, I don't want my son to be a statistic."

When she asked the city for help, she didn't like the answers she got. So she bought a pair of speed bumps.

"I purchased those online,” she said. “So, actually they came from Amazon. It was about $300 for both of them."

Carrie then installed them on the street in front of her house.

"Yes, so see these holes? We actually drilled them in. Appropriately, you know, followed the directions. Bolted them in so they would not hurt any cars," she said.

She even bought a sign warning drivers about the speed bumps that she attached to the existing speed limit sign at the top of the street.

She said that for four days, cars slowed down. But an order to comply with city codes and remove the speed bumps showed up on her door.

"We did not comply at first, actually the city did have to come out and remove them,” Espositio said. “But that compliance letter was set on my door and I asked them what are they going to do to rectify the situation? What are they going to do to make it better?  To make it safer on our street?  And they still are not sure what they're doing i guess, but they did send someone out to remove the speed bumps."

The part of this that’s so confusing to Carrie and her neighbors is that there are speed tables on the streets to the north and south of her but not on her street.

All three streets lead to Pinellas Park Middle School and all see a fair amount of pedestrian traffic.

If the speed bumps are not ultimately approved, Carrie says her hope is the city will do something else to make her street safer.