Rude awakening: Late-night street racing a drag for South Windsor residents

One night last week, Windsor, Ont., resident Kim Klyn was awoken by the sound of revving engines.

"It woke me up out of my sleep, and it was about ... must have been about 4 a.m. in the morning, and it went on for a good 15, 20 minutes," she said.

Klyn isn't the only one expressing frustration over street racing. Dozens in South Windsor have spoken out recently about the antics they're hearing in the wee hours of the morning.

She's concerned about safety and wants to see more police presence.

"I've been aware that there's been a rise in this type of activity, and I think it's just because boredom, or it's the new thing, it's a fad thing. But my fear is somebody getting hurt, somebody getting killed."

While not the only area where street racing occurs, one trouble spot appears to be the Herb Gray Parkway.

Klyn heard the car engines despite living some 16 blocks away from the parkway.

Racing antics 'annoying a lot of people'

Bill Reilly also was woken up that night. He posted about the "crotch-rocket drag-racing" situation on a neighbourhood Facebook group, South Windsor Watch, and more than 100 people commented.

Judging by the responses he received, Reilly said the activity is "annoying a lot of people all over South Windsor."

He said he hears vehicles racing all over the city's south end, and is concerned about someone getting hurt.

"It's just like, nobody seems to be getting pulled over and nobody seems to be getting caught."

Reilly said he called police Monday night but there seemed to be confusion over which police force has jurisdiction over the area. LaSalle police referred him to Windsor police, who referred him to the Ontario Provincial Police.

Essex County OPP Const. Steve Duguay said the dispatchers who cover the area do know it, and are able to establish which police force has jurisdiction at any given spot.

Duguay encourages the public to come forward with street-racing complaints.

"Please let us know, either at the time that it's occurring; if not, document date and time, and if possible, vehicle make and licence plates, and we'll have our patrol units focus at certain points of where we're seeing these offences being committed."

No complaints to councillor

Fred Francis, the city councillor for Ward 1, which covers most of South Windsor, said he hasn't received any complaints about the issue, nor is street racing something police have raised when he's had discussion with them about neighbourhood issues.

Dangerous driving, such as stunt driving and street racing, poses a significant threat not only to the driver and their passengers, but also endangers the lives of other motorists and pedestrians.- Windsor police

Windsor police did not provide numbers or anecdotal information about where the problem areas are within their jurisdiction.

"Dangerous driving, such as stunt driving and street racing, poses a significant threat not only to the driver and their passengers, but also endangers the lives of other motorists and pedestrians," a spokesperson said in a statement.

"The safety of our roadways is everyone's responsibility. The Windsor Police Service enhance traffic safety through Traffic Enforcement, RIDE spotchecks, Road Watch and our online traffic complaints program."

Push for a drag strip

The concerns about road racing come amid a push for a drag strip to be built somewhere in Windsor-Essex. One of the arguments brought forward by supporters of the idea is that an official drag strip would reduce racing on public streets and highways.

One proponent, Jim Pollier, said what's been happening on local roads is not drag racing.

"What that is called is road racing, and it's mostly done by people with newer generation-type cars, and they race from basically 30 miles [48 km] an hour up to well over 100 miles [160 km] an hour. The time duration is a lot longer. If it was an actual drag race, it'd be over within 10, 12 seconds."