By a lucky twist of fate, Tom and Lynn Kelly drove their cars the short distance from their home at Tichenor Ave. and Garfield Place to Underhill Field to watch their daughter's field hockey game on a night in early September. If they hadn't, the driver who careened off the road, into their backyard and through their swingset would also have struck both cars.

What happened to the Kellys isn't unique, according to members of the Village Colonials Neighborhood Association, which encompasses Tichenor, Garfield, Prospect Street, Summit Avenue, Coudert Place, Richmond Avenue and other surrounding streets. Barbara Ostrovsky, whose driveway is on Tichenor and has a front door parallel to Garfield, with another side of the house facing Prospect, has had two drivers crash on her property in the last several years, including one who broke her front steps.

Speeding has long been an issue in the area, and in response to accidents and complaints, the Village removed an island at the meeting of Tichenor and Garfield in 2002. While it had formerly been a straight shot for drivers traveling north on Prospect to Tichenor, the current configuration requires them to make a right on Garfield for 50 feet before turning left on Tichenor. (The island has been replaced with a brick walkway and a small community garden.)

However, according to some residents, this action didn't solve the neighborhood's traffic problems, and the most recent incident has acted as a catalyst propelling them to explore other traffic calming measures.

"It's only a matter of time before something horrible happens, and we're trying to prevent that," said Tyler Pappas, a member of the VCNA, which has been meeting for the past month with the goal of creating a master plan to present to the Board of Trustees. Being discussed for a potential wish list are speed humps at Tichenor and Garfield, reflectors on the curve of the "triangle" where Prospect meets Tichenor and Garfield, alternating one-way streets, and increased enforcement.

The goal of the meetings is to build consensus among neighbors before approaching the town, which is potentially tricky in light of conflicting self-interests. Having speed humps put in on one street might redirect traffic onto others, explained Pappas.

"What we're trying to do is come to a consensus with everyone in the neighborhood and see what the town is willing to do and can afford to do," said Lynn Lopes, a 30-year Garfield Place resident, who said mobilization in the neighborhood to have traffic calming measures enacted began in 2006. The Village conducted a traffic study and convened a public meeting with property owners in February 2007, but nothing ultimately came of it. At that time, she recalls that some Tichenor residents were eager to make their street a cul-de-sac, while others in the neighborhood thought this approach would simply shift the problem to other streets.

Traffic complaints in South Orange aren't confined to any one neighborhood. They come from all over town, according to Village Administrator John Gross, who observed that speeding has worsened since the advent of GPS units, which makes it easy for drivers to identify cut-throughs and race from Point A to Point B. (Gross also noted that speed humps are used in South Orange in two existing locations: Wilden Place and Holland Road, soon to be joined by University Court. "They're a tool in the toolbox," he said.)

Lopes believes that enforcement is the "gold standard," but local police can't afford to focus their energies on one specific neighborhood.

"Obviously we're not the only neighborhood that has these issues, so they need to go and do enforcement somewhere else," she said.