Neighborhoods in Harlingen could soon see safety upgrades after city leaders approved a street study for eight neighborhood streets.

Speed humps will soon be placed along 7th Street and near Jane W. Long Elementary School.

Safety concerns for students and staff are why the speed humps were approved for this area.

Julia Barba says after decades of seeing drivers speeding, relief can't come soon enough. She has been living on 7th Street for 40 years, and as her children grew, so did the community around her.

"There weren't any houses, there weren't any apartments; it was all farmland around. The school still wasn't there yet," Barba said.

Now, her children have children of their own, and those grandchildren attend Long Elementary, just a block down the road.

"What's good is they walk along the edge—they don't cross the street. If they did, yes, I'd worry, but they go from here, from the lot, straight to the school," Barba said.

One persistent problem she says she has seen over the years is speeding.

"They've always driven fast—the cars always have," Barba said.

For 40 years, she says she's watched cars speed down 7th Street. She worries about the children who cross it every day.

"Because I see little kids, you know, crossing the street, and it makes me nervous because the cars pass by so fast," Barba said.

The Harlingen City Council approved a street study focused on speeding. Speed counters will be set up in eight selected neighborhoods.

"We're trying to determine if, during peak times, is there more than 15 percent of people speeding?" Harlingen City Engineer Roberto Hernandez said.

Hernandez said the street right in front of Long Elementary is automatically approved for speed humps because it's next to a school.

"We want to make sure that the buses are going to be protected, that kids, when they get in and out, are going to be safe, and vehicles will be slowing down there," Hernandez said.

For people who want speed humps in their neighborhood, the city says a petition signed by two-thirds of the community or a request through a commissioner can start the process.

"They could do it, the petition within their community, or reach out straight to their commissioners. We have five commissioners and our mayor, so they could each accept that information, then route it our way, and then we can do the next steps," Hernandez said.

For Barba, this is about more than traffic; it's about protecting the families who live here.

"They should show respect because of the kids," Barba said.

The city says once approved, installation happens quickly.

The streets picked for the street study include, the 800 and 900 blocks of West Buchanan, the 400 block of West Cleveland, the 300 block of West Filmore, the 500 and 600 blocks of South M Street, 20600 block of Morris Road, Pebble Beach, Lisa Ann Avenue, and 7th Street in front of Long Elementary School.

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