Residents of the Readers Village subdivision and Carriage Lane told the Helena City Commission at its March 23 meeting that their neighborhood has become what they described as a chronic public safety problem — and that they have been seeking a solution for roughly two years.

Cam Rigg of 21 Carriage Lane said vehicles race through the area nightly, sometimes in groups of 20 or more. He recounted a car being slammed into a vehicle parked in front of his home and pushed into a tree. He said the driver, who had an outstanding warrant, later placed a sawed-off shotgun in a neighbor's window well.

Aaron Haffy of 32 Carriage Lane said he has watched three cars go off the road into a ravine in recent years and hears gunshots at night. He said headlights shine directly into his home on a regular basis. Both Rigg and Haffy noted they have children and pets in the neighborhood.

Bruce Hazwell of 8 Readers Village Drive described "almost nightly rallies" using the neighborhood as a racetrack, with vehicles running modified mufflers. He said he and his wife fully support an ordinance change the commission has been considering.

Trail users who also spoke at the meeting argued that closing parking lots — the specific mechanism proposed — would not address the underlying behavior and would penalize law-abiding residents. The commission did not take final action on the ordinance at the March 23 meeting.