2025 Security & Safety Survey
RESULTS
About the survey
This survey was sent out to Melrose Place residents who have an email address in our contact list. It was also included in a NextDoor post made available to the neighborhood.
About 30% of email recipients responded - not bad for online surveys. A big thanks to all of you who participated in the survey. We received some useful feedback, and there are some clear patterns of concern.
We acknowledge the validity of these concerns and are willing to collaborate with residents to be a part of the solution.
What will we do with this information?
On Wednesday October 8, concerns represented in the survey will be addressed at a Melrose Civic Association Planning meeting, open to all Melrose Civic Association (MCA) members. See this event here. At this meeting, we'll field input and propose some concrete, actionable steps we can take to minimize some of these issues. Please note that some solutions will require collaborating with the Melrose Place Crime Prevention District (MPCPD); others may involve city-parish departments, city council, and Entergy. Your continued involvement is important as we build the capacity to handle these issues.
SPEEDING
Have you witnessed speeding and/or other traffic violations in our neighborhood?
YES: 76.6%
NO: 23.3%
The longer streets were mentioned as the usual culprits, but hotspots were identified on many streets: N. Afton Pkwy, Waverly Dr, Melrose Blvd, Parlange Dr, Hermitage Dr, S. Afton Pkwy, Asphodel Dr, Valcour Dr.
There have been a number of complaints in the last year about speeding, some involving school buses. In 2024, the MPCPD requested a traffic calming study, and you can see the results here. A more recent study was performed on Parlange Dr with results pending.
Traffic calming studies look at average traffic volume and speed. The nature of speeding in our neighborhood is transient - it happens in spikes that generally do not contribute much to the average speed on any given street. For this reason, we're in a very frustrating situation where we have antidotal evidence of speeding but don't necessarily have numbers that support physical modifications like speed humps.
I recently spoke with Fred Raiford, director of EBR Traffic, the department that runs traffic calming studies. I started an inquiry into our eligibility of installing speed humps on Waverly Dr by the woods (the hotspot with the highest recorded average speed). But even if we are eligible to have speed humps installed there, Mr. Raiford let me know upfront that EBR currently has zero dollars for this kind of maintenance and that the neighborhood would be 100% responsible for its cost. According to him, a single speed hump is $8000(!)
However, other measures are at our disposal, like adding stop signs - a much cheaper alternative. The criteria for additional stop signs is also lower than for adding speed humps, so we have this as a possibility at various hotspots in the neighborhood.
At the time of the survey, a new stop sign at the intersection of N. Afton and Leighton had been proposed by a resident and was included in the survey:
Would you like to see a stop sign installed on N. Afton Pkwy at the intersection of N. Leighton Dr?
YES: 48.3%
NO OPINION: 33.3%
NO: 18.3%
This potential stop sign and others will be discussed at the meeting on October 8th.
At an informal security meeting earlier this summer, the question of traffic enforcement within our neighborhood came up. Our security patrol is aware of our collective concern for speeding in our neighborhood and is taking this seriously by issuing citations for speeding (not the 5 MPH over the limit kind!) and stop-sign running in our neighborhood. While some of this is cut through traffic, there's a general understanding that most offenders live in our neighborhood. Some have raised the issue that ticket writing in our neighborhood may erode trust in our officers. That's a fair point, and we will continue to weigh that view, but I want to share a comment by one survey taker (used with their permission) that I tend to agree with: "The speeding needs to be addressed — and the fact that it's people from within the neighborhood shouldn't matter. That won't mean anything when someone's kid ends up on a windshield."
The most troubling response I saw about speeding was in a comment about reduced quality of life when we're scared to walk or allow our kids to ride their bikes in our own neighborhood. This motivates me to make improvements, and I hope it does for you as well.
TREE ISSUES
Do you have trees or growth near power lines that concern you?
YES: 55%
NO: 45%
Are you concerned that a tree or part of a tree may fall and damage your property?
YES: 55%
NO: 45%
With the number of large trees in Melrose Place, these problems will unfortunately persist. What makes this tough is that a tree growing on one property may adversely affect neighboring properties (full disclosure: there's a tree on my property that a neighbor is worried about, go figure). There has been at least one case in the last year where a tree from one property fell and damaged the home of another property. While our organization can't mediate disputes, we can help take stock of problem trees, particularly if there is a threat of imminent danger, and assist homeowners assess potentially hazardous situations.
Requesting tree maintenance from Entergy is extremely frustrating as anyone who has attempted to do this has found out. In 2026, it may be worth taking inventory of tree overgrowth near power lines and submitting a bulk request from the MCA to our customer service contact at Entergy. Our city council office has also been a decent advocate for Entergy-related issues as long as the request affected multiple customers.
LOOSE DOGS
Have you ever had a concerning experience with loose animals in our neighborhood?
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YES: 55%
NO: 45%
This is a significant problem.
Early this year, there was a dog attack that hospitalized and ultimately debilitated a resident. There have been other reports of loose dogs that have acted aggressively toward walkers. At least 2 pets have been killed this year by loose dogs.
Migratory packs of wild dogs are one thing. But the most egregious problems come from loose dogs owned by residents in our neighborhood. I will refrain from offering advice to pet owners as I assume those reading this are not the problem (but hey, we do have good info here). But I will offer this: if you know of an animal being mistreated or improperly boarded (precursors to running loose), call animal control immediately and report it. Get involved. If you're concerned about retaliation by the pet owner, contact me.
LIGHTING
Do we have enough lighting at night in our neighborhood? (Combined street lighting + outdoor residential lighting)
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YES: 55%
NO: 45%
There were a number of mentions about tree growth obscuring street lights. Almost all streets were identified as having insufficient street lighting: Melrose Blvd, Hermitage Dr, Waverly Dr (especially near the woods), Parlange Dr, Valcour Dr, Asphodel Dr, N. Leighton Dr, and Llanfair Dr. One survey taker mentioned that the Triangle (the park) is too dark.
"All areas could be improved with more lighting" was my personal favorite response but not necessarily just because of street lights. There are a number of homes with sparse or dim lighting on their porch or garage. Combined with the tree overgrowth, the occasional malfunctioning street light, and the occasional vacant home - all this can add up to create uncomfortable pockets of darkness in our neighborhood. In the spring, there was a blitz to repair all street lights in the subdivision (similar to last year), but I see room for improvement in neighbor involvement and repair frequency.
SECURITY PHONE/TEXT NETWORK
Would you be interested in joining a private “Neighborhood Watch”-style phone/text network?
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YES: 48.3%
UNSURE: 28.3%
NO: 23.3%
If you answered yes above, would you be interested in becoming a point of contact for your block/area?
YES: 25.6%
UNSURE: 41.9%
NO: 32.6%
This is something the MPCPD would like to implement in the near future. Hopefully, we all know our neighbors and are involved enough to notify them if there is suspicious activity nearby. This proposed phone network formalizes that expectation and builds from it. It will not require buy-in from the entire neighborhood but will hopefully catalyze more connections. For those who responded "Unsure/Need more info": stay tuned!
One survey taker saw other possibilities: "Sometimes after storms information needs to get out about woody waste disposal or to remind us of meetings..." While these use cases may be out of scope for the proposed phone network, I appreciate this brainstorming. Even with neighborhood message boards, a neighborhood email list, and Facebook and Nextdoor presence, communication is one of the hardest things to get right.
CRIME INCIDENTS
Have you had a crime that occurred at your property in 2025?
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YES: 15%
NO: 85%
Most incidents mentioned: bike thefts, pulling car doors, items stolen from cars, trespassing. These activities happen in all neighborhoods, but it should remain a goal to minimize them in ours.
There's no silver bullet, and I won't offer the usual advice here, except this:
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Set an alarm on your phone for 9 pm every night. When the alarm goes off, check to make sure all valuables have been removed from your vehicle, your vehicles have been secured, security lights are turned on, and your doors locked. It's that simple.
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I assert that preventing crime cannot be the sole responsibility of paid law enforcement. Our collective behaviors as residents can be a limiting factor to the efficacy of police officers. Not reporting crimes or suspicious activities, isolating ourselves from neighbors, and not maintaining our property: when compounded, these factors work against law enforcement efforts. Instead, our behavior as neighbors should be an amplifying force. Reporting crimes, talking with other neighbors, ensuring working security lights, maintaining our properties: all of these add up and multiply the effectiveness of traditional law enforcement.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The last paragraph bears repeating. The point about maintaining our properties was brought up by a survey taker, and I couldn't agree more. The positive impact of improvements and maintenance of our homes goes further than our individual property lines: (1) it signals to nearby homeowners that maintaining their homes is a safe investment and 2) it strongly signals to would-be offenders that our neighborhood is cared for and their presence is unwelcome.
A few handpicked concerns brought up by survey takers:
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Dumpster divers in surrounding commercial properties
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People cutting through lawns as shortcuts
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Popup homeless "camps" behind Melrose Blvd entrance (this is a thing!)
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Abandoned (vacant) houses
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Need more security cameras
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Fence breach at Greenview Apartments, people accessing neighborhood through woods (this is a thing!)
These points can't be addressed here, but know that some of these are on our organizations' radar. Please attend the October 8th meeting if you would like to discuss any of these points.
Finally, I want to share a response by one survey taker that I think sums things up perfectly:
"We can become more vigilant. We have a select few that looks for change, they try to foresee issues that may occur based on the actions of the community. We need to get to know our neighbors and learn to depend on their advice and vice versa. Walk your property and let people see movement around the community. Walk or ride your bikes or scooters throughout our beautiful tree lined streets. We have a beautiful neighborhood, lets get to know it. If we learn to respect what we have here, then strangers won't feel comfortable to try and violate our homes and property."
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David West
President, Melrose Civic Association
September 9, 2025