SKANEATELES - Liz Hyatt stands in a driveway, watching as the cars pass by. She also has an eye on her 2-year-old son John, who is sitting in his stroller and entertaining himself with a stuffed animal.

At around 3:45 p.m., a dark-colored SUV drives by at a speed discernably above the 30 mph speed limit on that section of East Street.

“Too fast!” Hyatt, of 3866 East St., shouts to the car, which continues driving at the same speed.

“That's what we do. We yell ‘slow down!' ” explained Hyatt's mother-in-law and neighbor Nancy Hyatt, who has lived at 3862 East St. for more than 30 years.

The Hyatts, as well as several other residents living on the northern portion of East Street, are concerned about what they say is a problem with speeding on their local road. The mile-long street, which serves as the home to Waterman Elementary and Skaneateles Middle School, isn't lined and doesn't have sidewalks on its northern half.

Though there haven't been any serious accidents recently, Liz Hyatt and others say there have been a number of near-misses.

“I would hate to see someone have to be hurt or killed before something is done,” said Veronica French, who has lived at 3873 East St. for five years.

French, a mother to three boys, said that she was almost hit by a car when she was nine months pregnant and that one of her sons hates to walk to school because he is scared of the high-speed traffic.

Neighbors say that they have sought assistance from the village police and state police in the past, as the southern part of East Street is in the jurisdiction of the village and the northern is overseen by the state police based in Elbridge. The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office also patrols East Street outside of the village, said Lloyd Perkins, chief of the village of Skaneateles Police Department.

Perkins said that his force has its eye on East Street's school zone area every day. The policemen conduct routine patrols and also set up speed traps, Perkins said.

But East Street isn't alone in its problems, Perkins said, noting that State, Jordan, Onondaga and Franklin streets, as well as Routes 41 and 41A, are also areas where people tend to put the pedal to the medal.

“It's where you're coming from a higher speed zone to a lower speed zone,” Perkins said, noting that that's likely the reason why speeding may be more prevalent on the northern portion of East Street, as drivers are coming off of Route 321, where the speed limit is 45 mph, and 55 mph just a short distance before.

Nancy Cannucciari, of 3857 East St., agrees. A few summers ago, her son was pulling into the driveway when a car driving by hit the back of his car “and just about broadsided him,” Cannucciari said.

“He was barreling obviously,” Cannucciari said of the other driver.

Sgt. John Brunner of the state police in Elbridge said last week that he was not aware of any complaints from neighbors about a speeding problem. There is no way to tell how often his officers set up a radar on East Street, he said.

While neighbors commend law enforcement for running speed traps, many say that these are not enough.

Nancy Hyatt would like to see more prominent signs announcing the speed limit and the school zone. She also suggested adding flashing lights in front of the school that would be on during school hours.

French wants the district to offer parents the option of busing their children if the routes they walk to school are potentially dangerous and have no sidewalks.

As of now, all children in grades one through five in the Skaneateles school district are bused to school if they live more than one-tenth of a mile away, but the lower limit for those in grades six to 12 is 1.1 miles, said Dale Bales, assistant superintendent of business and finance and district clerk. (The state mileage limits are that children in grades K to 8 can walk two miles, and 9 to 12 can walk three miles, Bates noted.)

Bates said that a 1990 voter-approved referendum set the district's numbers and that the 0.1-mile figure was chosen because of East Street walkers.

“That's why it was set at 0.1 miles, so that elementary children on East Street could all be bused,” Bates explained, noting that one-tenth of a mile is the distance from Waterman Elementary to the closest house with no sidewalk.

Bates said that in recent memory, he had only heard one parent express concern to the district about older children having to walk to school.

The issue now, Bates said, is if residents want to approach the town about putting sidewalks in or pay to put them in on their own.

“At this point, it's not a district issue,” Bates said.

Liz Hyatt, a teacher at Skaneateles Middle School, isn't sure what the answer is.

“Sometimes that place, it's like a speedway,” said Hyatt, who said that she once had to throw her son's stroller into a neighbor's yard because a car was coming right at her. “The road makes me nervous.”

She's hopeful that talking about the issue, that letting people know that the street is home to many children and that athletes from the high school often jog along its length, will make them think twice when they're coming off Route 321.

Perhaps, she suggested, there could be a “Slow Down, Children at Play” sign installed at that intersection, or maybe one of those signs that flashes a car's current speed.

“I'm not just concerned for my children,” Liz Hyatt said. “I'm concerned for the community's children as well.”

At the same time, not everyone believes there is a problem. Peter Nicholson, who moved to 3900 East St. nine months ago with his wife and four children, ages 7 to 16, said that while there are people who don't obey the speed limit, it is a minority and is most likely students.

As a matter of fact, he said, he's seen a lot of “uncharacteristically courteous driving” on East Street, where people swerve to give walkers and bikers plenty of room. He thinks that the street has excellent speed enforcement.

Still, he concedes that he hasn't lived in the area long and said he wouldn't begrudge any of his neighbors for their concerns. He'd also support putting up a few extra speed limit signs.