Northgate and Canterbury boulevards, which cut through the sprawling Canterbury Green apartment complex, now boast six new caution signs that warn drivers of curves ahead and urge lower speeds.

The signs, according to city councilwoman Karen Goldner, D-2nd, were the city's response to persistent pressure from the family and friends of 21-year-old Amanda McLaughlin, who was killed Sept. 12 when she fell from a grassy median and into Northgate, where a passing motorist then ran her over before driving off into the night.

Problem is, the signs mean no real changes to speed limits. They aren't speed bumps and, while they are plentiful, they aren't even close to the location where McLaughlin was killed. What they are, Joe McLaughlin, Amanda's father, said, are “pacifiers.”

“(The city) told us they could put some signs up, and both my wife and I told them we didn't think that would do a whole lot, and they went ahead and did them anyway,” said Joe McLaughlin, speaking from his home in Tacoma, Wash. “We figure, it's something at this point, but it doesn't do what we think needs to be done in order to get people to slow down there.”

That, McLaughlin said, should be the installation of speed bumps on the roadway. The McLaughlins and friends of Amanda are circulating a petition to get the bumps installed, placing copies at area locations to collect signatures.

Even apart from the Amanda McLaughlin tragedy, recent high-speed activity through Canterbury - even after the signs went up - might suggest the need for some sort of traffic-slowing measure.

Fort Wayne Police were called to the 2600 block of Abbey Drive, near the intersection with Canterbury Boulevard, just after 1 a.m. Saturday, where a car had jumped the curb and slammed into the Canterbury business office. No one was injured.

The driver was reportedly drunk, according to a police report, and he was arrested after running from police, but the crash itself is an argument the McLaughlins have picked up on and are using to emphasize the need for speed bumps.

However, it seems the McLaughlins' efforts to get those bumps will be for naught.

Goldner said the city will not put speed bumps along a city street, citing reasons such as the inhibitions they would place on snow removal and the dangers they could mean to motorcyclists and bicyclists, among other reasons.

But even with the bumps ruled out, Goldner said she is working her city council connections to determine what alternate options exist to slow drivers through the busy complex. She said she's making progress.

“I know that the family and some of the friends are very focused on speed bumps, and I think the important thing to focus on is not a particular type of traffic-calming technique, but to try to diagnose and address the problem,” Goldner said.

“The city is just not going to put speed bumps in, so let's figure out what can be done, what will be a successful way of slowing down traffic.”

Goldner said within a week or two a speed study will be conducted along Northgate to determine if the current 30-mph speed limit is the safest and correct limit for that stretch of road.

Crews will study speeds of vehicles traversing Northgate to learn if cars speed past 30, or if 30 is too fast.

It's Goldner's position that the latter is true, saying she's driven Northgate herself and that it feels “like the Autobahn” in places. Goldner said she intends to argue her position to council.

Goldner said possibilities from the study include stop signs at intersections at the complex, or possibly reducing the speed limit to 25 mph or even 20, though Goldner admitted she isn't sure if council holds the power to adjust speed limits; council attorney Joe Bonahoom is researching it now.

Regardless, Goldner said she is actively working to bring changes to Northgate Boulevard beyond the new signs, and said she expects to see them sooner rather than later.

“The signs were just the first steps to raise people's awareness that they should slow down,” Goldner said. “It's just the first step. It's not the only thing the city is doing. We're trying to get actual data; then we can use that data to determine what the next steps are.”

Joe McLaughlin, though, wonders how anything besides speed bumps could be effective.

“It's part of them trying to pacify us,” said McLaughlin. “I don't think the signs really do a … lot, but that's the city's answer.

"We're not done with at least getting more people signed up on the petition. To me, unless there's speed bumps in there, I just don't see any way of slowing things down. It's just plain frustrating.”

As for the criminal side of McLaughlin's death, Joe McLaughlin said police have told him they've forwarded charging suggestions to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office against a city man they've been eyeing.

Fort Wayne Police Lt. Tony Maze told The News-Sentinel last month he had a person of interest, whom he said had admitted to a cousin in being involved in the fatal hit-and-run. But police have been unable to make any arrests because of issues with uncooperative witnesses.

Arrests could be imminent should prosecutors determine there is sufficient evidence to support charges.