BURGETTSTOWN – The Burgettstown man who spray-painted “Slow, 25 MPH” on Main Street in an attempt to hinder lead-footed drivers will have a preliminary hearing Thursday.

John A. Cherok II, 55, was charged by McDonald police last month with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct for allegedly defacing a section of road in the 1600 block. Cherok, who has lived there for 15 years and owns the More Than Just Books store, admitted to painting the message.

He said he was fed up with drivers traveling at 50 mph in a 25 mph zone. He plans to plead not guilty during his preliminary hearing Thursday before District Judge Gary Havelka.

He contested the township’s estimate that it would cost more than $500 to repair the damage and said he was nearly hit by a speeding car while crossing the street on Labor Day, despite the township installing a crosswalk and pedestrian-crossing sign.

“The car was speeding so fast, and the driver was not even looking in front of him,” Cherok said. “If I had been hit, I would have died.”

It was the second time Cherok called police to report being nearly hit by a car in that area. Mary Kay Bendick, also a Burgettstown resident, said she was crossing the street from a parking lot to Citizens Bank a few months ago when she was nearly struck by a speeding truck. She jumped out of the way in time and notified the township.

“It’s typical. They just speed through here all the time,” Bendick said. “I think everyone is just in a hurry.”

McDonald police Chief Mark Dorsey said officers monitored speed at that site nine times over the course of a month – a total of 256 vehicles – and found no drivers to be in violation.

“We’re very cognizant of the complainant’s concerns, but as far as we’re concerned there has been no evidence of speeding on Main Street,” Dorsey said.

Council President James Reedy said speeding is a problem everywhere, but it’s not always easy to enforce the speed limits.

“I can tell the police to patrol your area, but that doesn’t mean that they’re going to pick up anybody,” Reedy said. “It’s all in timing as to when you’re going to get that person going over the speed limit.”

Reedy said he sympathized with Cherok’s complaints, but wished he hadn’t tried to solve the problem himself.

“If he would have come to us instead of taking matters into his own hands, it probably could have been dealt with a lot more easily,” he said.

Both Cherok and Bendick said they have attended township meetings in the past to address speeding concerns.

“I’m just not sure what else they can do,” Bendick said of council and police. “People just need to slow down.”