When Nancy Musser moved to her Nevin Avenue home nine years ago, she never thought excessive speeders would be a problem in her neighborhood.

But after years of witnessing numerous accidents and near-misses with children and cars, she's hoping to put an end to her street's speed issue.

"So many children almost get hit by cars because drivers are speeding and sometimes missing the stop sign," said Musser, who recently held a meeting with many residents of the 700 block of Nevin.

Musser fears that one of the 23 children under 11 years old in the block will be hurt.

"We have children who ride their bikes, skateboard and play around the neighborhood," she said.

"With so many children living on the street, I do worry that something could happen."

Frustrated with the incidents, the community has turned to national neighborhood watch groups for help.

"Most of the research we've done was online," Musser said.

"For the initial set-up, the sites are suggesting things we already do."

Musser has been in contact with Sewickley Police Chief Jim Ersher, who plans to hear residents' concerns.

Nationwide, the National Sheriff's Association estimates there are nearly 20,000 neighborhood watch programs.

Through its Web site, www.USAonWatch.org [1], Chris Tetko of the National Sheriff's Association said neighbors can register watch programs and find and share information with others to keep the neighborhoods safe.

Through a grant from the Bureau of Justice, Tetko said, the organization continues to educate officers to start neighborhood watch programs.

"People who live in those areas are the ones who know best," he said.

"They can be the eyes and ears to the police department."

Once a neighborhood program has been established and concerns are taken care of, Tetko said the watch group can tackle other issues.

"A lot of the time, neighborhood watch groups disappear when concerns have been addressed," he said.

"But if those groups expanded their concerns to weather-related emergencies and assistance should a terrorist attack ever occur."

Nevin Avenue isn't im-mune to fast-moving drivers in Sewickley.

At April's borough council meeting, officials approved adding a "Watch children" sign on Logan Street.

Other Sewickley streets already have the watch signs.

But Musser hopes other neighbors join in her neighbors' efforts to curb speeding through residential streets in the borough.

"We're hoping that others see what we're doing and want to keep the children in their neighborhoods safe, too."