WARREN — Sure, Peter Rooks said, he’s seen the cars, which race around Touisset’s winding roads at speeds that obviously exceed the area’s 35 mph limit.

“People do 40 to 45 mph sometimes,” he said, while walking along Maple Road with neighbor Amanda Rubio and each of their daughters in baby strollers.

Rooks and Rubio live two houses apart on George and Brownell streets, where it’s much more congested, Rooks said. Houses there are built nearly on top of each other and many are set only a few feet back from the main road.

“You just step out and there are cars whizzing by,” Rooks said.

Speeding and increased traffic have become safety concerns in Touisset, which has changed from a community of summer homes to a secluded year-round residential area.

At Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, numerous residents asked officials to look into the issue. Suggestions included reducing the speed limit; painting street lines, speed humps, stop signs and no passing signs; and turning the area into a “traffic calming zone,” which discourages aggressive driving. The council voted to install no passing signs on some of the unlined roads, which might give drivers the impression that passing is permitted.

“They speed like they’re on a racetrack,” said one resident at the meeting.

Police Chief Thomas Gordon, who lives on Touisset Road, said his department has been monitoring the area for over a year. He has suggested lowering the speed limit to 25 mph, and he plans to consult with Town Manager Michael Abbruzzi and Department of Public Works director John Massed before presenting recommendations for additional measures to the council next month.

Most of the speeding complaints identified problems on Touisset Road and Touisset Point Road, Brownell Street, and Bay View Avenue – long, serpentine stretches where drivers may be tempted to play race-car driver.

“It’s kind of hard to just do 25,” agreed Rooks.

Gordon attributed the increased activity on the roads to Touisset’s population increase. Nine curb cuts for new houses have been installed in the past year alone, he said.

“It’s obvious that there’s more of a year-round population over the past year,” said Gordon, who said the area has seen 10 traffic accidents and 36 motor vehicle violations in the past 22 months.

And because roads in the Touisset area don’t have sidewalks, residents said, pedestrians are in danger walking in the street – pedestrians such as Rooks and Rubio, who, pushing two strollers , had to move to the side of the road every time a car passed.

Rooks said he likes the idea of using “traffic calming zone” signs in congested areas. At one time, most Touisset residents would leave after Labor Day; that doesn’t happen anymore, said Rooks, a longtime resident who lives in a converted summer home.

Rooks said a significant portion of the traffic comes from contractors and other service people who come in every day to work on the new homes and additions.

“Since they don’t live here and it’s a long drive back they just take off,” he said.

Rubio said education might be the key, especially for vacationers who only live there during the summer months.

“We need to be aware that there are kids around on their bikes and stuff,” she said.