Do you want speed bumps on your street? Fresno City Council repeals old ban
Speed bumps: love ‘em, or hate ‘em?
They were the topic of a long discussion at Fresno’s City Council meeting Thursday. The council voted to repeal a city ban on speed bumps and begin a new pilot program to install them in council District 3, represented by Councilmember Miguel Arias.
While most councilmembers agreed speed bumps can be a tool to improve traffic safety, they also acknowledged other things might work better depending on location, and some residents may not like speed bumps.
“I think everybody supports these speed bumps,” said Council President Luis Chavez. “We know that these speed bumps work.…We know that oftentimes the speed bumps help to reduce pedestrian, bicycle rider safety or exposure and dangers. I’ve had a number of calls in my district, and I know my colleagues have had as well. …I think we’re at a point in time where the whole city could benefit from strategically placing these speed bumps in specific areas that meet a criteria.”
Pilot program
For now, temporary, bolted speed bumps will be installed on two streets — on North Broadway Avenue near the intersection at East Thomas Avenue and on East Belgravia Avenue between South Walnut Avenue and South Fairview Avenue near Computech Middle School.
Arias said neighbors in the south Tower and west Fresno neighborhoods brought up issues related to speeding to the councilmembers. City staff studied the areas and found that there wasn’t enough traffic for a stop sign, but there was a need to slow down traffic.
“In these neighborhoods that we identified, all the neighbors have agreed to it. They see the need for it,” Arias said. “Hopefully, this will begin a whole new journey in our cities to slow traffic down in residential areas near schools, parks and community centers.”
Why were speed bumps banned?
The city of Fresno banned speed bumps in 2006 in an effort to comply with San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District efforts to reduce air pollution.
But, it turns out there are more effective ways to reduce air pollution, and speed bumps can be helpful in certain areas, Arias said.
“We went and re-evaluated why we banned speed bumps. …What we found was that it wasn’t necessary. …It was, at that time, low-hanging fruit to be able to hopefully reduce pollution. They’ve demonstrated that humps and bumps do not increase pollution. There’s more effective ways to reduce pollution in the city, a lot of which this city and the air district has done, like replacing tractors that burn diesel, replacing water pumps that use diesel to electric, going to hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and cleaner-burning buses.”
Councilmember Esmeralda Soria said she’d like city officials to explore other options to reduce speeding as well, such as chokers, streetscapes, realigned intersections and more.
“I think that we need to talk about the broader issue and what are the broader solutions to slowing down people in our community, which is a huge issue,” she said.
The city’s traffic engineer, Jill Gormley, agreed, saying speed bumps aren’t the “end all be all.” They won’t work in all locations, she said, but that’s why the city is pursuing a pilot program at first.
“They’re not going to fix everything, but it’s going to be a good tool to have in our toolbox to decide if that is a speed bump, speed hump, a choker or rumble strips,” Gormley said.
Community support
Many community members spoke during public comment in support of using speed bumps.
Ivanka Saunders, a policy advocate with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, said she’s personally witnessed pets and even children suffer injuries from speeding vehicles.
“This is a major concern,” she said. “There are so many parents that have reported to me the fear of lack of safety for their children walking to and from school.”
Anthony Molina, chair of the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition, said that speed bumps would be a tool for traffic engineers.
“I think we’re all aware that Fresno has a speed problem,” Molina said. “Designing the street to allow safe biking and walking in the city of Fresno is certainly something I think we all want.”