More Speeding Problems In Fairhope Neighborhood

Fairhope, Alabama

FELS CHILDRENS' PARK AREA

Update: Since this post was published, the more expensive brick-paver humps were installed.
Morphy Ave.

City Public Works employees are in the process of installing two sets of (rubberized, bolt-down type) speed bumps on Morphy Ave. adjacent the playground: the city council approved the installation last month.

Last summer, several neighborhood residents with small children had brought their concerns  to the city's Street Committee and requested stop signs be installed to slow vehicles down; but the committee decided the bumps would be more appropriate.

Stop signs are heavily-utilized already in the neighborhood ("Fruit n' Nut") for speed calming, but are not usually recommended for that purpose by highway safety engineers. (Apparently, among other reasons, it can make drivers angry; and they speed up  even more between the signs.)

The city council voted unanimously for approving the funding (the mayor and police chief had recommended it too); but Councilman Mueller advised this would be the last time he would favor more bumps: advocating stricter traffic/speeding law enforcement instead.

(At least, one other council member privately expresses the same sentiment, but concedes that stricter enforcement would not be very popular among the general public.)

The much-more-expensive brick speed humps -- found in some neighborhoods around town -- are usually financed by residents there themselves.


WALKABLE COMMUNITY?

Proponents of alternative transportation (walking, biking, electric carts, etc.) often complain about the dangers of speeding vehicles; and a number of other measures have been installed around town, such as road constrictors, pedestrian islands, narrowly-painted lanes, medians, painted crosswalks with yield-to-pedestrian signs, et al: all components of the city's controversial Complete Streets policy  adopted in 2011.

Fels playground
The equally-controversial new urban planning concept of connectivity -- encouraging traffic to filter through neighborhoods rather than all be directed onto a few congested main roads loaded-up with traffic signals -- also depends heavily upon drivers observing the posted speed limits in neighborhoods, 25 mph usually, to make it work.






street committee


example

Comments

Anonymous said…
It wouldn't hurt to have some in all the old quiet neighborhoods. Not only are there children, there are a lot of elderly people going to their mailboxes, etc. Speed on our quiet street is rampant, especially during parade season when people think they can take a short cut out and find out they can't, get mad, turn around and speed off.
Anonymous said…
I live on Nelson Drive, which is right up from the bay and next to the Fruit & Nuts section. The speed limit, on this quiet residential street of children and elders, is a whopping 35!!! This also gives drivers the thought that they can go over 35. It makes me angry walking my child down the road every single time. There is a road that connects to this, so people use it as a through street and drive way too fast. It is also a downhill area that cars, and even City of F'hope vehicles, think is fun to drive quickly down. Our street, although is not directly in the middle of the popular Fruits and Nuts section, is used as a through street. We have just as much traffic and deserve the safety of some sort of speed bumps as well.
Anonymous said…
Agree :)