Fairhope, Alabama
FELS CHILDRENS' PARK AREA
Update: Since this post was published, the more expensive brick-paver humps were installed.
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.
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.
FELS CHILDRENS' PARK AREA
Update: Since this post was published, the more expensive brick-paver humps were installed.
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| 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?
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| Fels playground |
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| street committee |
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| example |
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