From: Lane Loman
Columbus
I am a 14-year resident of Columbus. Ten years ago, my wife and I purchased a house built in 1910 in one of the older residential sections of downtown Columbus. The street on which we live runs parallel to one of the busiest streets in the city. As a result, there is a lot of traffic on our street.
Unnecessary acceleration and speeding have been, and continues to be, a chronic problem. I have contacted our police department, and on two occasions a speed monitor has been placed in an effort to slow traffic speed. This has been effective, but the results have been temporary. When the speed monitor is removed, high acceleration and speeding resumes.
I contacted the city engineer’s office regarding the possibility of using speed bumps to control the traffic speed on high traffic residential streets. I was informed of a city ordinance that forbids the use of speed bumps in the city of Columbus.
My question is, “Why?” It seems this would be a logical and economic way to discourage those who drive over the speed limit. Other cities use speed bumps effectively. For instance, my son lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and speed bumps are used in his community to control speeding.
I have friends who live in Orlando, Florida and they have a speed bump in front of their home. Speeding on their street is not a problem.
I fear it is just a matter of time before there is a tragic accident. During the time we have lived in our home, our neighbor’s vehicles have been hit on more than one occasion as a result of reckless driving. Some have sped through the intersection near our home, disregarding the stop sign.
A speed bump would at least slow the vehicle before reaching the intersection.
I hope our city council, mayor, and the city engineer will take a fresh look at the benefit of installing speed bumps on selected high traffic residential streets.
