Supervisors will study speed bumps|[10/26/07]

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 26, 2007

In an attempt to cut down on speeding in a few subdivisions, Warren County supervisors agreed to mull the idea of placing speed bumps.

While the notion is not a possibility anytime soon, as boards can bind a subsequent administration in the final six months of a term only in cases of emergency, the idea has gained some traction recently as some county neighborhoods continue to be hot spots for speeding.

“I’ve had a couple requests in my area,” District 5 Supervisor and Board President Richard George said, adding they have come from places like Greenbriar and Littlewood subdivisions, situated off major roads where daily vehicle counts can exceed 1,000.

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County Engineer John McKee and Eric Jefferson, both of ABMB Engineers Inc., presented a report Thursday to the county board detailing the pros and cons of various “traffic calming” methods. Speed bumps are one of the more popular approaches due to the low cost of installation, a report prepared by ABMB said. Placed on residential streets away from bus routes and primary emergency response routes, they cost about $3,000 to install and are usually placed at mid-block points on roads with grades less than 8 percent.

A downside, the engineers said, might come from public driving habits when maneuvering around them. Also, “between speed bumps, vehicles tend to speed up,” Jefferson said.

Use was recommended in neighborhoods featuring streets with two lanes or less with a posted speed limit of less than 35 miles per hour. Also, neighborhood support should be strong for such traffic control methods, as much as two-thirds of any particular area, the report said.

District 1 Supervisor David McDonald said he would gauge the support of such traffic control methods with the various homeowners associations in his northeastern district, home to many of the county’s established subdivisions.

Other traffic measures in the report were raised intersections, traffic circles and curb extensions. Chokers, which are the small islands of trees installed by Vicksburg officials along downtown parts of Washington Street this year, were given high marks for enhancing the aesthetic value of an area but said to create drainage and spatial issues.

In other road-related matters, supervisors advised its engineers to re-examine the striping of the turning lane from U.S. 61 North onto Sherman Avenue.

They will take a look at making directional lanes of traffic clearer on the short connecting road leading to the intersection. Currently, the lanes lead traffic from southbound U.S. 61 North into the same space as vehicles turning from the northbound lanes.

Vehicles attempting to turn onto the connecting road from eastbound Sherman must do so at a severe angle to stay within striping.