[Summit] Speed Bumps

Tue May 18 15:30:35 UTC 2021

Gayle,

I was in my Outback as I turned right onto lower Chase from North Main St.  It is narrow there with cars often illegally parked on the right hand side by the dermatologist.  So, I was going very slow as it was and came up on the first speed bump.  It rattled the whole car including adding a symphony of jostled soda cans.  I was concrned for the dozen eggs that I had too.

Peace,

Linda
________________________________
From: Summit <summit-bounces at sna.providence.ri.us> on behalf of Gayle Gifford <gayle at ceffect.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 11:07 AM
To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us <summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Subject: Re: [Summit] Speed Bumps

I am quite concerned about the lack of public engagement on the speed bumps that have been installed. According to that Go Local article, there was supposed to have been public engagement. The failure of anyone to reach out to the neighborhood association is quite distressing.

Ethan, is SNA considering a formal letter to Mayor Elorza expressing distress at the lack of true public engagement and failure to consult the neighborhood association?

John, I remember the last time around and the decision to install the bump outs. If I remember correctly one of the first choices was to convert Hope Street into a Boulevard, with a median strip. That was nixed by DPW, allegedly because of sewer line and other utility maintenance.

I don't see how snow plows will deal with the Rochambeau bumps. It would seem areas that are lower wouldn't be plowable, unlike an equal sized across the full street bump like Kennedy Plaza. The Rochambeau hill can be quite challenging in the snow and ice.

And why  those locations on Rochambeau? I haven't driven or biked or walked on Chase yet, so why there?

I'm also wondering if these are part of the city's attempted solution to the off road vehicles. It would seem their riders will either  change streets once they encounter the bumps or use them for wheelies.

Gayle

Message: 5
Date: Sun, 16 May 2021 23:05:54 -0400
From: John Bazik <jbazik at gmail.com>
To: Summit List <summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Subject: Re: [Summit] Speed Bumps
Message-ID: <64b81d2b-7033-7267-c1df-88cd312c4b4d at gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed

Here's some more information about speed bumps, humps, tables and other calming measures from the US Dept of Transportation:

  https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsafety.fhwa.dot.gov%2Fspeedmgt%2FePrimer_modules%2Fmodule3pt2.cfm%23mod310&data=04%7C01%7C%7C861e4734611c411e457108d91a0f8df6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637569476369890328%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=0IEmdNVo5%2FRB3XOELuxmeFXrlnSQsZaSDrUmEYjB0wg%3D&reserved=0

DOT guidelines say humps/lumps are recommended only for local roads <= 30 mph, and are "typically" 12' in length and 3" high.  In its RFP, Providence specified lumps 7' in length and 3" high with 2' ramps (1:8 slope):

  https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.providenceri.gov%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2Fpvd20-117-CITYWIDE-SPEED-LUMPS-AND-RAISED-CROSSWALKS.pdf&data=04%7C01%7C%7C861e4734611c411e457108d91a0f8df6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637569476369890328%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=RrQTlmu64mjgtIuIi0bf8mJgES7SqYhVj0sftam%2B6bg%3D&reserved=0

Those are pretty severe.

John

On 5/16/21 7:19 PM, Ethan Gyles wrote:
> There was no consultation with the neighborhood association and this is generally a surprise to me. I much prefer neckdowns to speed bumps. I understand some of the background on the notion of traffic calming on these streets was discussed at community meetings Councilor LaFortune hosted, though she noted on our Facebook group that she didn?t know the speed bumps were being deployed until she saw them. Her Facebook comments are below:
>
> ?Hi Ethan, I actually did not know the city was installing the speed bumps the until I saw them. We have ?talked about the speeding and traffic mitigation at many community meetings, where folks have asked aboug speed bumps. For the last three years the traffic engineer has been conducting speed counts/traffic studies throughout the ward. Many people have complained about the speeding on all the streets. It looks like the speed bumps were the recommendations from the traffic commission. All recommendations are align with safety protocols and include imput from public safety (fire, police EMS). I do wish we were given a heads up. I am getting more information. I too live on the corner of one of these streets And have watched cars, motorcycles speed from N. Main to hope. Parents and residents have complained about speeding on cemetery road, and MHCC is asking for speed bumps on Camp. I'll get more details about how the decision was made.....and ask for information to share.?
>
>> On May 16, 2021, at 7:06 PM, Emlyn Addison <noisyblocks at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> ?
>> I agree. I drove home via W River street today where there have been speed bumps installed for several years (behind the USPS facility); they're markedly lower and easier to drive over.
>>
>> I don't know how these came to be installed so suddenly (are?neighborhoods generally consulted first?) and why they appear to be so poorly constructed. Apparently they're not cheap either.
>>
>>
>> Emlyn
>>
>> On Sat, May 15, 2021 at 5:37 PM John Bazik <jbazik at gmail.com <mailto:jbazik at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     I think the speed bumps are terrible.? Years ago, I helped bring curb extensions to the neighborhood for the same purpose: to reduce speeding and making our streets more pedestrian-friendly.? We looked at speed bumps back then, and there were strong emotions for and against.? One thing I learned was that there are good bumps and bad bumps.? Good bumps, as I understand it, are wide and parabolic.? At low speeds, they are easy to drive over and plows handle them easily.? Bad bumps are unpleasant at any speed and impossible for plows.? The good ones are more expensive and take more planning.? An example of the good ones are in Kennedy plaza.
>>
>>     As I drove up Rochambeau today, the guy behind me swerved into the opposing lane to avoid them.
>>

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