NEWPORT BEACH : Council to Review Speed Bump Policy

The ability of residents to have speed bumps installed simply by gaining the approval of the majority of their neighbors may be altered under a plan to be considered by the City Council tonight.

The council will review the city’s speed bump policy and debate the effectiveness of the bumps in reducing auto speeds on residential streets.

In reviewing the policy, the City Council may opt for changes, including a temporary ban on new bump projects, a move that would threaten the long-time efforts of two neighborhood groups to install the speed-control devices on their street.

One group, whose members live in a Corona del Mar neighborhood, have been working for over a year to have bumps installed on a part of their street which feeds into Pacific Coast Highway and is notorious for speeders using it as a shortcut.

The other group of residents, who live on 16th Street in Newport Beach, have stepped up their efforts in the past month to have bumps installed there.

They say that since Costa Mesa put in speed bumps on 15th Street, travelers wishing to avoid the bumps use their street as an alternate route.

The efforts of the Corona del Mar group prompted the council to initiate a review its speed bump policy two weeks ago when some residents living in the neighborhood protested the bumps.

Those residents said they were not aware of their neighbors’ petition drive that brought the bumps to the street, and they questioned the city’s polling policy.

Council members acknowledged that a more official survey method was needed.

They agreed to survey the neighborhood again in coming weeks using a city questionnaire that would be certain to reach all residents and give an accurate tally of neighborhood opinion.

That type of polling would be new and is something the council is considering incorporating into the speed bump policy when it conducts its review tonight.

The opposing residents from the Corona del Mar neighborhood also questioned the effectiveness of the bumps, especially compared with the potential safety hazards when children ride bikes and skateboards over them.

The council will also try tonight to determine if the bumps effectively deter speeders.