NEWPORT BEACH : Most Speed Bump Plans Put on Hold

Several proposals for new neighborhood speed bumps, except one plan for a Corona del Mar neighborhood, will be put on hold under a plan approved by the City Council.

After being faced with angry residents from neighborhoods where the bump issue has created friction, council members decided to postpone future construction projects until the benefits and problems of bumps can be better gauged.

“While not saying road bumps are the solution in the area, they are something I’d like to keep in our back pocket,” Councilman John Hedges said.

Hedges and the other council members unanimously agreed to study the use of speed bumps instead of imposing an all-out ban. Council members directed their staff to further study the use of bumps and assess their worth in controlling speeders.

Residents who have been lobbying on both sides of the issue were upset at the delay.

Residents of Carnation Avenue in Corona del Mar are currently being polled by the city to see if all the neighbors want bumps installed, as an earlier residents’ poll showed. If the city confirms that support, the project will be allowed to continue.

However, residents supporting the bumps are upset that the city has stepped in to resurvey the area, while those opposed are angered that last week’s action will not stop speed bumps from being built on their block.

Resident Victoria Pene, who has organized the opposition on Carnation Avenue, says she plans to continue fighting the bumps plan there and will continue to fight it in City Hall if the majority of her neighbors vote to install the devices.

Likewise, resident Linda Lumsden, who has been working to raise community support for the bumps for the past year--and previously collected signatures from the needed 65% of her neighbors--said she was frustrated by the city’s sudden new rules that allowed her neighborhood to be re-polled by the city.

“It’s really been an uphill battle” with the city, Lumsden said. “The whole process didn’t work.”