FILLMORE : City to Test Speed Humps on C Street

The city of Fillmore will install speed humps on one street as part of a pilot program to determine if humps or stop signs work better to control speeding motorists.

Before a packed audience Tuesday, the City Council voted 4 to 1 in favor of installing four speed humps along C Street between Ventura Street and Sespe Avenue. Roger Campbell dissented.

The council had considered a portion of 3rd Street as a site for the gently sloping humps. However, when 3rd Street residents showed up in force to fight the plan, the council decided to install the humps along C Street. A four-way stop will be installed at 3rd and Saratoga streets.

A contractor will be chosen for the installation, and the Fillmore should have its first speed humps in about three weeks, City Manager Burt Rapp said. A six-month study will be conducted to determine which method of speed control is more effective.

About 10 residents spoke before the council to protest the humps, saying the devices are too costly and would not sufficiently slow the many speeders. “This place is a drag strip,” said Margaret Meyer, a resident of 3rd Street. “We need real control down there.”

Residents said teen-agers would only use the humps as “launching ramps” and called for more patrols.

In voting against the humps, Campbell said they were “unproven speed-control devices and were far too costly.” A two-block stretch with four humps will cost about $5,800, Rapp said. Conversely, stop signs for a four-way stop cost about $900.

However, Rapp said stop signs are meant only to designate right of way and not to control speeding motorists. Humps can comfortably be crossed at 25 m.p.h. and slower, Rapp said. “At any higher speed, though, you get a real jolt.”