Officials Seeking Use of Less Jarring ‘Speed Humps’

Los Angeles transportation officials will ask the City Council to authorize use of “speed humps”--slightly less jarring versions of the more common “speed bumps”--on streets throughout the city where speeding is a problem, officials said Thursday.

The city attorney’s office, however, is concerned the humps might cause accidents in which the city would be held liable.

The Department of Transportation, which has been running a test of the humps at 15 sites during the past year, is expected to make the recommendation to the council later this month, Tom Swire, senior transportation engineer, said.

The tests show the humps, raised sections of pavement that are longer and lower than the more steeply angled speed bumps often found in large parking lots, reduce average traffic speed by 7 m.p.h., Swire said, adding, “We are pleased with the drop. . . . “

The bumps and humps force drivers to slow down, because hitting them at higher speed causes a jolt to the vehicle, jarring the driver and--if the speed is high enough and the bump large enough--damaging the suspension or tires.

For the past year, there has been one hump test site in each council district. In the San Fernando Valley, speed humps are on Pinewood Avenue near Day Street in Tujunga, Runnymede Street near Bovey Avenue in Winnetka, Greenleaf Street near Noble Avenue in Sherman Oaks, Haddon Avenue near Randall Street in Sunland, Hanna Avenue near Prairie Street in Chatsworth and Laurel Terrace Drive near Laurel Grove Avenue in Studio City.

Since the humps were installed, Swire said his department has received requests almost daily from residents interested in getting speed humps installed in their neighborhoods.

But the speed hump’s road has not been smooth.

Some officials fear the humps might create liability problems by causing road accidents and many residents living near speed humps say they are not steep enough to slow traffic.

Tom Hokinson, a senior assistant city attorney in the city’s liability division, said questions still remain over whether speed humps can cause accidents. But he said he did not know how many accidents in the city can be attributed to speed humps.

“It has been a concern,” he said.

Hokinson said he expects the Department of Transportation to ask for the city attorney’s opinion on speed humps before making a recommendation to the City Council.

While many cities throughout Southern California have used speed humps for several years, a few have shied away from installing them because of the liability concern and other potential problems.

Oxnard traffic engineer Joe Genovese said his city doesn’t use speed humps, in part because of concerns that motorists involved in accidents would sue the city, blaming the accident on the hump.

“There are going to be accidents anyway and the excuse is going to be that the hump caused them to lose control,” he said.

Speed humps can also simply reroute speeders to another parallel street, interfere with street sweepers and create a nuisance for neighbors who are bothered by the sound of cars striking the humps, Genovese said.

Jano Baghdanian, Glendale traffic administrator, said his city has never installed humps “because of the concern about safety and the liability issue.”

But he said Glendale city officials may change their minds after reviewing the matter further and studying the experiences of other cities that use humps.

Speed humps are usually installed in sets of three, spaced about 250 feet apart, extending across the entire roadway. Each hump is 12 feet wide and about three inches high. The humps are marked with white stripes and signs are posted nearby to warn motorists.

And they are not cheap.

It costs about $6,000 to install three speed humps on a street, which would total $90,000 to install one additional set in each council district, Swire said.

He said the $72,000 trial program was funded by voter-approved gas tax money left over from another street project. To fund additional humps, he said his department is recommending using a combination of gas tax funds and contributions from homeowner groups that request the humps.

But so far, the reviews from residents who live near speed humps have been mixed. Most say the humps reduce speeds somewhat, but not enough.

“I can’t say that everybody on this block is happy with them,” said Chris Czajkowskyj, a resident of Greenleaf Street in Sherman Oaks, who petitioned to have speed humps placed on her street during the trial. “But I think they’ve helped.”

She said Greenleaf Street has been plagued by speeders because it connects directly to the San Diego Freeway and many motorists use the street as an alternate route to Ventura Boulevard.

Many Greenleaf Street residents said they would prefer a steeper hump to force motorists to go even slower.

“I would love to see a real speed bump put in,” Karma Vieira said as she watched over her two children, a 2 1/2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl. “Anything to keep the kids alive.”

As she spoke, several cars and trucks sped over the nearby humps. A few slowed. Most did not.

“See, they still go over them at 45 m.p.h.,” Vieira said.