CALABASAS : Speed Humps May Replace Barrier

A barrier designed to slow traffic on a residential street may be replaced by speed humps in an effort to settle a rancorous debate between residents of two halves of a housing tract, a city transportation official said Tuesday.

The Calabasas Traffic and Transportation Committee may urge the City Council to allow through traffic on Parkmor Road, despite protests from some residents of the lower half of the winding, hillside street that such a move would create traffic hazards, said Peter Eason, the committee’s chairman.

“We’re going to aim to recommend that the speed humps be installed on Parkmor, in lieu of the traffic barrier,” Eason said. “And, if I perceived the attitude from the community correctly, this was something that the residents of the lower half of the tract would agree to, although I can’t say that’s everybody’s opinion.”

Eason said the transportation panel plans to discuss the matter Monday, and by the end of the month, may recommend that the council direct the placement of four or five speed humps along lower Parkmor on a trial basis.

But many residents of the lower section may still oppose the removal of the barrier, which they say has made their neighborhood safe from speeding traffic.

“I doubt that speed humps are going to promote safety on our street, and I think taking the barrier down is going in entirely the wrong direction,” said Ted Rosenquist, resident of the lower tract and a former transportation committee member. “If they do this, they’re going to have an issue on their hands.”

The barrier was erected on a trial basis in March, after residents of the lower half of Parkmor complained that their neighborhood had become unsafe, due to increased through traffic. But the barrier angered residents of the upper half of the tract, who were forced to drive around the lower section.

After a heated public hearing on the matter in May, the Calabasas City Council directed city staff to look for alternatives to the barrier.