LCF approves first speed humps in city

Josh Kleinbaum

Roads in La Canada Flintridge are going to get a little bumpy.

The City Council unanimously approved three speed humps on Alminar

Avenue between Daleridge Road and the north end. The city has never

used this type of speed-control tool.

“It’s kind of like having to put bars on windows -- it’s something

you don’t want to do, but sometimes you feel forced into it,” Mayor

Steve Del Guercio said. “We have a policy out there, we should follow

it. This is kind of a test case.”

The city’s speed-hump policy is neighborhood-driven, allowing

residents to decide whether their streets need speed humps. In

addition to a list of technical criteria -- no more than two travel

lanes, no more than 40 feet wide, etc. -- residents must get a

petition showing that at least 80% of the properties in the area are

in favor of the speed humps.

Eighty-six percent of the residents on Alminar Avenue signed a

petition stating they were in favor of the speed humps. In the past,

neighborhoods have started the petition process, but none has

followed through to the point of installation.

“We’re neutral on the issue,” Director of Public Works Steve

Castellanos said. “We just want to make sure that, engineering-wise,

it makes sense.”

During a lengthy City Council meeting Monday, residents and

council members discussed the pros and cons of speed humps. One woman

broke into tears while pleading to the council to make the street

safe for her children. Another questioned the validity of the city’s

report, which states that more than 600 cars travel through that

section of Alminar every day.

“There must be 25 children on Alminar,” said Beth Lynch, who lives

on Alminar Avenue. “Our concern is, God forbid anything should happen

to anyone, that it would be so devastating.”

Several members of the council questioned the effectiveness of the

humps, saying it gives residents a false sense of security and that

people just accelerate between the humps, trying to make up for lost

time.

To address this concern, the council approved the humps, and

allocated the estimated $4,500 to build them -- with one caveat. Six

months after installation, the city will conduct a survey on the

effectiveness of the humps.

“That will give us some data we can share with other residents,”

Castellanos said.