Public Works to Consider Speed Humps on West 17th

Cost Would Be $13,800 to Implement Humps

MARSHFIELD, WI (OnFocus) – City Engineer Tom Turchi is scheduled to present at Tuesday’s Board of Public Works meeting in response to speeding concerns on West 17th Street.

A five year crash review revealed three reportable crashes.

• 2018/7/11 – Sideswipe with a parked vehicle.
• 2018/4/3 – Single vehicle and a street sign.
• 2017/3/12 – Vehicle backing out of a driveway into a parked vehicle.

City staff has received complaints throughout the city from residents concerned about excessive speeding and presently uses several methods to assist with these complaints (see OnFocus’ dangerous intersections poll here):

• Radar Speed Sign – this provides immediate feedback to encourage drivers to slow down. These signs are moved to different locations throughout the City to address complaints and reportedly help reduce the average traffic speed by 10 to 20% while in place.
• Flashing Beacons & RRFB’s – these provide a warning to drivers about pedestrians and
  school speed zones.
• Increased enforcement – this method provides an immediate reduction in speeding due to the financial repercussions to those who are speeding. This method does wane after
  enforcement is moved to other locations within the community.
• Additional Speed Limit Signs – although additional signs reaffirm the posted speed limit it is unsure if there is any additional benefit of adding signs.

“One traffic calming method that can be used to assist to reduce complaints related to speeding that remains in place 24 hours 7 days a week is a speed hump,” stated Turchi in a City memo. “Speed Humps are rounded, raised areas of pavement that require drivers to reduce their speed in order to maintain comfort and prevent vehicle damage (typically 10 to 20 mph).”

Speed humps are not to be confused with speed bumps (3 to 5 mph), which are taller and less wide, making bumps more jarring for drivers. Humps work best on roads with slower speed limits, and require multiple humps placed in a series, making them ideal for
residential neighborhoods.

“Speed humps should have accompanying signage or pavement markings to warn drivers in advance,” stated Turchi. “Speed humps can reduce the average speed by 20-25% between humps, with an average crash rate reduction of 13%. Cheaper than other measures, speed humps are a highly effective way to reduce speeds in residential neighborhoods.”

Data recovered for traffic volumes study that took place from August 17 – 23 on West 17 shows that in the West location (Balboa to Adams), people drove 26.8 MPH – 11.8 over posted, and in the East location (Adams to Locust), people drove 26.1 MPH – 11.1 over posted.

The speed humps would cost $13,800 to implement on West 17th.

The Board of Public Works is scheduled to meet at 5:30pm on Tuesday, September 6.

We welcome your stories! Contact us at [email protected]!