City of Bellemeade

There were indeed many discussions about how many speed humps were needed and cost was part of the discussion both in the Bellemeade Commission at Metro. Tammy and a Metro street engineer and myself walked North Chadwick taking measurements and it was his recommendation of four and their placement based on the length of the street that we went with. I only saw one drawing of the street speed hump plan. The whole process was time consuming and involved a lot of give and take. 

There were and still are a number of citizens who thought that speed humps were a total waste of taxpayer money.  Some of them still tell me that they don't work and cause a lot of aggravation. I became mayor in the middle of this process and for me the learning curve for internal governmental relations was steep.Tammy was very helpful to me in weaving though the process. We are currently working on speed hums for Bellemeade Road and again placement and number depends on the length of the street.

Mayor, The ORIGINAL recommendation was six!  It became four only because the City of Bellemeade insisted on it.

And, the speed humps don't work because they are spread to far apart.

There were and still are a number of citizens who thought that speed humps were a total waste of taxpayer money.  Some of them still tell me that they don't work and cause a lot of aggravation.

In reference to the two comments above,  I shall address the latter one first.  Before the speed humps were placed on North Chadwick Road, it was routine to witness people driving 60 miles an hour down the street in a 25 mile per hour speed zone.  That is no longer true.  Yes, some selfish drivers do still speed down our street, but they are in a slim minority.  Most people do slow down.  Some slow down because the speed humps remind them what the speed limit is.  Others slow down to keep from wearing out the suspension on their vehicles and otherwise damaging their cars/trucks.  Others slow down to keep from spilling their coffee.  Bottom line is that the humps have slowed down a great majority of speeds; it has caused others to find alternative routes.  The result is that we now do not need a racing stripe on our vehicles to drive on North Chadwick

Excessive speed on any street in a residential area with no sidewalks puts the children, senior citizens, family pets, and even younger walkers/joggers in danger loss of life and limb.  I take great, but still respectful, issue with anyone who protests that tax money spent in an attempt to make us safer is even a minor waste.  How can anyone consciously place a monetary restriction on public safety? I lost a son to an automobile accident; I would forfeit all the monetary assets that I have to have him back .  If the speed humps prevent even just one broken arm, they are worth every penny spent. 

We spend money to get snow removed from our streets.  We pay to have the grass cut at the Bellemeade and Moorgate entrances.  We allocate funds to pay a city clerk.  We provide the Beautification Committee with a budget to make us "Tree City USA."  We contract with Rumpke to haul off our garbage, recyclables, and yard waste.  We pay an attorney for legal assistance.  We do all of those things to make us feel better in our homes.  Which of those is more important than attempting to assure and insure the safety and well-being of a person, especially a child or senior citizen who might be more vulnerable to the actions of a selfish, inattentive, dangerous driver with little or no respect for the law or us?

Mister Mayor, if the residents on any given street need speed humps, they should get  them.  We all deserve to feel safe in and around our own homes.    Not only do we deserve to feel safe, we have a right to be safe.