LAURA GOLDBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
From West Price Hill to Hyde Park, residents are finding bumpier streets can be better -- a lot better.
| The city of Cincinnati's "street calming" program offers a series of traffic devices to slow or divert speeders. They include:
Speed humps -- Gradual changes in the road's surface, usually 14 feet to 22 feet long and 3 inches high. They have little effect on a car going the speed limit, but cause discomfort to speeders. They are different from speed bumps, traditionally found on private property.
Traffic circles -- Raised concrete or landscaped islands in the center of intersections. They cause cars to change course while moving through intersections. That generally means the cars slow down.
Chokers, bump outs or curb extensions -- They narrow the street by widening sidewalks at specific spots. The driver can tell the road is narrowing and should slow down.
Semidiverters -- They limit access to a street from one direction by blocking half the street. They also can be built to limit certain movements at an intersection. For information on street calming, call 591-6000.
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Speed humps are less jarring, more gentle relatives of speed bumps, and have made streets safer and neighborhoods more pleasant by cutting speeding and traffic around Cincinnati.
"They're great. What else do you need to know?" said Gary Wollenweber, who lives on Edwards Road in Hyde Park. "We're very pleased with them and have noticed a big improvement over the speeding that had occurred in front of our house."
Cars whizzing through 25 mph streets at 40 mph or 50 mph cause headaches for any neighborhood. Parents are afraid children will get hit. Walkers don't feel comfortable. Homeowners simply don't want a speedway at their doorsteps.
The city has been able to slow things down in spots with its "street calming" program.
"There are things you can do . . . that make drivers feel like they should slow down. When they do that, then they have a decision to make. They can either slow down or go somewhere else," said city traffic engineer Steve Bailey. "The intent of street calming isn't to stop people. It's to make them do the speed limit."
Cincinnati's program, created in 1995, offers neighborhoods a variety of traffic-management devices, such as humps, circles and several kinds of what are called diverters. Streets designed for a maximum of about 3,500 cars a day qualify.
From 1996 to 1998, the city budgeted $200,000 per year for the program.
"This is a very simple program, but the premise is also very simple and that is, neighborhoods are for people, not for cars," said Mayor Roxanne Qualls. "We're working in partnership with residents so they can have their neighborhoods back."
As the area grows and major roads and highways become more congested, people seek faster routes and short-cuts on residential streets. Many of the city's neighborhood streets are narrow, hilly and curvy, conditions that make speeding especially dangerous.
So far, speed humps have gone on 10 streets in three neighborhoods. Asphalt ($2,000 per hump) is used for streets with 25 mph limits, while concrete ($10,000 per hump) is used for 30 mph streets.
Signs are posted to warn motorists of upcoming humps, and the humps are covered with white reflective tape.
Several other projects, with and without speed humps, are in the works. Construction may start as soon as May on a traffic circle at the North Avondale intersection of Marion and Dakota. Work is to start this summer in Winton Place, where several streets will get speed humps or be converted from two-ways to one-ways, or both. Earlier this month, city council OK'd a street calming plan for East Price Hill's Atson Lane.
"I got sick of screaming at people to slow down," said Steven Romelfanger, who spearheaded a petition drive. He said he wanted action before a neighborhood child was bounced from the hood of a speeding car.
In West Price Hill, parent Lori Brucato said she was worried one of her children -- ages 13, 10 and 5 -- would be hit. "It just panicked me every time my kids were outside."
Her street, Western Hills Avenue, along with three others nearby, got speed humps. Now, she said, her fear has eased.
There are three humps, but Ms. Brucato said a fourth is needed. The city is evaluating the request.
"The whole concept is wonderful. I think too often the city tries to accommodate the businesses and the residents kind of get left out."
Across town, residents on several Hyde Park streets also are pleased.
Carl Uebelacker, who lives on Victoria Avenue, said the humps have slowed and cut traffic. "We love them," he said.
Mr. Uebelacker said that before the humps were installed, 870 cars traveled the street per day. The number since has dropped to under 700.
His neighbor, Kelly Spataro, started a petition drive asking for city help. She was concerned for the safety of neighborhood children, including hers, Heather, 12, and Neil, 8.
"I think it makes people hesitate and it brings less cars. . . . I think it makes some people not want to come here, which is a desired effect. Some of them don't want to bother with it."
But, Mrs. Spataro said, others are still determined to fly up and down the narrow, hilly street. She wishes the city had put up more of an obstruction, perhaps by making the humps a little more rigid.
Nearby, on Mooney Avenue, Tom Hayes also reported a drop in traffic. He and neighbors held a speed hump christening party with champagne toasts.
"I think people just got tired of hitting the humps, so they went somewhere else," he said. "Overall, it's much better." But, Mr. Hayes said, all is not perfect. "It hasn't slowed the sport utility vehicles at all. Unfortunately, Hyde Park has a large concentration of these."
Unlike other projects, Edwards, the first to get speed humps, was ensnared in controversy. Asphalt humps went in in late 1995 and were replaced in mid-1996 with concrete. Some residents along side streets opposed the humps, saying they would slow emergency vehicles.
Karl Wiedamann, who lives off of Edwards Road, still opposes them. "It endangers the more than 360 homes in this area as a result," he said.
The safety director's office says the Edwards Road humps have not slowed police or fire response time.
What has happened on Edwards Road is this: The average speed dropped from 38 mph to 30 mph. The limit is 30 mph.
Mr. Wollenweber said people use their front yards and porches more.
"It felt unsafe, and it just wasn't a pleasant experience when cars go rushing by you at 50 mph," he said.
To start the traffic-calming process, the city must receive a petition from area residents detailing a problem and asking for help. Officials study street speeds and traffic counts. If a problem is proved, officials work with the community to find a solution. If a majority of residents agree, the plan -- based on funding and a priority ranking -- is put in motion. The time from start to finish also depends on how quickly residents reach consensus. On Westwood's Brater Avenue, Beth Crawford is crossing her fingers. Response to the city's survey for speed humps is due today. The narrow street, used as a cut-through, is home to children, including Mrs. Crawford's 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.
She worries about her children's safety. Several years ago, she said, her daughter's cat was run over by a motorist who didn't bother to stop.
"Somebody's going to get hurt. We've had a lot of problems with people flying up and down our street," she said. "There's no sense in going that fast on the street."
