SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – A pilot program has been launched in Southfield to install speed humps on five streets.
It’s all in a bid to get drivers to slow down in spots where police and neighbors see speeding drivers all the time. The idea was inspired by the thousands of speed humps installed in Detroit.
The program will cost $97,300.
The city put in six on Midway Road between Evergreen and Stahelin roads in November. It cost close to $12,000. Mayor Ken Siver said it is worth it.
“Speeding in neighborhoods is a real problem and we get reports about it all the time,” Siver said.
In the spring, the plan is to install speed humps on Greenview Road between 8 Mile and 9 Mile roads; Southwood Drive between 10 mile Road and Lincoln Drive; Ranchwood Drive between Winchester Street and 12 mile Road; and Pierce Street between Edwards Avenue and Fairview Crescent. The mayor said they receive several complaints from people living along those roads.
“We’re testing different types of speed humps. So while these (on Midway Road) are asphalt, in other neighborhoods, we’re going to have rubber speed bumps that are screwed into the pavement,” Siver said.
Some people along Midway Road told Local 4 the speed humps have slowed drivers down.
“It made a big difference, because you don’t see anybody coming in this way and going that way, doing 60 miles an hour,” said one neighbor.
Another neighbor said, “People like to walk up and down the street with their kids and sometimes you have the whole family on bicycles so it’s going to make it a lot safer for them also.”
The city will take a look at feedback from the community before deciding to install more speed humps.
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