Even better, why not remove them? They were installed in spite of the city's published criteria that any street having traffic density of more than 4000 cars/day may not be considered for vertical deflection devices. The city's own traffic count was 4,120 / day. Incidentally, they are planning to put in a raised crosswalk (also a vertical deflection device) in front of the school unless we get it stopped

Here is a response I receivedd when I questioned the installing of these speed bumps.

I apologize in advance for the length of my response but I have a lot of issues to cover. Starting in 2003, the City of Raleigh began doing traffic calming evaluations on residential and collector classified streets based on the request of citizens along those streets. The evaluations covered 5 criteria: vehicle speed, volume of traffic, crash history, pedestrian generators and other factors. The “other factors” ended up being roadway geometry, whether the street had any hills or curves that could cause sight distance issues or influence the speed of vehicles. Each of these criterion earned a street points. It is a 100 point scale with 30 points being the minimum score to be included on the City’s project list. The higher a street scored, the higher it was placed on the list. Nothing happened with this list until 2006 when City Council authorized traffic calming projects on 3 streets. A fourth project was authorized in 2009. Also, in 2009, City Council adopted the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) which covers traffic calming evaluations and projects, speed limit reductions and multi-way stop sign installations. It also divided the traffic calming list into major and minor projects. In September of 2010 City Council approved the major and minor project lists and directed staff to do 2-3 major projects and 8-10 minor projects each year. Northbrook Drive was evaluated in 2007 and earned a score of 51.12 points. This score placed it 9th on the 2010 minor project list. That was high enough to be considered for traffic calming. The first step was for the properties along the street to support a project. A petition was sent out to be circulated along the street. The residents had 60 days to gather signatures from at least 75% of the properties listed and return the petition. That petition was returned and a public workshop was scheduled for the citizens along Northbrook who were shown what types of treatments were available. The citizens then decided what treatments they preferred and worked with staff to place them along the street. This became the preliminary design. The preliminary design was then placed on the City’s website and City staff went out to the street and marked the preliminary design on the street with white paint. The citizens were notified of the paint markings and given the link to the website and were given two weeks to make comments on the design. After the comment period, there was a second meeting with the citizens who were shown the comments and potential changes in the design. Then they approved or denied each proposed change and the result became the final design. The final design was presented to City Council. At that meeting, residents both for and against the project, were given the opportunity to speak. After seeing the design and hearing the statements from the citizens, City Council authorized staff to proceed. That’s how the project came into being.

Now for the humps themselves. You are correct in observing that these humps are different from the others placed in the City. The new standard which we have adopted is in line with what a majority of other jurisdictions have adopted nationwide. They are meant to go from gutter to gutter, go 12 feet along the roadway and go from ground level to 3” high at the crown before returning to ground level. There is a tolerance allowed of plus or minus ¼”. During the public workshops on Northbrook we were told that the speed humps on Pamlico were totally ineffective and did nothing to slow traffic. The humps in the Brentwood neighborhood are much wider (17’-18’)and a little higher (4+”) than the new standard.

We have heard from several citizens who felt the humps were too high and needed to be corrected. City staff went out and measured a couple of the humps on Shelley Road and found that they were indeed higher than the specifications allowed. We have notified the contractor and have asked them to re-measure each hump they had previously installed and tell us how they are going to bring the ones they find out of compliance back to within specifications. They have also adjusted their installation templates so that no future humps are installed too high. Once all the humps are brought within specification and the traffic has been given time to adjust, we will go out and do “after studies” on each of the streets to see what effect the humps have had on vehicle speed and volumes along each street.

I hope this has answered all your questions. If not, or if it has raised other questions, please feel free to ask.

Thank you

Tom

Tom Fiorello

Public Works Department

City of Raleigh

PO Box 590, Suite 400

Raleigh, NC 27602

Office:(919) 996-4066

Here is a key flaw in this explanation: During the public workshops on Northbrook we were told that the speed humps on Pamlico were totally ineffective and did nothing to slow traffic.
The other flaw is that it appears only residents on NorthBrook were consulted on this. If there is traffic greater than 4000 per day then you can be sure less than .5 % are NorthBrook residents.

This does not address the fact that they were installed in violation of the city guidlines.

Neal, here is the email and phone of the gentleman who sent me this information. I fully support your position and I think a call to the mayor's office from a lawyer is in order.Office:(919) 996-4066 thomas.fiorello@raleighnc.gov

Thanks, but I contacted Mr. Fiorello weeks ago. He was nice enough to furnish me the data for the traffic count and the petition. The city web site has the NTMP guidelines, whioch can be downloaded. No one is explaining the traffic count issue. I think the next course of action may be to speak to the city council.

Thanks for posting Mr. Fiorello's comments. There are two problems with the City's method:
1) Only Northbrook Dr. residents were consulted. Streets are a public trust. The Northbrook residents don't own their street any more than I own my street. I live 3 short blocks from that street and need it to access the rest of the city almost half of the time. I live on another nearby thoroughfare that Northbrook residents routinely use, too. Therefore the City of Raleigh's discrete method is inaccurate for an effect that fades away from the focus.

2) No criteria for success is mentioned. Does the City want traffic mean to be a certain speed? Does it want the median speed to be a certain speed? If the City wants no traffic to exceed 20mph, then the posted 30mph speed limit is irrelevant. What upper limit speed is the hump that follows "adopted guidelines" setting? Is this appropriate for Northbrook Drive?

Additionally, there is no logical way that "speed humps on Pamlico were totally ineffective and did nothing to slow traffic" can be accurate. I witnessed several drivers traveling 40-50 mph on Pamlico before the hump was installed. I am absolutely certain that those incidents never occur since the hump was installed.

I have no problem with the elimination of fast traffic on Northbrook. However the current bumps, regardless of national fads, is inappropriately overbearing to achieve a reasonable goal for Raleigh.

I agree about two of the speed bumps on Northbrook. The one nearest North Hills Dr and the one nearest Six Forks are jarringly high at even 15 mph. The one near the school not so much so. The speed bump on Pamlico is a good example of one that you can cross at 25 mph without difficulty.

Well we need a lawyer to contact the city attorney.

I've referred this to our Public Works Department. When the staff has had a chance to respond I’ll post an update. Thanks for reporting.

This affects the wear and tear of cars of all in the neighborhood. It was not really possible to speed on that road most of the time if you had wanted to. Now, the extra breaking and bouncing is giong to wear out the brakes and the suspension on my conservative mini-van before its time.

I now believe these speed bumps were put in illegally (not conforming to the city's ordinance).

Speed humps are a tool in the City Council approved Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP). The NTMP was designed to provide a vehicle for residents along a street with poor speed compliance to get relief. Enforcement is not a cost effective or lasting option and streets designated as “minor streets” are too narrow to install horizontal deflection devices. Vertical devices such as speed humps and tables are used nationally and our design is based on the Institute of Transportation Engineers Traffic Calming handbook. Prior to installation of the devices, a street has to qualify. Qualification is based on a matrix of items including the 85th percentile speed. The streets currently receiving treatment all have a significant speed compliance problem. Once a street qualifies, a petition of support of 75% of the affronting property is required. After that, there are two public meetings where residents affronting the street to receive treatment provided input on the design since they will have to live with the treatments. The final step is a public hearing before City Council. If City Council approves the design, construction occurs. The entire process is legal since only streets that fall on City public Right Of Way qualify. Some of the contractor installed humps exceeded the tolerance specified in the contract. The contractor has since adjusted those humps and all should be traversable at the recommended 25 mph.

BUT HOW CAN IT BE "LEGAL" WHEN THE ENTIRE PROCESS VIOLATED THE CITY OF RALEIGH'S OWN PUBLISHED GUIDELINES?

The problem with all this is in the City of Raleigh response. 1. The humps have NOT been adjusted. 2. Only the people living on Northbrook had input. 3. Northbrook is the primary route for thousands of residents to get to North Hills. I'm going to get in touch with Kane.

If the person who is responsible for this city "response" would care to demonstrate how these humps can be "traversed" at 25 mph would meet me with their own vehicle, I would love to see it ! Put up or shut up!

The fact that the speed limit signs at the humps is 25MPH is something I pointed out to the City Council and I also challenged them to drive over those things at 25MPH. Someone will have a serious accident there and sue the city.

from your letter above: "Northbrook Drive was evaluated in 2007 and earned a score of 51.12 points. This score placed it 9th on the 2010 minor project list. That was high enough to be considered for traffic calming. The first step was for the properties along the street to support a project. A petition was sent out to be circulated along the street. The residents had 60 days to gather signatures from at least 75% of the properties listed and return the petition. That petition was returned and a public workshop was scheduled for the citizens along Northbrook who were shown what types of treatments were available. The citizens then decided what treatments they preferred and worked with staff to place them along the street. This became the preliminary design."

END OF STORY!!!

Mary look at what you wrote. Northbrook was evaluated in 2007. This is 2013!!! 6 years later.

Another interesting result of researching the history of Northbrook is that the city's accident data for June 2003 to June 2007 was furnished to me. This supposedly supports the need for traffic calming on Northbrook. Out of 24 accidents over this 4 year span, only ONE was attributed to excessive speed by the police reports,and that was listed as 45 mph. If any of you folks think that constitutes a history of excessive speed, then you are dumber than a post.

Not that I'm sure that my opinion matters here but please add me to the list of drivers who feels that the posted speed of 25 mph at the speed humps is too fast. I always must slow down to 20 mph or below, which is fine, but for an unsuspecting driver who does not frequent the area 25 mph could clearly damage their car. Additionally, the raised walkway/crosswalk across from Brooks Elementary is not clearly marked. I came upon it in the evening and did not see it well at all. There is no light near the pedestrian signs or any markings with reflector paint to signal the need to slow down.

Everyone's opinion matters here. I am sure many of the original petition signers would prefer that the humps disappear now that they have experienced the dismal results. Those who want to insist that the City improve streets with their tax dollars rather than waste those dollars on ill-advised, dangerous traffic impediments need to speak up. As we all know, well-meaning but naive politicians respond best to public pressure.

It has been a month since the reply from the City claimed that "all should be traversable at the recommended 25 mph". No adjustment has been made, unless you count the obvious scrapes (8+) on the one nearest North Hills. These were caused by cars scraping their undersides. The average car slows to less than 10 mph. There has never even been a lame response to the "NON-CONFORMING SPEED HUMPS" report I made. At least give the courtesy of a lie, as in this thread.

Just bought a brand new Prius and cannot cross either bump between Hyde and North Hills at 20mpg safely.

Just a comment here. That second bump right before HYDE is the one that angres me the most because it forces one to go over it before leaving Northbrook. If it was on the other side of Hyde, this whole thing (except for the incorrect shapes) wouldn't bother me as much. I swear if I had a bobcat I would remove those bumps myself.

Speed Humps and Property Values (a google search)

http://www.oocities.org/nbumps/
http://www.waterfordvillage.org/traffic-wires/traffic-bumps.htm
http://wcobserver.com/2012/05/speed-bumps-do-the-research-then-do-something/

The city is ruining our property values.

This response is being posted to Raleigh SCF issues 416140 (Non-conforming Speed Humps) and 428068 (Speed Bumps too Aggressive), which are identical reports of the same issue related to the citizen initiated and city-installed traffic calming measures along Northbrook Drive, a project of the City’s Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP).

Speed compliance has long been an issue on Northbrook Drive, especially in the vicinity of Brooks Elementary School. Initial contact with the City’s Public Works department regarding Northbrook Drive came from the Raleigh Police Department, on behalf of Brooks Elementary administration, seeking a long term fix rather than a temporary solution to the Northbrook speeding problem. This inquiry took place in November 2005. When Northbrook Drive was subsequently evaluated for traffic calming measures, it earned a score of 51.12 points, well above the 30 point minimum required to be placed on the list for traffic calming initiatives. The high volume was 4120 vehicles per day and the high 85th% speed was 40.0 miles per hour. When the first NTMP project list was presented to the City Council in September 2010, Northbrook was ranked ninth on the minor project list. If it had been placed on the major project list this street would have ranked 20th and perhaps not have come up for consideration. However, Northbrook Drive remained on the minor project list, and residents were given the opportunity to provide input to staff as to a speeding and safety problem on this street that needed to be addressed. Residents did so by executing and submitting a petition of support for a project, and the initiative moved forward through the NTMP program.

The NTMP is a citizen driven program. At the first workshop, attendees approved a preliminary design consisting of seven (7) speed humps and the raised crosswalk at the school. That preliminary design was posted to the City website, marked in paint on the street, and design comments were solicited from residents along the street. At a second workshop the design comments were discussed and the preliminary design was reduced by consensus of the residents in attendance to three (3) speed humps and the raised crosswalk feature. This design concept was approved by the residents in attendance. The design was presented to the City Council for approval and installation.

Following construction and installation, it has been determined that subsurface pavement failure is taking place in the westbound lane of Northbrook Drive in the area of the speed hump closest to North Hills Drive. Staff is in the process of executing a contract Change Order to repair this area of pavement failure. Once approved the contractor will schedule a crew to perform the pavement and speed hump repair. While onsite and as part of the contract work, and in response to the comments posted to SeeClickFix and comments made to the City Council, staff will have the contractor and city inspectors measure and re-verify all speed hump installations on Northbrook Drive to confirm that heights are within the allowable design tolerances. Any speed humps found to be installed outside of tolerance will be adjusted to bring them within design tolerance.

We appreciate all of the input and comments on these two SeeClickFix issues. This remains a work in progress, which includes repair and potential remediation of the installed traffic calming features. The ongoing work is being tracked by our Public Works department and therefore we are closing both issues (416140 and 428068) in SeeClickFix.