Some Dallas residents are trying to get drivers to slow down in residential areas by having speed humps installed in their neighborhoods.
The hope is that more humps will help prevent crashes.
While speed humps can be effective at encouraging drivers to slow down, having them installed requires streets to meet certain criteria and for there to be community support.
“In order for road hump installations to be effective, they should be located selectively in accordance with defined transportation engineering criteria for the purpose of ameliorating documented speeding problems,” reads the City of Dallas’ Road Hump Program for Residential Streets. “Proper installation will also minimize driver frustration and encourage safe driving practices.”
Program eligibility requires signatures from two-thirds of residents in petitioning neighborhoods. Applications also need to provide street operation and geometric characteristics. Such characteristics include traffic volume, speed limit, whether the street is a primary route for emergency vehicles, property elevation, and whether or not streets have curves, among others.
Karen Quiroga, a West Dallas resident, is trying to get a speed hump installed in her neighborhood.
She posted in a Facebook group called Reform Dallas, claiming that reckless drivers had struck her and her partner’s vehicles.
“He was sitting at home and heard a loud crash, and there it goes again,” Quiroga told the Dallas Observer, speaking about the last time her partner’s car got hit. “This time, though, they hit it so hard that it pushed it all the way up the yard and the driveway of my neighbor’s house.”
Quiroga told the news outlet that drivers often ignore the stop sign at the intersection near her home.
Rudy Karimi, a Dallas Park and Recreation board member, commented on Quiroga’s post, advising her to open a service request through Dallas 311, get the necessary neighborhood signatures, and inform her City Council member about the issue.
He also noted that the process can be quite lengthy.
“A good council member will get it done, but it will take some time. I got 10 speed cushions on three streets in east Dallas for zero cost. It’s not easy but it can be done,” claimed Karimi.
