North River Road humps to continue jostling cars

The City Council votes to keep the current humps until new, less jarring ones are found.

By JODIE TILLMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 18, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - You love them, you hate them, you avoid them, you run right over them. Whatever you think of the three speed humps of North River Road, know this: They will stay there- at least for a while.

The City Council voted 3-2 on Tuesday to keep the transportable devices, which are made of synthetic material and bolted down, until it finds another type of speed hump. The majority asked administrators to see how much it would cost to put in less jarring speed bumps that more closely resemble the stamped-asphalt design usedon Grand Boulevard.

Mayor Dan Tipton and Councilman Rob Marlowe - both of whom live in the neighborhood - dissented, saying the speed humps should be removed immediately.

The City Council vote came on the heels of a recent survey that found 70 percent of nearly 110 households in the neighborhood of roughly 450 homes want the bumps gone. Marlowe has been especially vocal on the issue. His frustration led him to attend council meetings before deciding to run for office this past April.

The city installed the humps after residents who attended a series of neighborhood meetings complained about speeders.

On Tuesday night, Marlowe said there were other ways to slow down traffic and called the design of these particular speed humps "punitive" and "the worst decision the city has made in two years."

But the four residents who spoke Tuesday night were in favor of the humps, saying they had cut down on speeders and on overall traffic. Resident Donald Cadle said the survey was flawed because it didn't ask what should be done about speeders, making it more of a "popularity contest" about the speed humps.

Councilwoman Marilynn deChant said she was "tossing out the survey" because the response rate was only 24 percent. That's higher than voter turnout - about 11 percent - in the city's last election.

During the meeting, Marlowe suggested new homes for the speed humps: The neighborhoods of the other three council members.

Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6247.

[Last modified October 17, 2007, 21:46:44]