Pasco: Neighbors tired of speeders might get chance to curb them

Neighbors tired of speeders might get chance to curb them

The county will place deterrents called "speed tables'' on qualifying streets in neighborhoods willing to pay.

By ALISA ULFERTS

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Tired of cars speeding through your neighborhood? Soon you may be able to stop them.

County commissioners on Tuesday conceptually approved a program to put "speed tables" in neighborhoods that want to slow traffic.

The plan is still far from complete, but for those communities that want the tables -- which have a much gentler slope than speed bumps -- and are willing to pay for them through an assessment, it could bring peace of mind.

"It's something the public has asked for," County Commission Chairwoman Pat Mulieri said.

But not every neighborhood that wants to put down speed tables will be able to do so.

No more than 3,000 cars a day can travel on the proposed street, and there must be documentation that drivers routinely go faster than the posted 30 mph, said Assistant County Administrator Bipin Parikh.

Parikh said county staffers will hold public hearings to fine-tune the procedures for neighborhoods to apply for the speed table assessment program. Under the county's current paving assessment program, for example, 51 percent of homeowners must agree to participate. The county then charges all homeowners on that road their share of the paving costs, regardless of whether each homeowner agreed to participate.

The agreement rate might be higher under this program, depending on what the county hears from the public during the hearings, Parikh said. The cost for such a speed table is unknown.

Commissioners unanimously approved the proposal.

In other action Tuesday, commissioners held a round-table discussion to discuss their legislative agenda for the next year. County staffers plan to research bills relating to commissioners' concerns and report back to the board after the election. Two new commissioners will be elected in November. Commissioner Sylvia Young is retiring and Commissioner David "Hap" Clark lost his bid to become tax collector in September.