Reduced time for emergency response doesn't halt speed humps

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers Speed humps near Ladera Elementary School The City Council was split, with council members Jacqui Irwin and Dennis Gillette dissenting as Claudia Bill-de la Peña, Andy Fox and Tom Glancy approved a request to install speed humps to slow traffic on Upper Ranch Road between Kanan Road and Valley Spring Drive.

Though all the criteria for installing speed humps were not met, other factors were considered, which led the city staff to recommend that the council approve the proposal.

The city's speed hump criteria, approved more than 20 years ago, require humps to be installed in a residential area that has traffic of more than 2,500 vehicles per day. Upper Ranch Road averages 1,664 vehicles per day. While 77 percent of vehicles on the road exceed the 25 mph speed limit, the city requires 87 percent.

When the sheriff's department gave out citations on that street, it found the majority of tickets went to nearby residents and not to drivers taking shortcuts, as was expected, said Thousand Oaks Police Chief Dennis Carpenter.

The city also requires 60 percent of those living on the street where the humps would be installed to sign a petition in favor of the project. Twenty-one of the 29 residents, 72 percent, signed the petition.

The petition wasn't signed by other nearby residents who use the road and whose emergency services response time might be slowed down as a result of the speed humps.

The homes in the area are single-family residences with streets 44 feet wide—4 feet wider than most streets—with no sidewalks and a meandering appearance, said Mark Watkins, public works director.

"The criteria is clear," Watkins said, adding that Upper Ranch clearly doesn't meet the standard.

He said the city has overlooked its own criteria in the past and installed speed humps after considering proximity to schools and equestrian zones, lack of sidewalks, road curvature and shortcutting traffic. He used this additional information before recommending the speed humps.

During the council's discussion, police and fire officials expressed concerns about emergency response times being slowed by the speed humps. Carpenter said that cars often swerve to get around the humps, causing potentially dangerous situations.

Watkin's report said there would be an aesthetic impact due to warning signs and road striping, along with increased noise and air pollution from cars speeding up, slowing down and sometimes flying over the humps. Speed humps also cause drainage impacts and are a nuisance to bicyclists, Watkins said.

The 11 speed humps will cost the city about $22,000 to install.

The speed-calming devices will slow response time for a new fire station the city constructed nearby to increase response time, Irwin said.

Every second counts if it's a heart attack or an accident, she said.

With a heart attack, people have four to six minutes before brain damage, Fox said.

"It does rattle your teeth when you go over (the speed humps)," said Ventura County Fire Department Chief Michael LaPlant.

Gillette asked if the humps could be installed on a temporary basis.

"We try not to experiment," Watkins said.

When council members moved to pass the recommendation, they requested their staff to update the speed hump policy and bring it back for their review.