Neighborhoods Considering Speed Humps

By Chris Wright, News On 6

TULSA, OK -- The City of Tulsa says more neighborhoods are considering installing speed humps. But what does it take to have them put on your street?

The city says plenty of people are interested in speed humps, but when they find out how much effort it takes to get them, many change their minds.

"It's a very controversial issue, and you either love them or you hate them," said Traffic Control Engineer Michael Schrader.

Schrader is in charge of Tulsa's speed humps. None get laid down without his approval. He says he receives calls daily from residents who feel drivers are speeding through their neighborhood, and think humps are the solution.

"It's perceived speeding.  It may not actually be a real speeding problem, but it's what the residents think is happening," said Schrader.

Perceived or not, the speed hump debate is currently raging in South Tulsa's Thousand Oaks neighborhood.

Neighbors say drivers are always cutting through the neighborhood, often at high speeds and they say these speed humps would be the best way to slow them down.

The city has already come out and marked where speed humps would be placed.

Oddly though, the city says graffiti artists have added extra markers, painted in orange, which make it appear as if there would be more humps than there actually would be.

Regardless, Gary Taggart is pro-speed humps, saying he is looking out for children like his grandson.

"There are a lot of kids in the neighborhood.  We need to make the neighborhood more safer for the kids here and the people here," said Taggart.

But Taggart says some of his neighbors are less enthusiastic. To have speed humps put in, 67% of neighborhood households must approve them.

The city says it only follows through on about six percent of requests, so people need to make sure their neighbors are in favor.

"You have to talk to you neighbors first, that's the key.  If you don't have 67% support, then we can't put them down," said Schrader.

Your neighborhood may not even be eligible for speed humps.

The city says it will not put them on a major road, or near apartment complexes, schools or hospitals.