More Streets Could Get Speed Humps

Several local streets could be eligible for speed humps if a proposed policy change passes later this year.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, the city’s Transportation Advisory Commission will hear a plan to allow streets defined as “Access Streets — Residential” to be added to the category of streets where speed humps would be permitted. 

“Traffic calming measures aim primarily to reduce the speed of drivers in urban areas, but can also be used to meet traffic reduction objectives,” according to a city staff report. 

“Benefits are apparent on multiple levels: speed control not only contributes to increased road safety and more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Speed management is an essential tool in ensuring the improved safety of users of urban roads, particularly vulnerable users.”

Currently, the humps are only allowed on roadways defined as local streets. Under the current criteria, those streets have one lane in each direction, 1,200 feet of continuous distance between stop signs, or traffic signals (600 feet if segment closes a gap to make road continuous), and less than a 5 percent grade among other criteria.

According to a staff report, certain streets in the city mirror the design of local residential streets but are classified as and function as collectors or arterials. These streets do not qualify for speed humps based on the street classification. These same streets are also subject to more stringent criteria for setting speed limits than are local residential streets.

If the policy is adopted, speed humps could be placed on: 

• Forest Avenue between Washington Boulevard and  Lincoln Avenue
• Sunset Avenue between Mountain and Howards streets.
• Howard Street between Arroyo Boulevard and Forest Avenue and between Lincoln and Raymond avenues
• Hammond Street between Lincoln and Fair Oaks avenues
• Montana Street between Lincoln and Los Robles avenues
• Sunnyslope Avenue  between Walnut Street and Del Mar Boulevard
• San Pasqual Street between Hill Avenue and the eastern city limit

“Speed humps are an appropriate mechanism for reducing speeds on certain streets in Pasadena when properly installed under the right circumstances,” according to the report. 

“Speed humps can be considered for installation when the benefits normally derived by residents from a local residential street are significantly diminished by the speed of traffic,” the report states. 

The meeting can be viewed at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87992287380