Local Speed Humps & Traffic Calming

Local Speed Humps Applications
Their Use in Lambertville, NJ & the Surrounding Area

In urging the City of Lambertville to implement an overall plan to resolve the problem of dangerous speeding on South Franklin Street, the residents have promoted the employment of traffic calming strategies, including where appropriate, the installation of speed humps.

As the Mayor himself indicated in a February 25th meeting with our group, the employment of speed humps on South Union Street downtown, has proven to be a successful venture. He told the assembled residents that the single most persistent complaint he receives as Mayor, from nearly every area of town, is about speeding.

But, he said that there has been a very dramatic reduction in such complaints from the South Union Street area since the City employed a series of speed humps there several years ago. At the time, the Mayor was a resident at Raritan Point, just around the corner, and he supported the idea.

And, the Mayor also noted that some of the then big critics of putting in speed humps down on South Union Street, have since become avid supporters, having apparently come to appreciate the benefits of such traffic calming measures.

More recently, the City employed the use of speed humps when they resurfaced Ferry Street, between South Union and Main Street.

According to Ferry Street resident, John Woods, Ferry Street had become a "short cut" for some drivers to avoid traffic on Bridge Street, increasing the traffic flow there. He said a block association on Ferry Street had advocated for the employment of speed humps to slow their traffic down.

Diamond-shaped speed humps, or "cushions" were eventually placed on Ferry Street, ones that do not bridge across the entire street width (see photo).

According to Mr. Woods, some held reservations at the time that drivers would simply try to "game" or try to drive around the diamond-shaped humps. That concern proved to be largely unfounded with respect to the vast majority of vehicles that drive on Ferry Street.

"They work," Woods said about the speed humps.

One other type of speed hump is what is called a "speed table," which is flatter on the top than the standard traffic speed hump.

This appears to be similar to the type of speed hump that was employed on West Ferry Street in downtown New Hope Boro, just across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania.

This particular speed hump (see photo) is located on the slope, just short of where West Ferry Street intersects with Route 179 as it heads into Solebury Township. The top of the hump is fairly flat, although as you can see, it does not reach all the way to the curb, as with most speed tables.

(Upcoming:)

The next post will include a brief examination and analysis of the New Jersey state statute governing the use of speed humps, the New Jersey Department of Transportation policy declaration regarding the same, references to the industry-standard Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), and the relevant Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) guidance on their use, each as they apply in general and to the safety situation here on South Franklin.