Local council wants to put a speed hump in front of our place!

[Syndrome]

How to stop them? Has anybody successfully prevented the council from doing this?

[Peter B - CV8]

Good luck... it's pretty much their road & they can do whatever they want. Is it accident hotspot that requires a drop in speed ?

[fordomatic]

Enjoy the squeaky break sound as they slow down. Nothing you can do mate

[cs123]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

How to stop them? Has anybody successfully prevented the council from doing this?

Talk to your local council rep, explain the situation and ask them for help in speaking the council dept responsible.

[pursuit57]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

How to stop them? Has anybody successfully prevented the council from doing this?

You got no chance, they do what they like - as previous post asked is your road identified as black spot ? or did one of your neighbours have some council influence or complain about the speedsters ?

Maybe speak to your local member and explain how this will inconvenience
you eg: the noise of cars n trucks thumping over it at same speed anyway, and you work shift's ?? , and that maybe speed signs can installed as trial first before the hump installed.....no harm in asking.
I had one outside it was a pain, thankfully we eventually sold so understand your concerns.

[Lugh]

I did know someone years ago that had one removed from in front of their house because of the excessive noise it created.
That was on Atthow Ave, Ashgrove, Brisbane.

[Feathers]

Our council sent a letter asking for residents input on their idea of putting speed humps all down our street. We said no. The neighbours across the road said yes.
Not sure what the outcome is at the moment. There are already two of the plastic ones further down the street.

Last year they knocked on our door and told us that our driveway no longer met council regulation (too close to the corner), and they would be removing the layback.
We pointed out that the driveway had been there, long before the road into the cul-de-sac behind us, so they should be closing off the street instead.

They then came back and told us we could keep the driveway, as could the neighbours on the other corner.

[GSP07R]

I have stopped them before, and they had to change the type of speed hump and the location because there was a bus route on the street. What council are you in?

[pursuit57]

Originally Posted by Feathers

Our council sent a letter asking for residents input on their idea of putting speed humps all down our street. We said no. The neighbours across the road said yes. Not sure what the outcome is at the moment. There are already two of the plastic ones further down the street. Last year they knocked on our door and told us that our driveway no longer met council regulation (too close to the corner), and they would be removing the layback.
We pointed out that the driveway had been there, long before the road into the cul-de-sac behind us, so they should be closing off the street instead.
They then came back and told us we could keep the driveway, as could the neighbours on the other corner.

haha, perfect example where a small number of council planning/engineering experts work in local govt instead of private engineering & consulting firms...

[Streets]

Does anyone even slow down for speed bumps anymore? All I see these days is people going over them at speed and letting the suspension take the punishment because people just don't care. With a speed bump in front of your house it's going to be non-stop "CHOONK CHOONK" as people fly over them in their fatluxes.

Chicanes are better traffic calming devices, people actually have to slow down to go through them (most of the time).

[Mercury Bullet]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

How to stop them? Has anybody successfully prevented the council from doing this?

Hey, be happy that council is spending some of your hard earned.

My rates have gone up 400% in 3 years and we get nothing. At the very least you're going to get a speed hump you can look at.

Welcome to WA where rates go up and crickets chirp!

[FormulaFG]

Go and punch all your neighbors in the noses, it's one of their complaints that probably brought this on.

You'll still be getting a speed bump but you'll feel better.

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Streets

Chicanes are better traffic calming devices, people actually have to slow down to go through them (most of the time).

Not when it is smack bang on your driveway. Put me off buying a house last year due to this fact.

[cheap]

Wouldn't the speed hump interfere with your drive way, makes it difficult to get in and out from your property, makes it impossible and dangerous to reverse your trailer, makes it inconvenient for your guests/family to park their cars....

[TUF_302]

What is there reason for the silly thing??

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Hey, be happy that council is spending some of your hard earned.

My rates have gone up 400% in 3 years and we get nothing. At the very least you're going to get a speed hump you can look at.

Welcome to WA where rates go up and crickets chirp!

Tell me about it... The state government jacked up the waste levy then handed over street light maintenance to the councils, they in turn raised the rates. Haven't seen any tax cuts in return though.
We lost alot of front verge to a new chicane, bummer two less car spots. A few years back a northern suburbs council started growing dirty big gum trees in the middle of the road. Not a bad approach, they do make you think... until a truck comes through wipes out a branch wrecks his roof and blocks the road.

[Streets]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

Not when it is smack bang on your driveway. Put me off buying a house last year due to this fact.

Hadn't thought of that.

[Ben73]

My mate had one in front of his old house.

Brakes squeal. Ute, trailers and trucks load bang and crash as they hit the speed bump. Heavy acceleration as they leave the speed bump. Repeat every 10 seconds all day and all night.
I still remember when we would have drinks at his house on a weekend night during summer. That repetitive sound was the backing track to our night.
He had no A/C and hardly any rear windows so the front windows were open late into the night.

Speed bumps ruin the environment as well. All greenies should be against them.

[Streets]

Originally Posted by Ben73

My mate had one in front of his old house.

Brakes squeal. Ute, trailers and trucks load bang and crash as they hit the speed bump. Heavy acceleration as they leave the speed bump. Repeat every 10 seconds all day and all night.
I still remember when we would have drinks at his house on a weekend night during summer. That repetitive sound was the backing track to our night.
He had no A/C and hardly any rear windows so the front windows were open late into the night.

Speed bumps ruin the environment as well. All greenies should be against them.

Wonder what would happen if you went out and jackhammered it to pieces? (I am not advocating such )

[Feathers]

Originally Posted by cheap

Wouldn't the speed hump interfere with your drive way, makes it difficult to get in and out from your property, makes it impossible and dangerous to reverse your trailer, makes it inconvenient for your guests/family to park their cars....

In my area, you don't need that. It's the neighbours and their 20 thousand kids who all have cars, that park in front of everyone else's house, but don't use their own garages, because they're for the extended family to sit in...

Also, their houses take up so much of the block that there is no room to park on their own property.

[Express]

I used to put these in when I worked as a Council Engineer.

There are a few things to note.

What type of street do you live in, for example is it a residential street that is heavily utilised as a short cut around main roads?

Do you have a school, playing fields or something similar that attracts children to your street?

Do the surrounding streets already have speed humps?

Is it a known accident hotspot?

As Engineers when speed humps arrived in Australia we thought they were a saviour for residential streets but after a while realised they had as many cons as pros and began to see humps as a traffic device that was used for two reasons:

The first being the engineer involved was lazy or ordinary at his job and was using the easiest solution or couldn’t come up with a better idea.

What I’m saying here is even though they are a recognised traffic device, speed humps don’t necessarily slow traffic as SUV's, 4WD's and Tradies Utes often don't bother to slow for them.

The second and most common reason is the residents (or some of them) have been complaining and lobbying for their introduction.

In either case Council will have amazed a fair amount of data over time and you should have noticed traffic recording devices being used in the area to accumulate info on the type of vehicles, volume and speed and the times in which it all occurs plus the Council would add accident statistics to bundle.

Just asking the Council to move the speed hump or any noise producing traffic device along away from your house usually won’t get you far as their approach will be someone in the street has to wear it.

Your best bet to get the ball rolling is to ask them for the reason and make sure everything is in writing (postal or email).

Even if their follow up reply states it has been requested by your neighbours the Council will still have done their own investigation, so ask for the details to confirm their reason such as accident statistics and so on.

It should be noted that approval for the installation of speed humps and all traffic devices is not a Council decision though it may be a Council recommendation.

The actual approval is given by the Local Area Traffic Committee who meet once a month and is made up of representatives from the Council, Police, Fire Bridge and Buses and any one of these may have requested the speed hump but in most cases it will have come from the residents and if the Council investigation and data warrants the request to be approved then the committee will sign off on it.

If it was the work of residents it’s a wonder you weren't approached to increase the numbers for the request.

Still if it is the residents you need to know the factual statistics that back the approval before you can fight it, just saying you don’t want it outside your place because it’s noisy will usually fall on deaf ears.

Get out and start talking to the neighbours and see what they have to say as your chance of stopping it is slim but that chance will increase if you have the support of the other residents.

In 10 years working for a few Councils I only knew of one that got moved (not stopped but moved) along the street a couple of properties and that was because someone knew someone who knew someone.

I have read though of a few being stopped because resident pressure caused a rethink so it’s not impossible to make it happen, just not easy.

Slow points like a chicane will probably be offered as an alternative and even though these do slow traffic there used to be many drivers that drove over the start and ending points of them making a hell of a racket and with the increase of 4WD in residential areas I’d bet this practice is even more prevalent today.

Another argument you could raise is the decrease in on-street parking spaces that it will affect and if it’s an area where on-street parking is a premium then you may have a case there.

[deesun]

Does your council area use other traffic slowing devices such as a flashing speed sign which isn't a camera but a sign that flashes a happy face when you are on/under the speed or an unhappy one or a flashing SLOW DOWN. These are used in our area and certainly slow most cars without the noise.

[xr8cam]

A bunch of locals had a development stopped that was going to basically concrete a bush area with a wetland near me recently. If you make enough noise, you'd be suprised what can be achieved. There's a lot of very good suggestions here. If you approach the right people and present a logical & balanced argument, they have to listen. I'd be interested to see what happens. Do you know much about your council? Some do lots, some do f all, but the rates just keep getting higher.

[OzriderXR8]

Phone the council and tell them you have endangered lizards or moths or have found Aboriginal artifacts.

It works in our council, developments cancelled for ten years, shopping centre site never built and the latest a bridge to connect two halves of a major through road cancelled and all contracts basically paid out for no work.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by Express

I used to put these in when I worked as a Council Engineer.

There are a few things to note.

What type of street do you live in, for example is it a residential street that is heavily utilised as a short cut around main roads?

Do you have a school, playing fields or something similar that attracts children to your street?

Do the surrounding streets already have speed humps?

Is it a known accident hotspot?

As Engineers when speed humps arrived in Australia we thought they were a saviour for residential streets but after a while realised they had as many cons as pros and began to see humps as a traffic device that was used for two reasons:

The first being the engineer involved was lazy or ordinary at his job and was using the easiest solution or couldn’t come up with a better idea.

What I’m saying here is even though they are a recognised traffic device, speed humps don’t necessarily slow traffic as SUV's, 4WD's and Tradies Utes often don't bother to slow for them.

The second and most common reason is the residents (or some of them) have been complaining and lobbying for their introduction.

In either case Council will have amazed a fair amount of data over time and you should have noticed traffic recording devices being used in the area to accumulate info on the type of vehicles, volume and speed and the times in which it all occurs plus the Council would add accident statistics to bundle.

Just asking the Council to move the speed hump or any noise producing traffic device along away from your house usually won’t get you far as their approach will be someone in the street has to wear it.

Your best bet to get the ball rolling is to ask them for the reason and make sure everything is in writing (postal or email).

Even if their follow up reply states it has been requested by your neighbours the Council will still have done their own investigation, so ask for the details to confirm their reason such as accident statistics and so on.

It should be noted that approval for the installation of speed humps and all traffic devices is not a Council decision though it may be a Council recommendation.

The actual approval is given by the Local Area Traffic Committee who meet once a month and is made up of representatives from the Council, Police, Fire Bridge and Buses and any one of these may have requested the speed hump but in most cases it will have come from the residents and if the Council investigation and data warrants the request to be approved then the committee will sign off on it.

If it was the work of residents it’s a wonder you weren't approached to increase the numbers for the request.

Still if it is the residents you need to know the factual statistics that back the approval before you can fight it, just saying you don’t want it outside your place because it’s noisy will usually fall on deaf ears.

Get out and start talking to the neighbours and see what they have to say as your chance of stopping it is slim but that chance will increase if you have the support of the other residents.

In 10 years working for a few Councils I only knew of one that got moved (not stopped but moved) along the street a couple of properties and that was because someone knew someone who knew someone.

I have read though of a few being stopped because resident pressure caused a rethink so it’s not impossible to make it happen, just not easy.

Slow points like a chicane will probably be offered as an alternative and even though these do slow traffic there used to be many drivers that drove over the start and ending points of them making a hell of a racket and with the increase of 4WD in residential areas I’d bet this practice is even more prevalent today.

Another argument you could raise is the decrease in on-street parking spaces that it will affect and if it’s an area where on-street parking is a premium then you may have a case there.

Exactly the intelligent answer I was looking for. Many thanks!

Do you know if there are any documents on line which shows investigation studies of speed humps? It is known they increase noise, reduce home values and impede emergency vehicle response times.

[Pedro]

Or you can turn disadvantage into advantage by organising parties of friends to come around on Saturday nights and be entertained .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg79_mM2CNY

[xr8cam]

Originally Posted by Pedro

Or you can turn disadvantage into advantage by organising parties of friends to come around on Saturday nights and be entertained .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg79_mM2CNY

Can you imagine what they would think of us going nuts over $50,000 Falcons! That front end would have been rooted. Nice to be able to junk it and buy a new one....

[SB076]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

How to stop them? Has anybody successfully prevented the council from doing this?

1) Buy some hi vis gear
2) Get a clip board and roll up a large sheet of paper
3) Hire a white ute (any doesn't matter which)
4) Buy and orange flashing light

When work commences, get the ute put the orange light up on top, jump out with your clip board and rolled up sheet of paper and a stern look on your face and ask to speak to the site supervisor. When they show up keep a straight face and demand to know why he is working off the old location/drawings when everything has been relocated X number of meters down the road (or even choose a neighbors driveway) Make notes on your clipboard and make a few angry calls on your mobile - watch as they drive away and install a speed hump in your neighbors driveway.

[ronwest]

Our neighbour around the corner successfully lobbied our council to not put a bus stop in front of their place.

There were several sides to his argument but the one he thinks tipped it in his favour was that his aged mother was "living" with them and she suffered breathing difficulties brought on by anxiety. Obviously, noises inc buses stopping/going, ppl milling around out the front, etc, would increase her anxiety.

Presumably council didn't like the sound of that.

Nursing home nearby? Know a granny you can rent for the duration?

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by deesun

Does your council area use other traffic slowing devices such as a flashing speed sign which isn't a camera but a sign that flashes a happy face when you are on/under the speed or an unhappy one or a flashing SLOW DOWN. These are used in our area and certainly slow most cars without the noise.

I thought those signs were meant as a challenge?