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Drivers get jolt out of bumps Jacksonville neighbors don't like speed reducers By MELISSA MARTIN JACKSONVILLE -- Neighbors are hitting the roof, sometimes literally, over two speed bumps built last week on a residential street to slow down traffic. The asphalt humps in the middle of South Third Street, called "speed tables," are a first for the Rogue Valley. "It slows cars down right before my house, but then it makes drivers mad and they speed right back up again after the bump -- until they hit the next one," says South Third Street resident Rhonda Zimmerman. The City Council approved the speed tables two weeks ago after learning the city could afford the cost of $1,200 each. It was part of a $170,000 overlay and sidewalk project being done by contractor LTM Inc. on nearly one mile of South Third Street. According to specifications drawn up by KAS and Associates of Medford, the tables are 22 feet wide, sloping upward for six feet to a 10-foot-wide level table, then sloping six feet down the other side. "Your whole car sits on top of it at one point, says Rhonda Severn, who lives on South Third Street. Juanita Street resident Linda Perkins says she first discovered the speed tables in the dark on her way home from work. "I hit them at 25 mph, and it was pretty jarring," she says. Neill Smith agreed. He was among 39 residents who signed a petition asking the City Council to talk about the speed bumps and new sidewalks on South Third Street, which residents believe were unnecessary. "I have to slow down to 10 to 15 mph to keep from bouncing badly," O'Neill wrote. The City Council listened to residents' comments for an hour and a half Thursday and then directed city staff check the construction of the speed tables to make sure they were built to specifications. If they were not, the city will ask LTM to change the dimensions. If they were built correctly, the city could have them removed. The speed bumps are a first for Southern Oregon streets, but are becoming more common in Portland, says Eric Niemeyer, Jackson County traffic engineer for the Oregon Department of Transportation. The humps may be new to the Pacific Northwest, but they are common in Europe, he says. "I just got back from a trip to Ireland and they are all over, in residential areas, with a roadside marker that says, `Humps."' Ashland will soon join the list of Rogue Valley cities with speed humps. Oak Street in Ashland will soon have four humps to slow traffic, part of a $157,000 street improvement project, says Pieter Smeenk, engineering assistant. Neighbors asked the City Council to install them, pledging $18,800 to help the city pay for the six-foot-wide, rubber humps, he says. Medford talked about building speed tables, but never received the City Council's OK. Instead, city crews have tried to slow traffic by rebuilding curbs at intersections to give drivers an impression that the road is narrowing, says Ralph Browning, traffic engineering technician. An example is on Hamilton Street between Dakota Street and Stewart Avenue, near Washington Elementary School. For Jacksonville resident Linda Perkins, the best solution is to remove the speed tables. But at the least, the city could add reflective paint to make them more visible, she says. Jacksonville plans to do just that, city administrator Paul Wyntergreen says. "I've started taking the side street to Oregon Street to avoid the bumps," Perkins says. "It probably annoys the people who live on that quiet little street." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA