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Jacksonville will keep speed bumps on Third By MELISSA MARTIN JACKSONVILLE -- The Rogue Valley's first speed bumps on a residential street will stay, the Jacksonville City Council decided Tuesday. After listening to comments from neighbors and nearly two hours' worth of council discussion, the City Council voted 4-3 to keep the Third Street speed bumps, which were built last month to slow traffic. The council also voted to change parking restrictions on Third Street, said Paul Wyntergreen, city administrator. After the bumps were installed last month as part of a $170,000 overlay and sidewalk project on a mile of Third Street, residents complained that the speed bumps were too tall and too jarring. The city had an engineer measure the new speed bumps and determine that LTM built the speed bumps to specification. The engineer did find, however, that the height of the speed bumps is inconsistent. LTM will be asked to grind down those areas, Wyntergreen said. The city will withhold a portion of LTM's payment -- $1,215 -- until the work is complete, he said. The speed bumps cost about $1,200 each and are designed for vehicles traveling at 25 miles per hour. However, residents told the City Council last month that cars must slow to 10 or 15 miles per hour to prevent jarring. The speed bumps have already resulted in a $2,000 liability claim from a driver who said a bump caused his camper shell to hit his vehicle, breaking some lights. The city's insurance company determined the city is not liable. There may, however, be a settlement in the case, Wyntergreen said. Regarding parking on Third Street, city crews will post "no parking" signs on the east side, between Daisy Lane and Graham Street. At the same time, crews will create three or four new parking spaces on the west side of Third Street, Wyntergreen said. The changes will address neighbor concerns about Third Street parking, Wyntergreen wrote in a memo to the City Council. Concerns include: the curve in the road that creates visibility problems for drivers; the danger of cars during icy conditions sliding out of steep driveways and into parked vehicles; and the safety of pedestrians who have to weave through parked cars. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA