speed hump funding / traffic control or pavement?

[roncity]

For budgeting and management purposes, are speed humps considered traffic control devices or roadway pavement sections? Does anyone have specific agency examples of how these things are funded for installation , repair and maintenance ?
Some say the traffic control budget should be responsible for installation and maintenance, including replacement after roadway reconstruciton. Others say the humps are part of the roadway pavement and should be funded by the patching fund.
Personally, it seems inconsistant for the patching budget to pay to smooth the road and then turn aound and pay to hump it.....

 

[teeman]

I would consider a speed hump to be a geometric feature of the roadway, like a channelizing island, or a piece of curb.Traffic control devices are limited to signals, signs and pavement markings.

 

[KRSServices]

Speed humps on a roadway laneway or parking lot?

If it is indeed a public roadway, I suggest the municipality carefully review this practice with a view to liability and risk. On a roadway, they would be dangerous.

In terms of your question, I think the budget should be consistent with the municipality's policies. Usually the maintenance department would be reponsible for installations such as you describe on existing roads. For new installations, the humps should be installed as a function of the scope of work.

KRS Services

http://www.krs-services.com

 

[ACtrafficengr]

I wouldn't go as far as KRS and say that humps are dangerous. They can be useful on low speed residential streets, if properly designed, marked and signed.

However, horizonal measures to encourage drivers to slow down are almost always preferred. Things like corner curb extensions, roundabout intersections, etc. They also tend to pose fewer problems for emergency vehicles, too.

For more info, see

http://www.ite.org/traffic/index.html

Getting back to your question, some municipalities require that residents foot at least part of the bill for speed humps.

 

[KRSServices]

LTAPJim,

To be honest, I once agreed with your comment regarding low speed residential roads. Early in my career, that was one option I explored to keep speeds down in a residential area - in front of a school. I happened to get a legal opinion regarding our liability should the humps be a contributor in an accident (ie. icy roads), with or without injuries.

We were advised in no certain terms that regardless of the road useage, humps, from a liability standpoint, were a huge liability. The primary arguement was the exponential increase with the driver being able to maintain control of the vehicle. Parking lots and narrow alleys tend to be very low speed due to their nature, however, once it becomes wider and susceptible to higher speeds, the hump becomes an obstruction and hazard rahter than deterant to speed. Consider the wet snow storm we had last week. Two inches of fresh wet snow, signs were nearly impossible to read (sticky snow) with blustery winds. Someone not familiar with the area, hitting a bump, would certainly lose control of the vehicle, even at low speeds. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we were advised not to utilize humps on any public right of way.

I pass this along for everyone's info.

KRS Services

http://www.krs-services.com

 

[trafficPro]

As an aside, many towns have an ordinance written in years ago, promoted by the fire Department, PROHIBITING the construction of any kind of bumps in the roadway. Legal opinion was that althought this was written in the days of speed bumps, it also includes humps.

TrafficPro