Saratoga News

News

Road lumps seem to bring out the worst in Saratoga drivers

By Shannon Burkey

For the people who live on and around Pierce Road and those who commute on it, the term "love thy neighbor" seems to have been forgotten.

Since the June 14 installation of three speed lumps along the first stretch of Pierce Road off of Saratoga Sunnyvale Road, residents and commuters have been divided on whether or not the lumps are helping or simply making a bad situation even worse. Speed lumps (as opposed to bumps) are bolted to the pavement and can be removed or repositioned. They are designed to slow down traffic without impeding police or other emergency vehicles.

"We're not pro-speeders, we are anti-bad ideas, and this is a bad idea," said Mike Miller, who lives off Pierce Road.

The lumps are set 500 feet apart, and residents said they are causing cars to come to screeching halts as they approach them and then speed up in between each one. According to residents, the stop-and-go traffic on Pierce Road is not only causing traffic back-ups and air and noise pollution, it is also causing motorists to honk, yell obscenities and flip people off as they pass through the neighborhood.

Ann Burris has been a Pierce Road resident for 41 years, but said that she and her family are considering moving if the lumps are not removed.

"If these are permanent, I don't want to live here. It is absolutely intolerable," Burris said.

Although the lumps may be disturbing the peace on Pierce Road, they have at least made an impact on cutting down on speeding.

The road has nearly 4,000 cars a day traveling on it. According to city traffic engineer Sohrab Rashid, there has been a 20 percent to 23 percent reduction in speeding vehicles heading eastbound, and a 26 percent to 28 percent reduction in the westbound direction. Rashid also added that three months is a normal adjustment period for an installation such as the lumps.

Some of the residents said they are not necessarily against the speed lumps, but they are against their placement and size. The current lumps are 12 feet long and three inches high. Residents said that in order to safely drive over them, they must slow down to 5 miles per hour.

"It is very clear there is a speeding problem. We know that it doesn't just happen on the first stretch of Pierce Road, it goes all the way up," said Pierce Road resident Brian Frank. "Safety is the most important thing. The people who live on the road are in danger just going to their mailboxes."

Frank said that the residents he knows would prefer smaller speed lumps stretched out longer along Pierce Road.

Traffic Commission Chairman Michael Bustamonte said that although they had a very objective reason for putting in the speed lumps, he does not believe they are doing what the commission intended them to do.

But for now, residents and drivers of Pierce Road will have to wait for a solution and try to get along. The commission voted unanimously to give it a little more time and allow Rashid and the public works department to try to come up with a new solution.

The commission will meet again on Aug. 10 to discuss other parts of Pierce Road and on Sept. 10 to discuss solutions for all of Pierce Road.