Speed cushions may be installed on section of 32nd Street in Mesa
Independent Newsmedia
Posted 1/13/24
The proposed installation of speed cushions on 32nd Street between McKellips Road and McDowell Road in Mesa will be discussed and voted on at the Jan. 16 meeting of the city’s Transportation …
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Speed cushions are the answer to neighborhoods that have a problem with speeding and are also on a Mesa Fire Department access route. Speed cushions have gaps in between them that an average car cannot straddle but a fire engine or ambulance can. Many vehicles maneuver speed cushions with one tire on the cushion and the other in the gap. The challenge with speed cushions is that they do not slow traffic down as much as speed humps. The average speed at the base of a speed cushion is 21 mph. But for many neighborhoods, speed cushions are the only option.
Go to https://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/streets-transportation/speed-control
Source: City of Mesa
Independent Newsmedia
The proposed installation of speed cushions on 32nd Street between McKellips Road and McDowell Road in Mesa will be discussed and voted on at the Jan. 16 meeting of the city’s Transportation Advisory Board.
The board is also slated to hear and discuss presentations on the city’s transit and transportation master plan updates.
The board meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the lower level council chambers, 57 E. First St.
Eight sets of speed cushions on 32nd Street are estimated to cost $48,000 — $6,000 each set on a 48-foot wide road, according to a written board report from Traffic Studies Analyst Joe Draper.
The section of 32nd Street between McKellips Road and McDowell Road has a posted speed limit of 25 mph.
Under the city’s speed hump policy, a street is eligible for the installation of speed cushions if the 85th percentile speed is at least 8 mph over the posted speed limit and traffic volumes must be less than 5,000 vehicles per day.
The 85th percentile speed in mph – which the U.S. Department of Transportation defines as the speed at or below which 85% of the drivers travel on a road segment — was 43.3 mph and daily traffic volume was 1,567 vehicles per day for the section between McKellips Road and Hermosa Vista Drive, according to Draper’s report.
The 85th percentile speed in mph was 42.5 mph and daily traffic volume was 1,322 vehicles per day for the section between Hermosa Vista Drive and McDowell Road, according to the report.
Another requirement in the city’s speed hump policy is that the fire department approve of the change. The fire department does not object to the installation of speed cushions on 32nd Street between McKellips Road and McDowell Road, the report states.
Another requirement is that at least 70% of the affected property owners must support the installation and that there must be less than 70% opposition from the secondarily affected property owners. A survey in the written report showed that was met as follows:
McKellips Road to Hermosa Vista Drive, 83 (78%) within the affected area approved and 24 (22%) are against it; and
Hermosa Vista Drive to McDowell Road, 55 (85%) within the affected area approved and 10 (15%) are against it.
A separate online survey showed for the full segment of McKellips Road to McDowell Road of people outside affected and secondarily affected areas there were 18 (29%) in favor and 44 (71%) opposed.
The 11-member Transportation Advisory Board is a committee of citizen volunteers who meet bimonthly to consider various traffic and transportation matters. The board hears from citizens and other affected property owners, reviews the reports and recommendations of the Transportation staff, and makes recommendations concerning traffic and transportation matters to the City Council, according to the city’s website.
