NEW — 3:25 p.m. July 23, 2015
Neighbors living on the Southeast 75th Street corridor are getting their speed humps.
The Newcastle City Council instructed staff to initiate the installation of the speed humps to reduce speeds on the street.
It’s a win for a neighborhood that pleaded with the city to do something about unsafe speeds on their streets for quite some time.
In the past, residents said they have concerns about letting their children play in yards, and are concerned about the effect the speeds have on a nearby bus stop as students wait for and exit the vehicle.
Newcastle Public Works Director Jeff Brauns said in a presentation that current data did not support the need for speed humps. He suggested installation of wide-edge striping and initiation of a speed-watch program as alternative solutions.
In the end though, the council directed staff to go with speed humps by a vote of 5-1, with Councilwoman Carol Simpson the only dissenter. Deputy Mayor John Drescher was not present at the meeting.
We’ll have more on the vote in the Aug. 7 Newcastle News.