The City of Chilliwack will no longer be installing speed “humps” on local roads as a way of slowing down speeders.
Speed humps are like speed bumps and had been used in Chilliwack in the past to get local drivers to slow their roll.
A recent review of the city policy on traffic calming showed that the humps, such as the ones found on McNaught Road, tend to get in the way of emergency responders, and simply divert the speeding problem to adjacent streets.
There were a total of 50 speeding complaints received at city hall in the first four months of the year. Engineering staff had been considering changes, and recommended a revamp of the city’s traffic-calming policy.
When Chilliwack adopted its policy in the late 1990s, it embraced speed humps, or raised crosswalks, as a less expensive traffic-calming solution than others. Residents on McNaught and Carleton Roads had petitioned city officials to do something about speeders on their streets, and the humps, and the roundabouts went in.
The vertical deflections were approved for installation on local roads, not those around schools, parks or arterial roads. Staff noted many drivers just took the parallel routes without the bumps. A moratorium on traffic-calming measures was imposed in 2002, and is still in place.
The new traffic-calming policy that will replace the one on the books will have no petition process, transparent evaluation criteria, no minimum traffic threshold, with arterial roads included.
Coun. Kloot agreed that after 20 years, the original policy focused on speeders deserved “another look” by council.
Kloot was told vertical deflections or raised intersections will not be part of the policy going forward, but noted is a “living document” so changes could be made. He asked about the use of “rumble strips” and if they had been looked at and was told staff did not have data on their effectiveness.
Coun. Jeff Shields, chair of the transportation advisory committee, called it a “good document” and noted the committee had offered feedback before staff.
“I was a resident of Carleton and experienced every bit of traffic calming. It didn’t solve the issue,” Shields said. “Despite everything that’s done it comes down to driver behaviour.”
Mayor Ken Popove asked if staff had considered removing the existing speed humps, and was told not at this point but it could be looked at if it’s council’s wish to do so.
The updated policy features more than 20 traffic-calming measures, with 17 of the options being relevant alternatives to speed humps. Options include:
• Road narrowing via “road diets” which are lane widths narrowed on lanes or roads;
• Street trees and vegetation: More plantings and vegetation overhanging and on the side of the road;
• Curving roads: In new developments, having curved roads to limit where drivers can speed up;
• On-street parking or parking pockets: Permitting parking to narrow roads for through traffic;
• Intersection narrowing via: Curb extensions: to narrow the area where pedestrians are crossing at intersections, which also force drivers to slow down when taking turns;
• Intersection control changes via roundabouts and traffic buttons.
Residents can contact the city engineering department at 604-793-2907, or at engineeringinfo@chilliwack.com, or by visiting City Hall at 8550 Young Road for questions or concerns. Staff will review the request for traffic calming based on a six-step procedure.
Council approved the amended its policy F-13 after a presentation by staff on Tuesday (May 7).
