Speed humps have become common fixtures in a number of Charlottesville neighborhoods but not everybody is viewing them as a welcome addition.
Traffic calming has become a topic of discussion for many Charlottesville communities and while some are for speed humps, others are not.
Chances speed humps are seen while driving through Charlottesville neighborhoods. It's an attempt to slow down drivers who speed through residential communities.
Charlottesville Spokesperson Ric Barrick stated, "The process starts when a resident or a neighborhood association contacts the city and tells them there's a challenge in their neighborhood with speeding."
Once a neighborhood contacts the city, a traffic engineer surveys the people living there.
"If there's 50 percent or more that favor speed humps or some sort of traffic calming, then they can go ahead and offer that service on that street," said Barrick.
Many are in favor of the speed humps, which differ from speed bumps because they are a gradual raised area in the pavement.
Inessa Telefus, who supports traffic calming, stated, "I think we have to be aware of pedestrians, young children, bicyclists… everybody. The streets are narrow, it's an old town. It's not a wide highway so we do have to allow space for everyone."
Others say the traffic calming measures are hurting more than they're helping.
"Speed humps are not the answer," said Jean Larsen, who opposes traffic calming.
Larsen lives on Park Street and says the speed humps are tough on vehicles and waste gas. "Every time you go over one of those things, after slowing down, you have to speed up and that gobbles fuel," he explained.
"We don't want to become a city of speed humps. We want folks to obey the speed limit and for us to have appropriate means of traffic calming where it's necessary," stated Barrick.
The city has also been looking at other traffic calming measures like additional lanes, bike lanes, and increased police enforcement.
