EATONTOWN — Speed humps will be reinstalled on Lewis Street to enforce the 25 mph limit despite opposition from residents who claim that the traffic controls diminished their quality of life.
The humps, which were removed so that Lewis Street could be repaved, became an item of discussion at the Aug. 14 Borough Council workshop meeting. Members of the council debated whether to remove the humps permanently or reinstall them once construction is completed.
“Many people say that it slows the traffic down, but they don’t like the noise it creates. I think we need to think about safety,” Councilman Dennis Connelly said.
“We have to take into consideration the kids. It’s not just older families there anymore; there are new families on that street. This is something we have to do to make sure speed stays low.”
Borough Engineer Fran Mullen of T&M Associates said the speed humps were installed 10 years ago to calm traffic that was coming from Fort Monmouth. Since the closing of the fort, traffic volume has decreased but speeding remains an issue, he said.
According to Christopher Bartlett, traffic safety officer with the Eatontown Police Department, a traffic study was conducted earlier this year while the humps were not in place. From May 10-17, a total of 35,000 vehicle trips were recorded along Lewis Street, and approximately 60 percent of those were over the speed limit.
Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said the data reveals that the removal of the speed humps has created a “speedway,” but he questioned whether the speed humps were still necessary with the lower traffic volumes.
Lewis Street residents said the speed humps were not effective and caused more harm than good.
“I have the speed hump [in front] of my house. I have my house shaking when the big trucks go over, and I have a crack in my foundation,” William Scinto said, adding that people still speed on the street.
“It does slow traffic down somewhat when they get to the hump, but then they speed up again.”
Mary Hauser said another speed hump was placed in front of her house with the same result.
“I was here in the spring, and we requested that the humps be removed. … We had to have a mason come and do repairs on the foundation, and we had to have a carpenter fix our wall,” she said. “Our quality of life has improved since the humps were removed.”
However, Councilwoman Janice Kroposky said the humps provided some protection for the children in the neighborhood.
“It takes just one child chasing a ball in the middle of the street and someone doing 40 mph. They can’t stop. We have to think along those lines,” Kroposky said.
Members of the council considered alternate solutions, such as increasing the police presence or replacing one of the two humps with an electronic speed sign that would tell drivers the speed at which they are driving.
Residents said signage would be more effective.
“I feel that people pay attention to the signs because it’s perceived that someone is watching them,” Tina Curtis said. “I don’t think speed humps made a difference. People slow down for the hump and then speed up to see how fast they can go before the next hump.”
Council members debated the effectiveness of the signage, and in the end decided to proceed as before.
“The optimum solution is to go back to the two speed humps,” Tarantolo said. “That is what we had. That is what was successful.”