The
Jefferson Police Department, on the heels of their most recent stop sign
program, are aggressively pursuing additional ways of ensuring local
street safety. Even though they describe the recent plans for hundreds
of additional stop signs to be planted around town as "extremely
successful" and "effective", they still feel that traffic through town
moves too fast for the safety of residents. An unnamed police department
spokesman stated, "If we can successfully slow local traffic down
enough, our jobs will be much easier. For instance, if traffic is moving
slowly enough, we may not have to monitor it at all."It is in this spirit that their latest plan has been unveiled, a plan which will work in tandem with the new stop signs, slowing traffic through and around Jefferson to a virtual crawl. The city of Jefferson has purchased (through a government grant) over 6,000 artificial "speed bumps" which they will begin installing immediately. They hope to have them in place in time for the Bell Tower Festival. Already in place are 500 new speed bumps along E53 heading west out of town (photo at left).
Speed bumps will be placed at strategic intervals along all major roads in and out of town in the first phase of deployment. Traffic on highway 4 as well as old Lincolnway will be affected first. The second phase calls for speed bumps to be placed on all streets located in the vicinity of schools, hospitals, churches, and shopping centers. During this phase, motorists will notice the addition of approximately 150 speed bumps near or around the square. The third phase of the project involves the placement of speed bumps on all streets where it is determined that children live or may live in the future. This will directly address the safety of Jefferson's children.
The
fourth and final phase of speed bump deployment will consist of placing
several specially-designed speed bumps at strategic spots around town
where traffic is deemed exceptional. These speed bumps will be
custom-built to meet the requirements of the specific traffic in each
area. The photo on the left shows one such speed bump already in place
near the west edge of town. With all of the speed bumps in place, as
well as the proposed stop sign program complete, Jefferson residents
will finally be able to rest assured that the streets are safe for their
children. In addition, police will not be needed to monitor minor
speeding violations, which will free them up to work on more important
projects within the LEC. The city hopes to complete the entire project by June 10, in time for the annual Bell Tower Festival. In order to meet this deadline, a city representative told us that approximately 900 hours of overtime pay will be required to be spread among Jefferson's street crews. In addition, a private firm specializing in residential traffic flow has been retained by the city and will submit proposals early next week. All costs associated with this project will be paid for with federal and state funds, costing local residents absolutely nothing at all. A map of the proposed speed bump program will be on display at city hall for those residents interested in viewing the project before it is completed.
Spencer Straight, 05-28-2011