Bude workers now installing speed bumps on town streets

The installation of “traffic-calming” devices on residential streets in Bude has begun with more strategically placed speed bumps on the horizon during 2022.

Jeremy Flowers and Elvia Brown, who serve as the Town of Bude’s maintenance personnel, have been tasked with installing the rubberized humps to slow vehicles and make streets safer for residents.

“This work is being done because of concerns raised about the speed of cars and trucks throughout the town — especially where there are lots of children and people who walk,” Flowers said.

“These steps are being taken to improve overall safety because town streets should not be drag strips, and placing speed bumps will hopefully address those concerns.”

Flowers and Brown confirmed at least 10 six-foot-long bumps have recently been installed along D Street between Gerard and Main streets — an area that has a reputation for dangerous driving habits.

“Houses and utility poles in this area have been struck by speeding vehicles in the past,” Brown noted. “Accidents related to speed have also taken out sections of fencing on people’s property as well as a town fire hydrant.”

Flowers said Bude’s police department, under the leadership of Chief Reggie Cain, has been actively addressing speed issues throughout the town, but law enforcement cannot be everywhere all the time to address traffic violations.

“There’s only so many tickets that can be written and having these bumps is a way to manage traffic patterns without having an officer sitting here around the clock,” Flowers added.

Other thoroughfares in the municipality that could soon see the placement of speed bumps include C, Poplar and Gerard streets as well as Railroad Avenue.

“It comes down to an issue of safety — plain and simple,” Brown said. “I don’t want to be the one to think that a child on a bicycle or an elderly person walking to visit a neighbor is hit or killed because we, as a town, didn’t do all we could to make our streets safer.”

The speed bumps are bolted to the asphalt to prevent them from moving as vehicles roll over them and have yellow warning stripes painted on them along with built-in reflectors to alert drivers of their placement.

Additionally, maintenance personnel have posted yellow speed bump warning signs at the ends of D Street along with new speed limit signs.

“We’re in the process of looking at reducing the speed limits in areas where we place speed bumps to either 10 to 15 miles per hour,” Brown said. “That is a good speed to go over the bumps and is suitable for residential neighborhoods.”

Flowers and Brown said there has already been some vocal opposition to the speed bumps, but the overwhelming majority of responses has been positive.

“There’s no substitute for safety,” Flowers said. “The danger of speed on residential streets has prompted these decisions, and if people choose not to drive safely then these speed bumps will hopefully help make that choice for them.”

The placement of the speed bumps were authorized by the town’s board of aldermen after a great deal of discussion regarding concerns for public safety during the past two years.

In other planned public works projects for Bude, Flowers announced an effort is being made to assess the town’s existing street signs to replace aged or missing safety and directional postings.

“We have a number of signs that are worn and faded or are no longer reflective and need to be replaced,” he went on to say.

“Right now, we are getting a master list of all signs that need to be updated or replaced and will be working to do that in the near future.”

Flowers and Brown indicated town directional signage will be updated to include such key information as “North” and “South” as there is often confusion about the configuration of roads involving those travelers using GPS devices.

“These changes to select directional signs will be important to helping people get to where they are going and to help all our emergency services find places throughout town,” Brown said.

“It’s not unusual to find people not from here getting lost or turned around, and hopefully upgrading our signs will be the next step in addressing what has been a problem.”