Slow down!

Neighbors say speed bumps are needed on Capitol Hill Road – even if they have to pay for them

By Shasta Kearns Moore

The Southwest Community Connection, Mar 27, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (9 Reader comments)

Capitol Hill Road resident Amy Northrup gestures to a car to slow down. Northrup said the few times she’s risked taking her twins, Luke and Isaac, to Custer Park on foot she has had to “put them in the stroller and run” for fear of speeders.

Shasta Kearns Moore / The Southwest Community Connection

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Right on the border between the Hillsdale and Multnomah neighborhoods, locals know there’s a quick shortcut behind the Burlingame Safeway to get to and from Barbur Boulevard.

But for those who live on that shortcut, Capitol Hill Road is a little too quick.

“It’s really dangerous, because there’s no sidewalk and people go really, really fast,” said resident Pam VanderVeer.

In fact, one group of neighbors feel the speeding has gotten so dangerous, they are willing to raise the $19,800 or $24,200 needed to install a city-developed plan of nine or 11 speed bumps for the road.

“I think we all wish the city would pay for it ... but the money’s just not there,” said supporter Amy Northrup.

Mellani Calvin, one of a core group who is spearheading the speed bump effort, said different people in the neighborhood have been working on the speed issue for years and have explored other traffic calming options.

But now, it seems the speed bump idea has reached a critical mass. The group of neighborhood activists has been canvassing the street and says it already has the support needed to put in speed bumps.

“The only way to permanently slow the speed is speed bumps,” Calvin said.

The group will officially launch its petition effort at 6:30 p.m., April 2 at a city-run meeting at West Hills Christian School on Capitol Hill Road. Supporters need 67 percent of the 80 abutting households to vote yes, as well as a simple-majority yes-vote from both the Hillsdale and Multnomah neighborhood associations.

After that, they will have two years to raise the construction money through voluntary donations – the project will not be funded through a mandatory local improvement district.

Speed bumps aren't the solution, some argue

Even so, the speed bump proposal is encountering vocal opposition.

“I’m certainly in favor of controlling the speed of the drivers on this road,” said Capitol Hill Road resident Elaine Saunders. But, “I’m just not a speed bump advocate. It’s just a shotgun approach (because) everybody has to drive over the speed bump.”

Another speed bump opponent, Steve Sagnotti, said he believes the speed bumps will only affect the top speeders, but will not solve the essential problem of people ignoring speed laws.

Sagnotti has spent weeks reviewing the city’s traffic data and said the speed bumps installed on nearby Sunset Boulevard have only served to slightly reduce the number of drivers 10 mph or more over the limit.

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