Mayor Walsh Expands Speed Hump Pilot Program
Published on November 09, 2022
11 new speed humps will be added to existing five locations across Syracuse
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh today introduced new speed humps on seven select city streets. The Department of Public Works (DPW) is installing at total of 11 new speed humps to expand the Speed Hump Pilot program, which was first launched in 2021 to deter speeding and increase pedestrian safety.
Under the pilot program, speed humps are installed on different types of residential and park roads with the goal of slowing traffic and studying their impacts to driver behavior. Radar speed data is collected at each location before and after installation to study changes in traffic flow and average speeds. Speed data is also collected on various adjacent streets to monitor whether there are changes to the local street network after speed humps are installed. The City uses the data to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot speed humps and determine other locations where they may be needed.
“Expanding the speed hump pilot program helps ensure we are using the right traffic calming measures in the right places,” said Mayor Walsh. “With this data-driven approach, the goal is to improve overall neighborhood safety and not just shift the problem to other streets. This expanded pilot will allow us to become more responsive to the specific needs of neighborhoods and better address quality of life issues related to excessive speeding.”
The locations of the new pilot sites are:
- Hickok Avenue (200 block)
- Kirk Avenue (300 block)
- North Collingwood Avenue (200 block)
- Seymour Street (400 and 500 blocks)
- Strathmore Drive (200 block)
- West Newell Street (300 block)
- West Ostrander Avenue (300 and 400 blocks)
Signage and pavement markings will alert drivers to the new speed humps. An interactive map of the locations of the pilot program speed humps can be found at goto.syr.gov/maps-speedhumps.
Reducing vehicle speeds by even a few miles per hour has been shown to greatly decrease serious and fatal injuries to pedestrians and cyclists. The results of the first year of the pilot program showed the speed humps produced lower speeds in virtually all installation areas, especially on park roads. There were no negative impacts to Right-of-Way infrastructure and almost all neighboring streets showed no changes in averages speeds and traffic flow. DPW determined further data collection and analysis at additional locations is necessary to establish the most effective method for installing speed humps to deter speeding.
For the second year of the pilot program, DPW crews will place speed humps at differing locations on blocks and test the effectiveness of paired speed humps versus a single speed hump. DPW also worked with the Fire Department to develop new cushion designs for the speed humps that slow down passenger vehicles but allow emergency vehicles to pass over without delay. Following the pilot extension, a final Determination of Effectiveness is anticipated in Winter 2023.
More information on the Speed Hump Pilot Program can be found at goto.syr.gov/speedhumps.