If you’ve wondered if the speed bumps next to BlackBurn Park are gone for good, they’re not.
However, one day, those bumps will become humps. Humps are described as less aggressive than speed bumps at low speeds.
In July of 2017, city council approved speed bumps to slow the traffic travelling between Blackburn Park and the Salmon Arm Fairgrounds in response to letters complaining about speeders.
The issue was reviewed by the city’s traffic safety committee that summer and staff told council there were future plans for park entrance gates, build outs and other improvements based on the Blackburn Park Master Plan.
“Staff have reviewed several possible traffic-calming options for this location, keeping in mind that a more permanent solution will be developed when the roadway is properly designed and constructed in the future,” said Niewenhuizen in 2017, noting the temporary plan proposed the installation of “no-post” barriers and speed bumps, along with appropriate signage. “Staff feel that this solution will provide a narrowing of the roadway which will assist in raising driver awareness along this section of Fifth Street SW.”
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As was the plan at that time, the speed bumps are removed in the winter so the road can be plowed and will be replaced again this spring, Niewenhuizen confirms.
“The reasoning behind the ‘temporary’ nature of the speed bumps is that we are working on a plan to improve the parking in this area and at that time we would most likely incorporate a permanent ‘speed humps’ type of traffic calming measure in front of the park area,” Niewenhuizen wrote in a Feb. 3 email to the Observer.
He said there are no other locations in Salmon Arm that have speed bumps. That’s because they impede response time for emergency vehicles and are a maintenance issue, especially during the winter.
marthawickett@saobserver.net
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