Reducing excessive speeds on residential streets is an important objective in ensuring the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, animals, and vehicles in neighborhoods, and in creating a calmer and more livable environment. Methods for discouraging speeding include enforcement, education, and engineering efforts. While police enforcement remains the most effective means of dealing with speeding, limited resources prevent officers from covering all of the problem locations at all times. In response to this concern, Valencia County has developed this policy which addresses engineering efforts, specifically the use of speed humps, as a "traffic calming" technique for retrofit use in existing neighborhoods. Many drivers ignore statutory and posted speed limits and, if the design of the road will allow them to do so, will drive at speeds exceeding those which suit the conditions prevailing in residential areas. Various physical devices have been developed to discourage this behavior; one of these devices is the speed hump.
(Ord. 2000-01, passed 5-1-2000)