City To Rip Out Speed Bumps Installed By Neighborhood

INDIANAPOLIS -- A northwest side subdivision and the city have bumped heads over speed bumps installed by the neighborhood, but deemed unlawful by inspectors.

Residents in the Augusta Crossing community near 71st Street and New Augusta Road chipped in $1,800 last summer to install four sets of yellow speed bumps after concerns about children playing in the path of fast-moving cars, Call 6's Rafael Sanchez reported.

"We just felt like we knew there was a problem. We knew what our solution was, so we took the action to do that," said homeowner Alicia Hadden, a mother of two.

The homeowner's association thought it had jurisdiction over its streets, which isn't unusual for area subdivisions, but the city took issue with the new additions.

Department of Public Works spokeswoman Kit Werbe said that the city has owned the roads in the neighborhood since 2004 and that the speed bumps are illegal.

"There's issues with the law, there's issues with the actual construction of these speed bumps and then there's just also the issue of what could happen as a result of these being there," she said.

But neighbors said that protecting the children in the neighborhood is their No. 1 priority.

"They were worried about a lawsuit because of a car getting tore up. I say you can replace a car. You cannot replace someone's child," Hadden said. "This is something we need. We paid to put them in. We would like to keep them."

Werbe said the city will tear out the speed bumps, but will consider installing signs in the neighborhood that read "No Outlet."

There is a process to request approved speed bumps -- or speed humps as the city refers to them -- be installed in a particular area. Werbe said there has to be evidence that drivers are cutting through the neighborhood to get to another location and that 85 percent of the traffic must be moving at more than 35 mph.

"I think this is a good learning lesson for neighborhoods across the city," Werbe said. "It's important to do your homework. You can't just do what you want with the streets."

The city on Thursday contacted the neighborhood association to request a community meeting.