City offering ASAP program to stop speeders in neighborhoods

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Oklahoma City residents who are concerned about speeding in their neighborhoods can reach out to the Public Works Department for help.

The department says it has updated its alternative speed abatement program to make it easier for residents to reduce speeding in neighborhoods and around schools.

The new program provides city funding for half of the cost of the device, while the other half is paid for by the applicant.

"We are happy to reintroduce the speed abatement program with enhanced features and funding,” said Public Works Director Eric Wenger. “We have $50,000 allocated for this cost-sharing program and will expand the budget if needed.”

To qualify, streets must:

• Be public.
• Be located near homes, apartments or a public institution such as a school, library or hospital.
• Be identified in PlanOKC as a neighborhood street, connector street or industrial street.
• Have a posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour for speed humps and up to 30 miles per hour for speed cushions.

Five traffic calming features are available, depending on the street:

1. Street alerts - white pavement markings permanently affixed to the roadway surface with messages such as “stop ahead,” “yield,” and “slow.”
2. Driver feedback signs - permanently mounted, interactive signs that display the speed of a vehicle as it approaches the sign.
3. Speed humps - a rounded, raised section of roadway that is constructed of either prefabricated panels or asphalt concrete. They are approximately twelve feet in length (in line with the street) with a height ranging from three to four inches.
4. Speed cushions - a speed hump that has wheel paths cut through it to reduce travel speeds of cars while allowing fire trucks and ambulances to pass over them with little to no effect.
5. Mini-roundabouts - a circular median sized to fit within a neighborhood intersection without requiring any other physical changes to the intersection.

For more information, visit the city's website.