'This is a no-brainer': After children were killed and injured in hit-and-runs, neighbors push for speed humps
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Neighbors in Milwaukee's Williamsburg Heights neighborhood are trying to slow down speeders after a 4-year-old girl was injured last week in a hit-and-run.
The neighbors tell us they've tried before to get speed humps installed but have so far been unsuccessful.
Anyone in any neighborhood can initiate the standard process.
We spoke to a man who's gotten several speed humps installed. He said there's no doubt it saves lives.
Jordan Morales is a member of the Sherman Park Neighborhood Association. He said, "If you have kids on your block, this is a no-brainer."
Morales has gotten several speed humps installed on residential streets to neutralize speeding. He said any neighborhood can pursue it. "God forbid it takes an incident like what happened on 3rd and Nash for people to start getting serious about this extremely effective traffic calming measure."
After a 4-year-old girl was injured on 3rd in a hit-and-run Friday, Sept. 1, neighbors told us they had tried to get speed humps installed.
It's a lengthy process, but residents are only responsible for two of the steps.
First, 50% of the people living on the block must sign a petition. Then DPW will conduct a traffic study, usually counting cars and monitoring speed.
If DPW moves forward, the cost is calculated for each resident based on the size of their property. Morales said it's usually between $300-$400 dollars and can be paid over 10 years. That averages to $2.50 a month.
A postcard survey is then sent out and a majority of respondents must approve.
Morales said, "It's a little political game within your block. A lot of residents, believe it or not, even still today with the reckless driving crisis we have, just don't see the value."
But the weather window for installing asphalt is closing. New projects may have to wait for next summer or beyond.
Morales said the standard process takes about 6 months from petition to completion.
But there is a second, faster way to get speed humps installed. An alderperson can circumvent the process and directly recommend a speed hump.
Morales said those are usually rubber-stamped. "I would probably leverage that situation to say, Hey, let's skip this whole rigamarole.' This isn't theoretical anymore. We now have a kid hit."
And it could be fast-tracked, even if other projects are already in the pipeline. "I don't think anybody would be too upset about that, just because there's obviously been an incident there."
Alderman Khalif Rainey and Alderwoman Milele Coggs represent the areas where the two children were hit last week. Neither was available for an interview.