Speed bump repairs may face a bumpy future

By Coleen Burnett
Eatontown — At the workshop meeting of the Eatontown Borough Council on September 13, the hot topic was the release of the a “speed bump” study by Borough Engineer Ed Hermann.
Some quick facts:  A total of 26, from all across the borough, were examined.  Seven were deemed as being in “poor” condition.  One on South Street was determined to be in “fair” condition, but will need replacement down the road (pardon the pun).

Four others are in satisfactory shape and do not need immediate action. The rest are adequate, but some of those will need anywhere from tweaking to outright replacement within the next three to five years due to their age.

Most of the bumps, each of which vary in size and height depending on their location, were constructed and installed between 2006 and 2012.  Their normal life expectancy is four to seven years.

Hermann called the issue is a “highly volatile topic,” with the degree of anger usually dependent on where the humps are placed on the streets of a given neighborhood. The engineer even got into his personal vehicle and, using a preset speed, went over some of them himself.

“With the exception of about three, I found that at about 25 miles per hour, there were some that I felt more than others,” he admitted. “There were some where I said, ‘Boy, I wouldn’t want to do that again.’”

Hermann pointed out that it is more cost effective to do the project all at once rather, than in separate stages. With that in mind, Mayor Dennis Connelly suggested pulling up all of the bumps, milling down the street, and then conducting another in-house study to see if they are truly needed.

“See how they compare to when the speed bumps were there,” he said. “I do believe they work.

I know that’s not popular with everyone. I can actually hear {the trucks rumble over the humps} from my house”.

“I’m all about the safety factor,” he added.

But Councilman Anthony Talaric objected the Mayor’s idea, calling it “indiscriminate.” He said the report already identifies areas that need replacement and to use that as a template.

“I think it is counter-intuitive,” he said of the Mayor’s remarks on another study.

Councilwoman Virginia East suggested that the borough’s Traffic Advisory Committee have some input concerning the report as well. That, it turns out, will easily be done.

However, the discussion — which lasted a little over an hour — will have to wait a bit more for a solution. Connelly asked Hermann to go out and get prices for various scenarios and then report back to the council. Until then, the bumps will stay put.