Fight over speed bumps goes to Lemoore City Council

FRESNO, Calif. After Christine King petitioned the city for speed bumps nine months ago, the city did a traffic study and found they would be appropriate in her neighborhood. But the city told her she would have to pay half of the costs, about $1,700. Neither King nor her neighbors feel like they should foot the bill for public safety. King's home on Opal Avenue sits adjacent to a school drop off and pick up area and a city park. "Cars are going back and forth, there's no one directing it, there's no supervision at all. And cars are whipping around the corner and they don't see them. They will slam on the breaks to miss kids. It's really scary," said King.

A traffic study found a top speed of 68 miles per hour and that speed bumps were warranted, but city policy requires half of the costs to be paid for by residents. Within the last week, the city installed a speed limit and school signs, and also narrowed the road by painting yellow lines. Tuesday night, King and her neighbors once again made their case for more, but Lemoore's Interim Police Chief, Jeff Laws, said the new safety measures appear to be working. Lemoore Union Elementary School District Superintendent Rick Rayburn told council members the district has never had any complaints before now. "I spoke to 8-10 parents and asked them what traffic was like, and all of them said, "Everything's fine ... Everybody's behaving themselves," said Rayburn.

While the Lemoore City Council didn't budge on the speed bumps Tuesday, there may be a compromise. Opal Avenue was opened up to through traffic three years ago to accommodate a planned development that since went belly up. Now, the city may be willing to use a barricade that would cut off through traffic, but still allow parents to pick up their kids at school.

The Lemoore City Council will look into barricading Opal Avenue at a future council meeting. If that happens, the city, and not King, would be responsible for the cost.