Huntersville transportation staff recommended installing a single speed hump on Maple Branch Drive to address speeding in the Northbrook subdivision after a field study found vehicle speeds above the town's threshold.

Steven Trot presented the traffic-calming public hearing on Sept. 16 and said the 85th-percentile speed on the study segment between NC 73 and Bankfire Lane was 34 mph, which exceeded the town's threshold for further action. The town tried awareness outreach, police enforcement, and radar feedback signs and then retested speeds; those measures did not reduce speeds, Trot said. The proposed measure is a speed hump placed about 250 feet north of the existing mini-roundabout, positioned to avoid a culvert and to sit between proposed commercial access and the subdivision.

Several neighbors spoke in support of traffic calming and urged additional measures. Ed McCormick, a Bankfire Lane resident, said Northbrook and nearby Oak Farm would prefer multiple calming devices, noting "the renegades are those that are 3 and 4 sigma out of the average," and asked the town to consider temporary lower thresholds for installation until enforcement staffing improves. "We deeply would like to see more versus less," McCormick said, while acknowledging that one device is better than none.

Neighbor David Helms described near misses involving children chasing soccer balls into the street near a recreational area, saying visibility can be obscured by landscaping and that speed humps focus driver attention. Both speakers asked the town to consider additional temporary devices and stronger enforcement.

Commissioners asked staff about spacing, whether two speed humps were considered, proximity to commercial driveways and a daycare proposed off NC 73, and whether the town studied other streets in the neighborhood. Trot said multiple streets were studied but this section was the only one exceeding the threshold; the town used a five-mph-over-posted-speed-limit threshold to qualify the street for calming. He cautioned that placing additional humps too close to commercial driveways could create maintenance and wear issues with heavier vehicles.

ACTIONS, DISCUSSION AND NEXT STEPS: This was a public hearing. Staff asked for public comment; the next step is for staff to summarize comments and return with a recommendation for board action at a later meeting. Neighbors requested the board consider installing multiple devices or temporary measures earlier than the town's normal re-application schedule and to prioritize enforcement staffing.

ENDING: Board members and staff said they will review the public hearing comments and return with a formal recommendation at a future meeting.