Huntersville holds public hearing on Delwood Drive traffic calming; engineers recommend speed humps

Huntersville officials on April 1 heard a public hearing and staff presentation on traffic calming for Delwood Drive after a resident petition prompted a formal study.

Laura Mastro Francesco, the town’s transportation engineer, told the Board that the study area — Delwood Drive from Central Avenue toward Vermilion — has an 18-foot pavement width, no continuous sidewalks and a posted speed limit of 25 mph. She said the 80th-percentile speed measured in field studies was 35 mph, above the town’s 31-mph threshold for advancing traffic-calming measures. "The 80 fifth percentile of drivers were going 35 miles per hour," Mastro Francesco said.

The engineering team presented five options ranging from a single speed hump to a mini-circle at Central plus multiple speed humps. Engineering and police recommended two or three asphalt speed humps (not portable rubber mats); fire staff raised concerns about a mini-circle because a fire hydrant sits near Central and turning maneuvers for large apparatus could be impaired. Mastro Francesco said if the board chooses humps, the town could place them without additional right-of-way and likely install them by late summer or early fall. "If we go back to the speed humps, which is what we would recommend, we have the right of way. We could put it into our public works department and probably have it in late summer or early fall," she said.

Residents who live on and near Delwood Drive urged quicker action and broader changes. Rachel Zwift, the petitioner who helped start the study, said the community’s preference was for either a mini-circle with two humps or, if a mini-circle proved infeasible, at least two speed humps. "Our actual selections were, yes, the mini circle, but then also at least 2 speed humps if we could not get the mini circle," Zwift said, adding that the neighborhood has been requesting calming measures for years.

Several commenters and residents framed calming measures as only part of a broader safety need. Pastor Ray Henderson of Saint Philip Missionary Baptist Church at 524 Delwood Drive said speed humps are "an immediate solution and sidewalks will be an addition as well." Other speakers — including long-time residents who said the street is narrow, lacks sidewalks and is used by children and elderly pedestrians — asked the board to require multiple humps rather than a single device and to add sidewalks where feasible.

Commissioners asked staff to collect more information about community preferences and noted right-of-way and drainage issues that can lengthen projects that require land acquisition. Mastro Francesco told commissioners she had discussed options with the community, police and fire departments and would return with additional detail if the board requested it. One commissioner asked staff to return at the next meeting with a decision-ready recommendation; staff said they could do so.

The town did not take a final vote on a specific physical improvement at the April 1 meeting. The engineering presentation and the public comments will be part of a next-step staff recommendation if the board asks staff to proceed.

Why it matters: Delwood Drive is a narrow neighborhood street used by pedestrians and school commuters; the board’s choice of measures will determine how quickly physical changes, enforcement and any sidewalks reach residents. The community stressed safety and urged the town to move faster than the multi-year timeline some residents said the street has experienced in the past.

What’s next: Staff said speed humps could be installed within months if the board approves them and if no additional property acquisition is required. A mini-circle would likely require surveying, drainage evaluation and easement negotiations and could add months to the schedule.