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Buellton council debates speed-hump policy, asks staff for data and alternatives
Summary
Councilmembers discussed speed humps and other traffic-calming options after multiple neighborhood complaints. Staff outlined Caltrans guidance and liability considerations; council asked staff to collect data, consult the city engineer and emergency services, and return with draft criteria if warranted.
The Buellton City Council spent more than two hours Tuesday reviewing whether to adopt a policy permitting speed humps on city streets and what data or alternatives would be needed before any installation.
City Manager Scott Wolf presented Caltrans’ traffic-calming guidance, which recommends speed humps primarily on “local” streets rather than collector streets because of concerns about average daily traffic, street width, grades and sight distance. Wolf said the typical guidelines list thresholds such as streets wider than 40 feet, average daily trips above about 2,500 and grades above roughly 8% as circumstances that make humps inappropriate. He also noted that Solvang and Santa Barbara County have formal standards and that the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (JPIA) now requires an engineer’s review and a council resolution if humps are installed to preserve insurance…
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