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Resident appeal for speed humps on South Maple advances to further study and enforcement
Summary
Residents appealed a staff traffic-calming analysis to request a speed hump on South Maple Avenue; staff said the data fell short of policy criteria but council asked police enforcement and agreed to revisit traffic counts after nearby subdivision build-out.
Broken Arrow residents asked the City Council on Tuesday to grant a traffic-calming exception and install a speed hump on South Maple Avenue in the Meadows at Indian Springs subdivision.
Zach Smith, assistant director of Streets and Stormwater, explained the city's traffic-calming policy from the 2015 traffic control manual and the numerical thresholds used to recommend speed humps. "Inside that criteria, it specifies that your average daily traffic should be over 500 vehicles a day, and 85% of the vehicle should be traveling over 30 miles per hour in the 25 mile per hour zone," Smith told council. For the South Maple stretch, Smith said the team's analysis measured an average daily traffic count of 81 vehicles and the 85th-percentile speed at 29 mph, which falls short of the policy minimums.
Kyle Jordan, who collected homeowner signatures supporting a hump, told council that vehicles are "flying, I mean, 40, 50 miles an hour" on the straight stretch and said he feared an accident with his child present. Jordan said the roadway is now a through route while a nearby development is being paved.
Council response and next steps: Council members noted the nearby Elm Creek subdivision infrastructure and asked whether traffic-calming devices are planned in the new development. Staff said subdivision plans did not show traffic-calming devices and that the current vehicle counts include construction and bus traffic; engineering said the new development has a kinking alignment designed to slow vehicles but no guaranteed humps. In the meeting the council directed staff to provide the police department the location for targeted speed enforcement and agreed to repeat traffic studies after the adjacent subdivision is built out. Council also asked engineers to evaluate whether stop signs, speed humps or other measures are appropriate and where a device would be sited.
Why it matters: The request pits current engineering criteria against neighborhood safety concerns while construction and future subdivision build-out change traffic patterns. Councilors emphasized enforcement now and additional study later rather than granting an immediate exception.
Source: Presentation and citizen remarks with answers from Zach Smith and follow-up by council on May 6, 2025.
