Residents press council on speeding; staff outlines traffic-calming rules and an HOA-paid option

Will Leahy, a resident of the Villages of Garrison Cove, told the Murfreesboro City Council on July 10 that his neighborhood has endured a long-running speeding problem and repeated crashes. "I've seen 2 overturned vehicles," Leahy said, and he described multiple damaged mailboxes and one house struck by a drunk driver, asking the council for "something" to slow traffic in the neighborhood.

City traffic staff (Miss Emerson) told the council the traffic-calming program uses a data-driven process: a resident files an application plus two resident signatures, the city sends a petition package, the requester returns at least 30% of property-owner signatures within 90 days to trigger a study, and staff scores roadways for further action. To qualify, a roadway’s 85th-percentile speed must be at least four miles per hour over the posted limit and the road must be a local street (30 mph or less) and at least 1,000 feet long.

Emerson said the program has handled 137 requests to date; 125 applications were sent, 43 petitions were returned, 17 petitions were filed and 7 locations have qualified for traffic-calming measures. Installed measures include speed cushions and permanently mounted digital speed feedback signs. Staff reported an average speed reduction of about 14% on streets where cushions were installed, with Savannah Ridge cited as falling from a 36 mph 85th-percentile speed to 27 mph after treatment.

Staff gave cost figures: portable permanently mounted digital speed-feedback signs are about $5,500 each with a $125 subscription fee (staff clarified that is a $125 monthly subscription for cloud services), and individual rubber speed cushions cost about $825 each; cushions are typically installed in sets, with each location costing roughly $1,650–$2,500 depending on roadway width. Emerson also noted that roads with speed cushions are removed from the snow-plow route while cushions are in place.

Council members pressed staff about options when neighborhoods do not meet program metrics. Mayor McFarland and other council members asked whether an exception or an alternative could be created. The council discussed a staff proposal to create a formal process allowing homeowners associations (HOAs) in subdivisions that have HOAs to fund and install cushions on public roads if they follow city standards and accept responsibility for installation and ongoing maintenance. Staff said private roads already may have cushions installed by their owners, but an HOA-funded program on public roads would require city inspection and standards compliance; the city would assume long-term maintenance obligations and cushions would need to be removed and reinstalled if the city repaves the street.

Councilmembers also discussed petition thresholds: 30% of property-owner signatures are required to initiate a study; 50% of property owners are required to remove an approved installation. Staff said digital signs have been used on some community-collector roads where cushions are not allowed, and that the city typically orders signs as needed rather than stockpiling them.

The council did not take formal action at this meeting on changing program rules; staff said they could draft a formal HOA-paid-installation policy and present it to council for consideration.