Milton to pilot removable speed humps on Emerald Street after study and enforcement yield limited speed reductions

Milton — City staff said Monday they will pilot removable plastic speed humps on Emerald Street after a traffic study and increased enforcement did not reduce speeds to the level staff considered safe.

Director Madden reviewed the city’s traffic‑calming program and said the city completed a February engineering analysis of four corridors (Taylor, Yuma, Emerald and 20th/Eighth). “Taylor … is not a candidate for speed humps, but Emerald was,” Madden said, adding that the city continued to gather speed data and that police enforcement and speed reader signs did not produce the desired slowing on Emerald.

Madden said the city will install two temporary, removable plastic speed humps — one between 203rd and 19th and another between 19th and 15th — placed between existing stop signs. He described the devices as bolted, lock‑together units that can be removed at low cost. “I'm viewing this as more of a pilot study. That's why we didn't put in permanent speed humps…put them out there for 6 months, see how the community reacts,” Madden said.

Police Chief Hernandez provided initial data on the city’s photo‑enforcement program: staff reported more than 3,000 violations captured so far and said approximately 83% of citations were issued to non‑Milton residents. Chief Hernandez said the department will continue to monitor trends as resident behavior adjusts.

Council members and staff discussed signage and public outreach as part of the program. Mayor Portin and others urged clear communication and well‑placed signage to make the presence of speed‑hump devices and cameras apparent to drivers.

Next steps: staff will install the pilot devices, monitor speed data during the pilot period (six months), and return to council with results and any recommendations for permanent measures or wider corridor changes.