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County adopts updated road-design standards after residents press for speed cushions
Summary
After public testimony about high-speed traffic on local roads, Walla Walla County commissioners adopted Ordinance 508 to update roadway design standards — including standardized details for speed humps and cushions — and adopted amendments to the six-year Transportation Improvement Program; officials said the devices will be limited to a small share of urban residential roads and emergency access/plowing considerations will guide placement.
Walla Walla County commissioners on Monday voted unanimously to adopt revised roadway design standards that add standardized engineering details for speed humps and speed cushions, after residents urged the board to give public works more tools to address neighborhood speeding.
Public Works presented the ordinance update as a broad modernization of standards last revised in 2015. The package incorporates state and federal design guidance and provides standard dimensions and spacing so the county and contractors install consistent devices if and where they are appropriate.
Residents from the Ghost Street neighborhood urged the county to act. Tammy Alessio described regular high-speed traffic through her block: "We're doing 80, 90 miles an hour," she said, and asked the board to consider speed cushions to protect pedestrians and older residents. Her husband, John Alessio, said multiple neighbors walk the Creek Road and expressed concern that "somebody's gonna get killed." Another resident, Randy Webb, also supported a physical traffic-calming measure.
Public Works Director Dan Mack and engineer Joel Dickerson said the details are intended for a very small subset of county roads — primarily urban residential streets — and that about 98% of county roads would not be candidates for speed lumps or humps. Mack emphasized the devices are already recognized by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and state guidance: "They're already in the MUTCD," he said, and adding them to county standards reduces liability and ensures a consistent design.
Commissioners debated enforcement versus engineering: some members urged more traffic enforcement as the strongest long-term deterrent to high-speed driving, while others said physical measures could be appropriate on a short list of streets where enforcement capacity is limited. Public Works said operational concerns such as snow plowing and emergency access would be addressed before any installation; the county proposed trial implementations and coordination with fire, sheriff and maintenance crews.
The board also held and closed a public hearing on proposed amendments to the county's six-year Transportation Improvement Program (2026'31) and adopted the amended TIP by unanimous vote. Commissioners asked about cost and permitting on specific projects, including river-channel mitigation work related to a 7-Mile Bridge project and a Burns Road realignment that increased in cost after design revisions; Public Works said FEMA funding covers increased Burns Road costs.
What passed: Ordinance No. 508 adopting the revised roadway design standards (includes speed-hump and speed-cushion exhibits) and adoption of the amended six-year TIP. Both measures passed 3-0.
What happens next: Public Works said any speed hump/cushion installation would be evaluated case-by-case and require coordination with emergency services, the sheriff's office and plowing operations, and funding would come through project budgets or targeted grants.
