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Resident Cheryl Ekman urges speed humps as council adopts neighborhood petition process
Summary
Ward Council adopted a new ordinance establishing a petition-and-study process for neighborhood speed humps after residents from Oakland Grove, led by Cheryl Ekman, described frequent speeding and near-misses involving children. The ordinance requires a petition per street, a traffic study and 75% resident approval; the council waived further readings and adopted the measure.
Ward's City Council on Sept. 17 adopted a new ordinance creating a formal process for residents to request speed humps on local streets, responding to public safety concerns raised by neighborhood residents.
Cheryl Ekman, identifying herself from the Oakland Grove subdivision, told the council the neighborhood has an ongoing speeding problem and described a recent close call: "the other day I stopped there was a little boy on a scooter that went right across the road never stopped never looked and if anybody had been coming going any kind of speed the kid would have been dead." Beth, another neighborhood resident, said she recently recorded a truck driver "hauling" through a four-way stop and submitted the video to the police.
Under the ordinance the request process begins with a petition for the affected street. The city will perform a traffic study and the council will make the final decision; the rule requires a 75% approval threshold among households on the street (one vote per house regardless of homeowner or renter status). Council members noted a concern about how speed humps could affect emergency vehicles but said their fire department experience suggested speed humps could still be workable.
Council moved to approve the ordinance on its second reading, voted to waive the third reading, and adopted the measure. The council directed staff to publicize the procedure online and via social media; the ordinance is effective 30 days after adoption and the city will share application procedures then.
Why it matters: The change gives neighborhoods a clear, uniform pathway to address speeding through resident-driven petitions and a standardized city review, rather than relying on ad hoc individual requests.
Votes and procedure: Roll-call votes recorded in the meeting transcript show Council Members Hefner, Brooke, Rubble, Hall, Chapman and MCM voting in favor when the ordinance moved forward and when readings were waived; the council adopted the ordinance to take effect in 30 days.
Next steps: Residents seeking a speed hump must gather a petition for the street, submit it to the city, and await the traffic study and staff recommendation before the council makes a final decision.
