Residents press council on speeding in Woodshore subdivision; staff recommends new traffic study

Residents of the Woodshore subdivision raised traffic-safety concerns Tuesday, urging the Clute City Council to consider measures such as speed bumps, additional stop signs, signage and increased patrols to protect children near a playground on Woodridge Crossing.

Aldo Capristo, who said he lives at 109 Wood Shore Crossing and speaks for neighbors, described multiple posted speed limits in the subdivision (20, 25 and 30 mph), long straight stretches where drivers accelerate, and a small traffic circle where drivers “go straight through that circle the wrong way.” He asked whether speed bumps would be a viable mitigation and invited council members to walk the neighborhood with him.

Staff and the police chief responded that state minimum limits (outside school zones) generally require a 25 mph baseline and that two streets with 20 mph signage likely were missed in a prior update. Staff said a traffic warrant analysis and new counts would be appropriate: “At the time, I wanna say that was 2020, 2021... we didn't have the warrant,” a staff speaker said, and offered to have AGS re-run the counts. The police chief reported targeted enforcement results during recent checks: “0.667 of the traffic stops are Wood Shore residents,” he said, urging a mix of enforcement and resident self-policing.

Council and staff suggested lower-profile engineering treatments (striping, “whale tails,” signage upgrades or a conversion to a three-way stop at key intersections), and warned that speed bumps pose maintenance and liability concerns for the city. Staff committed to bringing the matter back to the traffic commission for review and to coordinate further counts and signage options with the resident who brought the complaint.