By Simon Albaugh – Yemeni American News
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – In next Tuesday’s City Council meeting (Dec. 14), the Council will vote on whether 18 additional speed humps should be installed around public schools and Pulaski Park.
Speed humps have been an important part of the discussion around speeding in Hamtramck. Although there’s been criticism for speed humps in Dearborn, speeding around schools in Hamtramck does need an immediate solution. Hamtramck has also seen a number of hit and runs over the years, some involving children.
Hamtramck City Council voted to initiate a pilot program of rubber speed humps that were installed near Tau Beta School and Hamtramck High School. The program was deemed mostly a success, with officers observing calmer traffic patterns around those schools.
“The program has been deemed successful based on feedback from the school administration and the community,” reads the introduction to the resolution. “Police officers observed traffic since the installation of the speed humps and agree that the pilot program has been mostly successful.”
Instead of rubber speed humps, as seen in the pilot program, city officials hope to install permanent, asphalt speed humps around more public schools and Pulaski Park. Although no timeline is clear, the city expects to outline a complete timeline when the project would go out to bid.
The total cost of the Speed humps is expected to be $86,125, according to most current costs.
Hamtramck Public Schools will be sharing some of the cost, with Interim Superintendent Nabil Nagi working with the city.
“The City Manager has worked with Hamtramck Public Schools Superintendent Nabil Nagi, who has indicated that the district will contribute financially to expand this program to areas around Hamtramck Public Schools and Pulaski Park which is also property owned by the school district.”
Detroit has also been contributing to the process of development for Speed Humps in Hamtramck. With the successes of Detroit, Hamtramck officials believe this would be a good option for the city.
“City of Hamtramck administration has been in contact on numerous occasions with the administration from the City of Detroit to discuss the success, failures, and the specifics of their speed bump program and have determined that many of the lessons learned in Detroit can be avoided or successfully implemented in Hamtramck.
