Some speed bumps in Indianola are no longer serving their purpose as traffic-calming devices. As the summer sets in, the speed bumps have been worn down by traffic and heat. On Monday the Indianola Board of Aldermen discussed this matter and what they could do to repair the asphalt strips.
Ward 1 Alderman Gary Fratesi brought the issue to the aldermen's attention. Fratesi questioned the sustainability of the asphalt strips and shared that he saw a piece of one at the city’s lagoon. Mayor Ken Featherstone also cited his concerns about the bumps.
“It kind of seems like the asphalt gets compromised under extreme heat, particularly out there on Kinlock Road” Featherstone said. “That thing is not a bump now, it’s almost flat. I just question using that type of material going forward.”
Ward 3 Alderman Ruben Woods added that the size of the bumps was an issue. Woods said he had received complaints about the height of the speed bumps on Kinlock.
“They say it’s scrubbing the bottom of their car when they go over it,” Woods shared.
Woods asked Public Works Director Robert Spurlock if there was a certain specification on the size of the speed bumps within the city.
“We measure the length of the ones we have purchased,” Spurlock said. “I thought we were pretty much on point with it.”
The discussion moved to the different materials they could use. City Engineer Ron Cassada provided some guidance with the recommendation of using hot asphalt mix instead of cold asphalt mix. Cassada also recommended speed humps instead of speed bumps. Speed humps are less aggressive than speed bumps at low speeds. Cassada also recommended that there be signs leading to where the speed bumps are.
The board began to discuss the financial aspect of the speed humps by assessing which material would be cost-effective.
Ultimately, the board took action by asking Spurlock to use hot mix asphalt to repair or rebuild the worn speed bumps.
