A longstanding Ucluetian scuttlebutt might be nearing resolution as speed humps are being considered as a solution to stop drivers from speeding through Ucluelet’s playground zone on Peninsula Road.
Ucluelet’s municipal council has budgeted $20,000 to install four humps at the zone’s four crosswalk locations. Mayor Mayco Noel told the Westerly News the proposed humps are wide enough to double as crosswalks.
“They’re purpose built. They’re going to be right at the crosswalks and I think it’s going to be good. And, if it doesn’t go good, we can unbolt them and put them somewhere else,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to give it a shot here.”
Ucluelet’s playground zone differs from a traditional school zone in that the 30km/h speed limit is in effect from dusk till dawn, 365 days a year. Residents, particularly parents of school-aged children, have long expressed frustration over drivers not obeying that limit.
“Every time you go to a [Parent Advisory Council] meeting, that’s one of the conversation pieces,” Noel said. “We thought, ‘Let’s just kill this conversation and get some speed bumps’…We’re all dropping off kids and it’s frightening the speed that everybody’s going through there.”
The district collected public feedback on the idea this month and Noel is confident the four humps will be installed prior to September’s new school season.
The district has had speed bumps stored in it’s public works yard for roughly 15 years, but Noel said those are too small to be suitable for the playground zone.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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Edit: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that the cost of the four speed humps was expected to be $80,000. The Westerly apologizes for the error.