THE GLEN Innes Severn Council will look to replace speed bumps in the Grey Street Central business district after a huge outcry against them from residents and businesses.
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A campaign has begun to lobby council to remove them as businesses complain of the added noise that is created by the speed bumps and motorists complain of damage to their cars.
Raindrops and Lollipops owner Frances Shields said the speed bumps are directly outside her shop and the volume of noise they have created is annoying.
“Just the sheer volume increase that they have created is making it difficult to do business,” she said.
“The feedback I have had from customers is that they just hate them, they think they are too high, and they are saying that they won’t park in the main street because they don’t want to go over them.”
Local resident John Symons said he thinks the speedbumps are a good idea but the execution of the idea is flawed.
“I don’t have a problem with where the speed bumps are, I think they are too steep and it is really just an example of how this council operates,” he said.
“They have good ideas but they execute them poorly and the speed bump issue is the tip of the iceberg really.
“There hasn’t been much consultation with the public on this issue.”
However, Council Director of infrastructure Keith Appleby said council has listened to the public in regards to the speed bump issue.
“The feedback from the public is valid and council is investigated whether the slope angle of the ramps is appropriate,” he said.
“They were bought off the shelf but we do appreciate the feedback from the public and our staff because they have been affected by the noise also.
“So we are investigating possible replacing them with a less aggressively angled speed bump and reusing them in a more suitable location if possible.”
Mr Appleby said the alternative was to wait to see if the furore will die down when people get used to the speed bumps.
“Our primary consideration was to slow traffic down because we had a number of complaints from adjacent business about near misses with pedestrians so our objective was to slow traffic down,’ he said
“This move has been necessitated because motorists have consistently not complied with the 10 km speed limit in the shared zone.
“The feedback we have received is that by and large the public agrees with the speed bumps, but we may need to put a less aggressive model in their place.”
