A Summit Park couple is concerned that when crews complete construction of a section of Parkview Drive this fall that drivers will race down the road with disregard for the 25 mph speed limit in the neighborhood.
“We are making the road wider so we are getting people driving faster,” Summit Park resident Mark Simmons said. “There is a hill there. It’s perfect.”
Simmons spoke to the Summit County Council on Wednesday. Lynda Simmons, his wife, said lots of people sped along Parkview when the street was narrow and had a smaller shoulder.
“They came flying by our house at sometimes 45, 50 mph,” she said.
Mark Simmons asked whether speed bumps along the road would help slow drivers down.
“I’m just asking for any help to slow this traffic down,” he said “There has to be an answer. I slow down for a speed bump.”
Summit County Councilwoman Sally Elliott said speed bumps have been effective in the past.
“Of course speed bumps work. It’s just that engineers hate speed bumps,” Elliott said. “Give them a chance to see if the speeds really are in fact faster and if there are more dangers there.”
Parkview Drive is one of Summit Park’s main thoroughfares. And speed bumps have created safety hazards on roads serving high volumes of traffic, Summit County Public Works Administrator Kevin Callahan said.
“It’s not the way to go,” Callahan added. “On a high volume road they are not really safe.”
Transportation officials will monitor the speeds when construction of the lower portion of Summit Park is complete, he said in a telephone interview.
“First you have to know that there is really a problem,” Callahan said.