Speed humps divide opinions between Clarkson and Ridgewood residents

SPEED humps have generated petitions with opposing views in two neighbouring suburbs.

In Clarkson, residents have been campaigning to have humps removed, citing hoon behaviour, crashes and damage issues.

In Ridgewood, residents have called for speed humps to be installed to reduce hoon behaviour and prevent crashes.

Separate reports on both petitions were on the City of Wanneroo council meeting agenda this month.

The council approved a recommendation noting that the speed cushions in Aldersea Circle in Clarkson “have proven effective in reducing vehicle speeds and crashes” and supporting their continued use.

Resident Alan Connell led a deputation before the meeting, saying 11 people had moved out of the area since the City installed speed cushions in February 2014.

Four months later, the City received a 119-signature petition asking it to remove, reduce or modify the traffic-calming measures “to be less intrusive in regards to noise and hoon traffic”.

Mr Connell said subsequent appeals to the council had been like “talking to a brick wall” as every argument residents put forward was dismissed.

According to the council report, traffic studies showed speeding had decreased since the humps were installed on the 50km/h street.

“The number of vehicles travelling 50-60km/h has reduced from 44 per cent to 14 per cent,” it said.

“The number of vehicles travelling 60-70km/h has reduced from 9 per cent to 1 per cent.”

It said the maximum recorded speed between 2014 and 2016 was 101km/h compared to 133km/h in 2012.

The City’s governance and legal manager Mustafa Yildiz said legal advisers recommended the risk of liability if the City removed the speed humps was too high.

During public question time, Ridgewood resident George Jambanis said residents wanted speed humps at the roundabout on Hinchinbrook Avenue and Ridgewood Boulevard.

Mr Jambanis said vehicles sped around it “every evening” and it was a dangerous situation with many children living in the area.

The report recommended the council not approve speed humps based on the Austroads Guide to traffic Management and instead staff could contact WA Police regarding hoon behaviour.

At Mr Jambanis’s request, Cr Frank Cvitan successfully moved to refer the report back to administration for further investigations into other forms of traffic-calming.

The report said staff had considered other options but found those were not feasible, as narrowing the road width would affect bus movements and rumble strips would increase noise levels.