ANAHEIM : Humps Reportedly Smooth Out Traffic

After battling the city for nearly two years, residents of Glenview Avenue and Holbrook Street are finally enjoying what they fought for: 11 new speed humps across their busy streets, and long-awaited peace from noisy and dangerous speeders.

And after a month of living with the new humps in place, residents say it was worth every hour they spent gathering petitions, and every Tuesday night they passed at City Council meetings arguing with city traffic engineers and council members.

“There are still those people who don’t go as slow as we’d like them to, but we don’t have any more of those people who go from zero to 60 m.p.h. from start to finish,” said Marcia Clarke, a Glenview Avenue resident who helped organize the neighborhood.

The neighborhood has been plagued in recent years by the large number of motorists who use Anaheim Hills residential streets as a shortcut between busy Kellogg Drive and Orangethorpe Avenue.

Residents brought petitions of support and plans for the humps to the council but were met with opposition from the city Traffic Department, which was concerned that the humps would not deter traffic but cause speeders to become airborne, and would create a hazard for children using them as jump ramps.

Humps, as opposed to speed bumps often found in commercial shopping centers, are low and wide, forcing cars to slowly cruise over them. In all, the 11 humps cost about $24,000 to install. Four other cities in the county have them.

Eventually the council agreed to give the residents’ idea a try. The neighborhood is undergoing a six-month trial, after which the humps’ effect on traffic will be studied. If the humps have helped reduce speed and traffic, they will remain; if not, they will be removed.

Residents say they already notice a difference. They say the humps have worked to deter cars that usually use the street as a shortcut, and force those that still use it to drive slower. They say the humps have brought none of the ill effects that officials anticipated.

“I haven’t seen any kids out there on them at all--especially after Christmas, when they all got new bikes and skateboards--I haven’t seen any of that,” said Philip Dominguez, a Holbrook Street resident who helped organize neighbors on his street.

Clarke added that children are able to cross the neighborhood more safely, now that fewer cars and even fewer speeders come through the streets. “It used to be a joke to try to cross the street at 5 o’clock,” she said.

“The main thing is, the city tried to tell us we couldn’t change anything, and we have, and I’m pleased.”