By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
Lead footed motorists will soon have to think twice before they put the pedal-to-the-metal while driving through the Emersonia neighborhood in Jackson Township.
At its regular meeting in April, the board of trustees unanimously agreed to enter into a contract with the Columbus-based Strawser Paving Company to install speed humps and speed tables throughout the subdivision at a cost of $73,950.
Township officials said they believe that the installation of these traffic calming measures will go “a long way” toward reducing the number of motorists who zip through the narrow residential streets.
“Emersonia is a fantastic little subdivision that has seen a lot of growth and a lot of redevelopment in the areas nearby,” said Shane Farnsworth, township administrator. “Unfortunately, some of the motorists who have been driving through the neighborhood – most who are using it as a cut-through to access other parts of the township and city – have not been obeying the posted 25 mile per hour speed limit and are posing a real threat to the adults, the children, and the animals who live there.
“We want them to be safe, to feel safe while doing everyday activities and we all believe that these (traffic calming measures) are going to slow down the traffic and remind the motorists that they are driving through a neighborhood.”
The placement of the speed humps and speed tables are based upon the recommendations of the county engineer’s office who conducted a traffic study on the roads within the subdivision late last year. In total, two speed tables and nine speed humps will be installed on the roadways in the Emersonia neighborhood. These are the locations of the traffic calming measures, per the recommendations of the county engineer’s office:
• One speed table will be installed at the intersection of Lois Drive and Nedra Street. The second speed table will be installed at the intersection of McComb Road and Charlemagne Street.
• Three speed humps will be installed on Hyde Road – two of which will be located east of Nedra Street and one east of Lois Drive
• Two speed humps will be installed on McComb Road – one of which will be located north of Charlemagne Street while the other will be located north of Chateau Street.
• Two speed humps will be installed on Nedra Street – one of which will be located west of McComb Road while the other will be located west of Lois Drive.
• Two speed humps will be installed on Charlemagne Street – one of which will be located west of McComb Road while the other will be located east of Lois Drive.
Farnsworth said he expected the traffic calming structures to be installed this year, likely in the late summer or early fall after the planned resurfacing of Hyde Road.
He said he has spoken to several residents of the Emersonia neighborhood about the traffic calming project and they have expressed excitement about what is to come to their community.
“The residents in Emersonia are always out walking and their kids are always out riding their bikes and they constantly see motorists running the stop signs and driving way too fast down the road,” he said. “They know that these speed humps and speed tables could really slow these people down and I think they are happy that something is being done to combat the problem they see on a daily basis.”
