If local residents have been to Uptown Greenville recently, motorists may have noticed transferable speed bumps on the streets. Now, the Washington City Council is looking into possibly putting them along streets here in town.

Councilman Doug Mercer looked into getting moveable speed bumps for Washington, after some residents complained about traffic speeds on certain streets. He also wants to slow speed down in some areas from 35 to 25 miles per hour.

“We have looked into putting speed bumps in the past, but to put asphalt speed bumps on the streets, it was expensive,” Mercer said. “Now they have hard rubber or hard plastic temporary speed bumps and they come in different sizes.”

According to one speed bump retailer, the movable speed bumps last up to 15 years, reduce speeds 10 to 15 miles per
hour, will not damage tires and will increase pedestrian safety.

Some of the speed bumps sizes are three- to four-feet long and are made to be moved to different streets.

“The cost is not that significant,” Mercer said. “I want us to buy a couple of sets so when we have a complaint on a street we can check it out and put down a speed bump. That way we do not have to invest a substantial amount of money into a permanent speed bump.”

While they help with public safety, one issue that could arise with the moveable speed bumps is damage to the streets.

“At the end of the speed bump, one spike at each end would be installed and that holds it in place,” Mercer said. “It would be a half to an inch hole.”

One of the intersections the city looked at was Respess Street and Oak Drive, where they noticed drivers would bypass 15th Street and Market Street, by speeding through Respess Street and Oak Drive.

“We installed a stealth monitor that records all the cars that come by to check speed and the amount of cars,” Brian Alligood, Washington’s city manager, said. “Every now and again, we noticed a driver would drive too fast, but the majority would be at or below speed limit.”

At the same intersection of Respess Street and Oak Drive there is a yield sign posted at the T-intersection, and Alligood is not sure why it is that way. The city will now install a stop sign at the intersection.

“We are not sure if we will put the moveable speed bumps in neighborhoods or downtown streets,” Alligood said. “We will look into it and come up with a policy to see how we are going to address it before we put speed bumps out.”