PTC OK’s 9 speed bumps to slow Planterra traffic

In less than four weeks, anyone using the Planterra Ridge subdivision as a shortcut will get a bit of a jolt.

Nine of them, in fact. That’s how many temporary speed bumps the city will erect along Planterra Way and Terrane Ridge.

By the time the speed bumps are installed, the opening of the newly-widened Ga. Highway 54 will be days away. Resident Bill Nigro suggested the city should wait on the speed bumps to see if traffic is a problem after the new road is opened.

But Councilman Stuart Kourajian noted that the speed bumps will help “re-train” motorists who have been using the route for two years and otherwise might still use the shortcut as second nature even after the highway opens.

Councilman Steve Boone said he was worried about slowing the response of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles. He asked City Attorney Ted Meeker if installing the speed bumps would be a liability.

“There are some concerns I have of us creating a liability,” Meeker replied.

The speed bumps will be between 250 and 600 feet apart, City Engineer David Borkowski said. Since they are temporary, they can be removed when necessary and they will remain the property of the city, staff noted.

Cut-through traffic, and the high speed of some vehicles, has become such a concern that some Planterra residents reportedly took to driving slow deliberately to get their point across to other hurried motorists. Residents were also concerned because of the lack of sidewalks in the subdivision, which is served instead by golf cart paths.

The locations of the speed bumps, which will include signage in both directions, was agreed to by the subdivision’s homeowners association, which will pay more than $3,000 to purchase and install the devices. The other half of the cost will come from city funds, and the work will be done by city public works crews.

Borkowski said staff decided not to install a tenth speed bump location that would have been on Kelly Green, mostly because there were no driveways that emptied onto that road, officials said.

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