City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 FROM: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WARD: 4 SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR SPEED HUMPS ON JOHN STREET
ISSUE:
Consider implementation of speed humps on John Street between Victoria Avenue and Cleveland Avenue.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council approve the proposed speed humps on John Street between Victoria Avenue and Cleveland Avenue in support of the Transportation Board’s recommendation.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
On August 6, 2025, the Transportation Board (Board) reviewed this matter; all seven members were present. Staff recommended denial of the speed humps based on established criteria; however, the denial was appealed by residents of John Street. After a thorough discussion, the Board ultimately voted unanimously to recommend approval of the proposed speed humps on John Street between Victoria Avenue and Cleveland Avenue.
BACKGROUND:
The Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) was designed to provide general guidelines for the assessment of traffic issues on local, collector, and arterial roadways throughout the City as well as outline various traffic mitigation measures which may serve as suitable solutions to demonstrated traffic issues.
As part of the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP), the city re-instated a formal Speed Hump Policy Guidelines and Procedure on May 7, 2024, to effectively address concerns related to speeding on residential streets. The goal of this policy is to enhance neighborhood safety by implementing traffic calming measures, such as speed humps, to reduce vehicle speeds on eligible residential streets. This policy aims to unite neighborhoods and identify appropriate measures to improve travel behavior for the benefit of affected communities. Speed humps are a potential secondary option for residential designated streets. A website outlining details of the Speed Hump Program has been developed – Speed Hump Program | Public Works A speed hump is an elongated mound in the roadway pavement surface extending across the traveled way designed perpendicular to the traffic flow. The purpose of a speed hump is to regulate traffic speeds by providing minor vertical deflection while driving through it. Speed humps are still considered experimental roadway features; therefore, additions, alterations, or removals of all speed humps may occur at any time.
DISCUSSION:
The city received a petition from the residents on John Street requesting speed hump installation. The petition and roadway conditions on John Street between Victoria Avenue and Cleveland Avenue (Attachment 1 – Location Map) were reviewed for consistency with the City’s Speed Hump Program. The petition received indicates support by 15 of the 17 residents (88%) on John Street for speed humps, which meets the minimum requirement of 70% of the residents. There were no signatures from residents opposing the consideration of speed humps. Staff investigated speeds, volumes, and street geometrics. Comparing staff’s investigation of John Street with the City’s set guidelines for speed humps resulted in 7 out of 8 criteria being met. However, John Street has daily traffic volumes ranging between 253 and 261 vehicles and it fell significantly short of meeting the minimum 750 vehicles per day. Based on the requirement to meet all 8 criteria, John Street does not qualify for speed humps per the City approved policy. A summary of the findings is provided on Attachment 2 and staff have provided all this information to the John Street residents. However, a letter of appeal (Attachment 10) was submitted to city staff to requesting for proposed speed humps to be reviewed by the Transportation Board.
Because the roadway does not meet the established criteria for speed hump installation, which would come at the cost of $21,480, and because staff are not aware of mitigating circumstances that would merit overriding the established criteria, staff recommend denial of the appeal.
John Street is a two-way (one lane in each direction) residential street located between Victoria Avenue to the north, and Cleveland Avenue to the south. It is approximately 1,340 feet in length and 30 feet wide, which meets the minimum required length of ¼ mile (1,320) and does not exceed the maximum width of 40 feet. There are 17 homes on both sides of the street meeting the minimum requirement of sixteen (16) homes for a double-loaded street. Attachment 3 illustrates the potential speed hump locations along John Street. There are three (3) speed humps shown.
There were two speed surveys and traffic counts conducted on John Street as part of staff’s investigation. The radar surveys measured the 85th percentile speed in the range of 34 mph to 37 mph on John Street which does meet the 37-mph minimum required by the city program. The corresponding 24-hour two-way volume counts indicated total daily volumes in the range of 253 to 261 vehicles per day, which does not meet the minimum threshold of 750 vehicles per day. The estimated vertical grade is in the range of 2.2%-3.3% along John Street, which is below the maximum eight (8) percent vertical grade threshold. Several photos of John Street are included in Attachment 5. Despite all the previously utilized speed management alternatives, vehicular speeding continues to persist with an 85th percentile speed in the range of 34MPH - 37MPH (9MPH - 12MPH over the prima facie speed limit of 25 MPH).
The Riverside Fire Department has provided a general comment regarding proposed speed humps in consideration of potential impacts to emergency response times, if any. The RFD has requested the city to consider installing a Speed Bump (Type II) of Standard Plan 257 for new speed hump installations. The Type II Speed Bump has gaps in the middle to allow emergency vehicles to bypass speed humps on the roadway during an urgent emergency call. Golden Avenue between Pierce Street and Cypress Avenue currently has Type II Speed Bumps installed and there have not been any concerns with its utilization.
Staff has prepared an exhibit showing potential locations for the installation of speed humps. The locations are selected based on having adequate spacing between curves and intersections and adequate sight distance to allow for proper signing on each approach. Utility covers and driveways in the street are also avoided. Staff selected locations where signs may be placed on existing poles or streetlights to minimize the impacts of the signs on the neighborhood. A total of three (3) potential locations were found for speed humps. Each speed hump installed would potentially add an additional delay of 10 (ten) seconds to emergency vehicles. However, the usage of the Type II Speed Bumps would significantly minimize if not eliminate delays for emergency vehicles.
A review of our traffic accident records for the past three years on John Street from 2020 through 2025 shows zero reported traffic collisions. There were no speed related collisions.
The City’s Speed Hump Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures are included in Attachment 6. Attachment 7 illustrates the City’s Standard Plan Detail No. 251 – Speed Bump (Type I). Due to the narrow roadway width of John Street, the Type I Speed Bump is recommended in lieu of the Type II Speed Bump.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) has also published some Guidelines for the Design and Application of Speed Humps. One of the guidelines worth mentioning from the ITE guidelines is the spacing for speed humps (see Attachment 8). The exhibit displays speed hump spacing in the range of 150–500-foot space on each side prior to the speed hump.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Engineering Speed Management Countermeasures offers an excellent resource for speed humps studies and resulting speed reduction effectiveness (Attachment 9). As documented, speed humps can be effective at reducing speeds in the range of 5-13 mph.
Conclusion:
John Street meets 7 of the 8 criteria of the City’s adopted policy for speed humps. It does not meet the minimum average daily traffic (ADT) threshold of 750 vehicles per day as the road’s ADT ranged from 253 to 261 vehicles. Based on the requirement to meet all 8 criteria, John Street does not qualify for speed humps per the City approved policy. A summary of the findings is provided via Attachment 2 and staff has provided all of this information to the residents along John Street. However, a letter of appeal (Attachment 10) was submitted to city staff requesting for proposed speed humps to be reviewed by the Transportation Board. If speeds humps are approved, then there is a potential to add three (3) speed humps as shown in Attachment 3. If speed humps are not approved, then alternate traffic calming measures can be considered such as installation of posted speed limit signs, stop ahead signage & striping, centerline striping, and/or spot police enforcement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of the installation of speed humps, signage and pavement markings is estimated at $21,480. Funding is available in the Public Works Department, Measure A, Capital Outlay, Traffic Signal Project, Speed Hump Traffic Calming Program, 2009 Measure A account 9927230-440313.
Prepared by: Philip Nitollama, City Traffic Engineer
Approved by: Gilbert Hernandez, Public Works Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Attachments:
Location Map
Speed Hump Criteria Checklist
Potential Locations
Traffic Count Data
Street View Photos
Speed Hump Program Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines Standard Plan No. 251 – Speed Bump (Type I)
FHWA Engineering Speed Management Countermeasures – Speed Humps Appeal Letter
Presentation
Transportation Board Meeting Minutes (8/6/2025)
John Street Proposed Speed Humps ● Page 2