EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) –- Eugene Public Works is talking to area residents about adding several one-of-a-kind speed bumps on Jeppesen Acres Road near Sheldon High School. City engineers have scheduled two meetings with citizens to discuss the special road feature, the first on July 17 and the second on July 25, 2012.
Eugene Public Works is considering adding six new speed bumps on Jeppesen Acres Road between Coburg Road and Providence Street. Each would be roughly 300 feet from the next. Engineers began investigating the concept based on a petition file by local residents.
The speed bumps would be the first in the city; they’re designed with special cutouts to accommodate emergency vehicles with wide wheel bases. The cutouts will allow emergency vehicles to pass through the bumps at higher speeds.
“Often, traffic calming slows the response times of emergency vehicles and damaged equipment,” said Chris Henry, Traffic Planning Engineer for Eugene Public Works. “This is a new treatment that balances that need for reducing automobile speed on streets while maintain[ing] safe and efficient emergency vehicle access.”
Area residents are invited to the two meetings about the speed bumps. The first is at 7 PM on Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at the Oregon Community Credit Union Corporate Offices on Chad Drive. The second meeting is scheduled for July 25, 2012, at the same time and same place.
Another project originally planned for Jeppesen Acres Road this summer would have added new sidewalks, gutters and a new road bed to the west end of the thoroughfare between Providence Street and Gilham Road. That project has since been put on an indefinite hold due to neighborhood concern.
