Are there any brilliant legal minds on here who know how to get the city of Fort Worth to put in a speed bump? There are no sidewalks in our neighborhood, and kids everywhere, and it is not uncommon to see cars reach speeds of 40 to 50 mph because our neighborhood streets are twice as wide as usual and many cars use our streets at a cut through between Hulen and Granbury or south drive.
I hate driving over speed bumps too but with so many 6-16 year olds on bikes and in driveways there’s no need to go so fast that you kick up dust and couldn’t possibly avoid a wayward toddler.
Heck, even just a more consistent police presence to deter speeders.
When I was the HOA president, I learned more about getting speed bumps installed than I ever cared to know.
Two ways to start the process: First, try to contact the right person in the city planning and/or transportation department who handles requests for "speed bumps" and other forms of traffic management. Looking at the City of Fort Worth's website, that person may work in the Transportation and Public Works Department (call TPW Customer Service at 817-392-8100.) Be prepared to hear a lot of "hard to do"..."every residential street in the city wants them"..."long waiting list and limited funding" and more creative ways for a bureaucrat to stall, confuse, or discourage you.
Second way is to contact your City Council person--they'll have someone on their staff who's an expert in cutting through all the BS and who knows exactly which belly-button to poke in the city government.
After no success using method 1, we used method 2. City Councilor's office told us what we needed to do and got us in touch with the right project person in the traffic planning office. The process entailed getting a petition signed by 100% of the homeowners on the street requesting the speed bumps. We failed that task--had one homeowner who drove a new Corvette and he was concerned that the speed bump would be too high for him to drive over without scraping bottom. So, out of the gate, no speed bumps for us.
But, the City Councilor was able to provide a plan B: The city came out and did a traffic survey--it validated that a hell of a lot more cars were using that street than just the people who lived on the street and their guests. Police observation over a couple of days validated that lots of drivers (almost all were not residents of our neighborhood) were, in fact, speeding. The city traffic planning office then developed a mitigation plan that resulted in three- and four-way stop signs being placed at every intersection on that street. This solution works when/if people observe stop signs. It also hasn't reduced the speed at which the 'short-cutters' drive in between the stop-sign laden intersections.
Other factors that may come into play: Is your street a part of a city-designated emergency route? snow-plow route? or school bus route? Any of these might be a disqualifier.
Good luck!
