Speed Hump Application Procedure

• Requests for speed humps must be submitted in writing by the president of the local active citizens association. If there is not an active citizens association, the request for speed humps may be submitted in writing by the chairperson of a neighborhood traffic committee (consisting of a group of residents representing a cross section of neighborhood streets and interests) that has been formed for the specific purpose of addressing neighborhood traffic concerns.
• Requests for consideration of speed humps must be made in writing to the Chief, Traffic Operations Section, Montgomery County, Maryland, 101 Monroe Street, 11th Floor, Rockville, Maryland 20850.
• Upon receipt of the letter of request from the president of the local active citizens association or the chairperson of the neighborhood traffic committee, the Division of Traffic and Parking Services (DTPS) will schedule a traffic study to determine if the street(s) meet the criteria for speed hump consideration. (See Speed Hump Justification Criteria.). To facilitate the data collection process, the letter of request should indicate the time of day which the community believes the streets have the highest traffic volumes and speeds.
• A priority will be assigned to considering requests for speed humps on streets that are parallel to a street where speed humps have been installed, and the residents believe traffic volumes and speeds have increased as a result. If it is determined that those streets meet all of the criteria and resident concurrence requirements, a priority will be assigned to installing speed humps or other traffic calming devices on those streets over other eligible streets in the queue.
• Upon completion of the criteria evaluation, DTPS will notify the originator of the request in writing to inform them of the evaluation results. If the necessary criteria are met, the Citizens Association and/or Traffic Committee will be requested to schedule an informational meeting with the community and to allow residents an opportunity to ask questions and/or provide comments regarding the speed hump/traffic calming options under consideration.
• DTPS will develop a Speed Hump Location Plan for the Citizens Association or Traffic Committee to distribute during their solicitation of Resident Concurrence. DTPS will place the street(s) which meet the speed hump consideration criteria on a candidate list for future installation awaiting the submittal of the Resident Concurrence Form(s).

Speed Hump Justification Criteria

• Specific criteria, all of which must be met for a street to be eligible for speed humps are as follows:
• Street(s) must have a master plan designation of Primary Residential or Secondary Residential and shall have direct residential frontage where the average lot size is two acres or less. Arterial roads, rural roads, tertiary streets, or very low density residential streets with houses set far back from the street are normally ineligible for speed humps.
• The street's posted speed limit must be either 25 or 30 MPH.
• The prevailing speeds (85th percentile speeds) must be at least 7 miles per hour above the posted or statutory speed limit on secondary residential streets or at least 9 miles per hour above the posted speed limit on primary residential streets.
• Street(s) must have a peak hour traffic volume of at least 100 vehicles (equivalent to approximately 1000 vehicles per day). (The Citizens Association or the Neighborhood Traffic Committee must advise DTPS which hour has the heaviest traffic flow and that will be the hour evaluated.)
• Street(s) with Average Daily Traffic volumes exceeding 4000 vehicles per day may require a special evaluation and justification for approval, giving consideration to other alternative measures, where appropriate.
• The minimum length of the street or street segment under consideration for speed humps shall not be less than 1000 feet.

Speed Hump Plan Development Process

• The Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee is expected to keep all neighborhood residents, not just the residents of the street(s) under consideration, informed of the request for speed humps and the status thereof at all stages as the process proceeds.
• Once it has been determined the speed hump justification criteria have been met, the Citizens Association or the Neighborhood Traffic Committee should hold an informational meeting open to all residents of the street(s) being considered for speed humps as well as other interested neighborhood residents. DTPS will post signs on the streets being considered for traffic calming announcing the location, date, and time of the public meeting and can provide a representative at the meeting to answer questions.
• If any of the streets under consideration for speed humps are primary Fire and Rescue emergency response routes and/or transit routes, DTPS will inform the appropriate Fire and Rescue organization(s) and/or the Division of Transit Services and solicit their comments. Comments received, if any, will be provided to the Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee for their consideration and dissemination to all interested parties prior to the meeting. Additionally, any street classified as a primary emergency response route or which is a transit route will be limited to 22' long "flat-top" type speed humps.
• After the meeting, the Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee will decide whether to proceed with the speed hump process. If the decision is to proceed, the Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee must submit to DTPS specific input regarding portions of the street and/or specific locations that should be considered by DTPS in developing the final humps location plan, taking into account the general location and spacing standards outlined in the following paragraph.
• DTPS will develop a final speed hump location plan taking into consideration the Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee's input on acceptable speed hump placements. It is imperative that speed humps be placed in accordance with county standards regarding type, location, height,  and spacing of the humps. Speed humps are typically spaced a minimum of 500 feet apart (although spacings of up to 750 feet can be satisfactory), are generally not installed within 200 feet of a controlled intersection, at driveway entrances, nor on sharp curves or hillcrests where visibility may be obstructed.

Resident Concurrence Process

• Upon completing the development of the final speed hump location plan, DTPS will place the street(s) on a candidate list for future installation, as funding allows, contingent upon receipt of the required Resident Concurrence Forms and official endorsement of the citizens association.
• Approximately six to nine months prior to the estimated speed hump installation schedule, DTPS will provide the Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee with official Resident Concurrence Forms, the final speed hump location plan, and speed hump fact sheets for solicitation of signatures. Residents will be required to indicate on the official form that they have reviewed these documents prior to their concurrence. (Only the official county Resident Concurrence Form will be accepted.)
• Speed humps require the concurrence of not less than 80% of the residents (one signature per household), either single family or multifamily, whose livability is directly affected by the traffic conditions along the street(s) or street section(s) being considered for speed hump installation. This typically means direct road frontage of a residence, but can also include side and rear yard frontages depending on the specific circumstance.
• Speed humps also require the concurrence of not less than 50% of the residents (one signature per household) on cul-de-sacs or side streets in the neighborhood whose only access to their homes is via the street(s) being considered for speed humps.
• The residents are to be reminded that mandatory signage and pavement markings accompany speed humps. There will be a minimum of two warning signs per hump, one in each direction placed on the right hand side of the street, at or near the center of the hump, within the County right-of-way.
• The Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee must designate a contact person(s) who will be the primary contact in the neighborhood for answering residents’ questions concerning the speed humps. The person(s) name(s) and telephone number(s) shall be included on the Resident Concurrence Form.
• The Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee circulates the Resident Concurrence Form(s). The signed form(s) must be returned to DTPS  by the association or committee within 90 days after being issued along with a letter stating the formal endorsement of the speed humps by the association (or traffic Committee, if no association exists). Failure to meet this schedule may result in the postponement of the speed hump installations to the following construction year. If the specified resident concurrence requirement are not met, the process ends. (Alternatively, DTPS would consider approving the installation of speed humps on a shorter segment of the street under consideration, provided that:

• (1) a minimum length of 1000 feet of street segment is met;
• (2) the Resident Concurrence Forms indicate that there is at least 80% concurrence of the street's residents  and 50% concurrence of the residents of cul-de-sacs and side streets whose only access is via the reduced length segment; and
• (3) the Citizens Association or Neighborhood Traffic Committee requests approval of a street segment shorter than that originally proposed.)
• If the required percentages of concurrence, and the required association endorsement are received, the speed humps will be scheduled for installation.
• To equitably distribute the use of available funds, the maximum number of speed humps that can be installed within a neighborhood during any twelve month period will not normally exceed fifteen humps (approximately 3% of the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Programs Capital Budget.)
• If unanticipated delays in scheduling the installation of speed humps occur, such that the signing of the Resident Concurrence Forms occurred more than 24 months prior to the actual project implementation, a new Resident Concurrence Process may be required in order to validate that current residents are in concurrence with the speed hump project.

• Return to Traffic and Parking Services Home Page.

Return to Montgomery County, Maryland, DPW & T's HOME PAGE.
These pages Copyright © 1998-2003 by Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation. All Rights Reserved