St. Landry Parish Speed Bumps Controversy
July 7, 2006
 

Residents living in one St. Landry Parish community are trying to stop speeders in their tracks.

But, many feel the addition of speed bumps are not doing the trick. Suzanne Dejean Road is a dead end street in St. Landry Parish that is lined with several dozen homes. The posted speed limit is 20 miles per hour, but many residents say it is ignored by drivers. So, a group of homeowners petitioned parish government for speed bumps. What they got were three sets of small bumps...one in the middle of the street, one at the street's entrance and one near the dead end. But some residents say they are not working because some drivers are ignoring them all together.Some homeowners even say drivers go around them by driving into people's front yards. One resident says they are not working to slow down drivers simply because they are spaced too far apart, which is why at least one resident says he is asking parish government for more help. Michael Purser says these are small and ineffective.  He says he wants speed lumps because they are bigger and drivers have to slow down to go over them. He says there are many young children who play on this street and he feels the parish should do more to protect them. The parish is obligated to remove the speed bumps if a majority of people living on a street request it. Of the 20 speed bumps installed throughout the parish, 10 have been removed, including one speed bump on the street we just featured. Each speed bump costs $95 plus installation costs. However, the $700 fee to remove a speed bump is passed on to the homeowners who request the removal.

One parish official says the cost is high because the removal damages the street.