SLI Board Hears 'Everyone Hates the Speed Bumps' but 'Everyone Knows How Much We Need Them'

The dilemma of the Lakeview Ave. Speed Bumps is real--they are not liked by anyone. They interfere with a pleasant ride along the lakefront and adds to the wear and tear on our motor vehicles. When a discussion comes about such as the one that took place at the recent SLI Board meeting, everyone seems to agree with the arguments against having them. Yet before the discussion is over, there is an equally loud cry for the need to keep speed bumps in place--drivers ignore the stop signs and the speed limit signs, making the popular lakefront road a rather dangerous strip for children and the elderly.

Local residents may not like them, but they do like the safety results of having them. There are some that say we should have the speed-registering cameras that are empowered to send traffic tickets to the offenders, but that pipe dream rarely makes it into the serious discussions. The greatest fear seems to be for the children--specifically the visiting grandchildren who are not accustomed to narrow paved areas resembling their driveways back home as instead being a dangerous road here. The local neighbors see a lot of potential for an accident or injury to a child as they observe them in play and then also observe the habits of local drivers.

Safety features are not always appreciated in the beginning--remember when car seat belts first became mandatory? Let's be thankful that speed bumps are used only during 1/6th of the calendar year which is just 10 weeks of the 52.