Industry News
The town of Vail, Colorado, has begun removing more than half of the recently built speed bumps in the Vail Village and Lionshead parking garages, a decision that will drastically change the infrastructure of local traffic and abort previous safety measures. An independent traffic engineer conducted a thorough examination, which came to the conclusion that the amount of bumps that exist now may actually negatively impact safety and traffic flow.
The terrible event involving 11-year-old Lewis Browning, who died in an accident in the Lionshead parking garage, led to the decision to build the speed bumps. Following the tragedy, a settlement with Browning’s family required the town to put in place a number of safety measures, including the speed bumps. After a thorough investigation, the Vail Police Department brought no charges against the driver involved in Browning’s accident, but in a settlement agreement, the speed bumps were implemented in multiple areas around Vail and have drawn a lot of attention in the wake of the catastrophe.
The Lionshead parking facility currently has 110 speed bumps, while the Vail Village garage has 108. Kris Widlak, who is the town of Vail’s director of communications, has provided an estimate that building these speed bumps amounted to a cost of around $100,000 for the town. This figure encompasses the expenses for labor, materials, and associated administrative work. In a recent Town Council meeting on Tuesday, December 19, senior project engineer Craig Racey from Martin/Martin Engineering presented his initial report. During this meeting, Racey offered several suggestions to the council aimed at ensuring the safety and efficiency of both vehicles and pedestrians within both parking structures.
“I think right away, we can think about eliminating those double speed bumps, and really eliminating half the speed bumps, right out of the gate,” he said. “If we can take those out, I think we at least provide a better experience, so everybody is not having to go over two speed bumps each time.”
Reactions to the speed bumps from the locals have been divided; some have expressed gratitude for the added safety measures, while others have voiced concerns about the inconvenience and the traffic problems they may cause. On top of the removal of half of the speed bumps, the town also listed some additional things they plan to implement. They plan to add brand new 5 mph speed limit signs by the end of January, as well as new speed tables, radar speed limit signs, rumble strips, more crosswalks, and new lighting.
