This speed bump on Burlington Street is noisy and ineffective and must therefore be fixed or flattened. The first night was horrible, especially during the morning rush hour (our sleeping hours are shift dependent). I went from counting sheep to counting thumps….Thump Thump, Thumpety thump, Thump thump thump thump…. and then…Rattle rattle rattle rattle as trailers/ pickups bounced over and the rumble roar as the few drivers who did slow, accelerated their heavy vehicles away.
This is what I heard through closed windows. What’s it going to be like during heat waves when we normally keep windows wide open? We do not and prefer not to use air conditioning during sleeping hours. Normal traffic is not a problem as normal whooshing sounds might be audible but are not composed of discrete thumps and clangs. This has become very disturbing.
What are the health implications? I’m already suffering from various medical issues and don’t need the sleep loss and extra stress. Why is it there in the first place? I haven’t noticed excessive speeding going on in this stretch of road. I don’t recall any formal notice from the city that it would be placed right in front of my house. Even if I had, I probably would not have understood I had any choice in the matter and I certainly would not have understood it to be a rattle trap. Most are not so why this? Why not in the nearby intersection? Then I couldn’t complain.
My house, being a wood frame construction, is unable to eliminate as much noise as a brick dwelling. Why wouldn’t you put these things adjacent to brick dwellings? If nothing else, this is a complete waste of tax-payers hard earned money at a time when too many city roads are rattling cars to bits.
Bad design: Not only is most of the traffic not slowing down, it is apparent that the leading edges are angled in such a way as to cause certain fast moving tires to create the thumping noted. Most speed bumps have a smooth transition – I haven’t noticed a specially angled leading edge on other bumps. If this edge were shaved down with a concrete saw (an easy job) it would probably fix most of the problem at very low cost. Therefore, this can and must be done without delay.
Bad concept: I haven’t thought about speed bumps much but it appears that in this compromise design, Hamilton has managed to find the worst combination possible… Again!
Bad idea: There seems to be a political group of sanctimonious ideologically driven noisy complainers who demand such things, but never in front of their own residence…. except on Wood Street which is a lunatic installation only 10 yards from a sharp turn! It is apparent that such people and the councilors who cater to them have no consideration for unintended costs and unhealthy penalties imposed on others. This soap box attitude seems especially rampant in matters environmental. Overburdened taxpayers are getting more and more upset and pressed to the wall. What are hoping for here?
I hope for and expect a positive resolution of this untenable state of affairs forthwith.
Bob Innes
66 Burlington Street West, Hamilton
