There are two reasons Portland city officials are rejecting Portland High School Principal Michael Johnson’s request for “yellow flashing lights and speed bumps” in front of PHS. First, the city does not have $50,000 for the lights. Second, speed humps are specifically forbidden on roads like Cumberland Avenue by the city’s Traffic Calming Ordinance.

The ordinance was enacted in 1999 after the Stevens Avenue speed humps were installed because the city learned the hard way just what a disaster it was. Accidents increased 40 percent , pollution increased 400 percent and emergency vehicles avoid the area, which increases their response times. Delayed EVR times continually threaten the public everywhere in their homes

Because the Stevens project was strictly a political boondoggle, the city is reticent to talk about it because it makes them look very bad. Mike Bobinsky is stuck in the middle between the public and the City Council, having to tread a fine line in answering to the public, or doing what is right ,and then getting fired for not going along with the apparatchiks in City Hall.

Very simply, anybody who wants speed humps on Cumberland Avenue does not know what they are talking about and should learn much more about the subject. What might be a lot more cheaper is to just teach the students to look both ways before crossing the street, and to watch out for cars. This is usually called “common sense,” but that seems to be unpopular these days.

 
Brian Peterson
Westbrook

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