Blaine council tables petition for six speed humps on Quincy Boulevard, asks for workshop

The Blaine City Council on May 4 heard a petition from Quincy Boulevard residents seeking six speed humps to slow traffic and improve safety near Madison Elementary School, but the council voted to table the request and send it to a workshop for further study.

Director Schlender told the council the neighborhood petition met the city's thresholds (76% of benefiting parcels and 69% of the area) under the neighborhood traffic management program and that staff estimated each speed hump would cost about $5,000 (six humps ≈ $30,000), with the neighborhood responsible for 75% of the assessed improvements under city policy. "We looked at six as the number and the spacing that would benefit traffic slowing down," Director Schlender said.

Supporters, including petition organizer Nicole Berg, said traffic volume has increased and that children walk to Madison Elementary; Berg said she collected signatures from about 52 homes and that 46 supported the petition. "We've lived at our house for 21 years," Berg said. "The amount of traffic has increased dramatically in the last 20 years."

Opponents urged caution and asked the council to consider fewer humps or alternatives. Don and Diane Bressler, who live by the stop sign, said six humps would be excessive and voiced concern about driveway, sidewalk and snowplow impacts. "If a sidewalk is installed, you get the sidewalk and then there's really no need for speed bumps," Diane Bressler said.

Councilmembers raised operational concerns, including snowplow performance and long-term neighborhood impacts. Councilmember Robertson urged staff to provide traffic counts and alternatives and questioned the timeline: the petition was filed in March and arrived in the packet in May, she said. Councilmember Newland and others agreed more information was needed before final action.

Councilmember Newland moved to table the item and send it to a workshop at the earliest convenience so public works, public safety and engineering could examine traffic counts, spacing, plowing implications and alternate measures; Councilmember Robertson seconded the motion. Mayor Sanders closed by stressing the council wanted a data-driven decision and to "get it right" for the neighborhood. The motion to table carried.

Next steps: staff will gather updated traffic and enforcement data, consult public works on plowing logistics, and present options at a workshop prior to any final city action.