By Donald Wittkowski
A delivery truck rolling along Venicean Road slowed down and then nearly came to a complete stop as it inched its way over a slight hump in the street marked by yellow paint to warn drivers of its existence.
With the delivery truck, the speed bump had done exactly what it is designed to do – dramatically slow down traffic on a narrow cul-de-sac that cuts through a neighborhood of bayfront homes.
In all, three speed bumps have just been installed on Venicean Road by Sea Isle City in response to a neighborhood petition drive prompted by the death of a beloved family dog struck and killed by a delivery truck last year.
City Councilman Jack Gibson, who lives on Venicean Road and signed the petition, said the speed bumps are “absolutely” working in efforts to get traffic to slow down.
“I think they are a very good size. They are well-designed for their width and height,” Gibson said. “If you go over them at 15 miles an hour, you can pass over them smoothly. If you go over them faster than 15 miles an hour, you really feel them.”
Gibson thinks of them more as “speed humps” because they consist of a slight bulge in the road that isn’t as jarring as the better-known speed bumps commonly used in parking lots. However, the new traffic signs on Venicean Road warn of “speed bumps.”
Whatever they are called, the bumps or humps are seen as the best way to get motorists to obey the posted 15 mph speed limit on Venicean.
“We’re happy about it because we think it will slow down that traffic,” city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said.
Sean Kean, a homeowner who lives at the corner of 44th Street and Venicean Road, said he is hopeful that traffic will finally follow the 15 mph speed limit now that the speed bumps are in place.
“You can’t get over them without slowing down. Otherwise, you’ll go through the roof of your car,” Kane said.
Despite supporting the speed bumps, Kane complained that their installation has cut down on the number of parking spaces along Venicean Road.
“We lost 12 parking spots when they put the speed bumps in,” Kane said.
Gibson said he has heard similar complaints from other neighbors on Venicean Road and plans to ask Mayor Leonard Desiderio’s administration to look into the matter.
Parking is allowed on both sides of Venicean Road. Yet all of the parked cars make it difficult for traffic to travel along the narrow street, Kane said.
“Two cars can’t get by at the same time. You have to pull over somewhere on the side of the road to let another car through,” he noted.
The neighborhood petition drive, meanwhile, had alleged the speed limit is blatantly ignored, particularly by the delivery trucks heading to and from the Yacht Club of Sea Isle City located at the bay end of Venicean Road.
Signed by an overwhelming number of the homeowners on Venicean Road, the petition was submitted to City Council last November by Terry Mason. Mason and his wife, JoAnne, were devastated when their dog, Sadie, was killed in September when she ran into the street and was struck by a delivery truck in front of their home.
The Masons could not be reached for comment Wednesday about the new speed bumps. In November, when Terry Mason presented copies of his petition to City Council, he stressed that he was worried that the next time there is a traffic accident on Venicean Road, it could be a child who is hit and killed.
The petition primarily blamed speeding delivery trucks that serve the yacht club. But it also said that summer visitors to the popular shore town are among the worst speeders.
“We also bear the brunt of visitors during the summer months who think our road is part of the main highway, also ignoring safe speed limits,” the petition said. “Many of our cars have been clipped by fast moving vehicles on our road.”
According to the petition, Sadie “was run down by a speeding delivery truck.” Tragically, the dog was not on a leash when she ran into the street.
Jim Collins, general manager of the Yacht Club of Sea Isle City, said in an interview in May that it was not clear whether the delivery driver who hit Sadie was speeding. The driver told Collins he was not speeding.
Collins said the dog’s death prompted an extensive safety program by the yacht club to keep its members, employees and delivery drivers from speeding on Venicean Road. It includes emails, letters and signs reminding everyone to use caution while driving on the residential street, including the delivery truck companies.
Motorists pulling out of the yacht club’s parking lot see a sign that reads, “Members & guests please use caution while driving on Venicean Road. Children & pets at play.”
“The yacht club is sensitive to the neighborhood, as they should be,” Gibson said.
The yacht club has been promoting safe driving on Venicean Road for years, but Sadie’s death underscored the need for even more measures to prevent speeding, Collins said in May. He welcomed the new speed bumps.
Collins was one of the people who signed the Masons’ petition. He knows Terry and JoAnne Mason because they are members of the yacht club. Collins said he was also heartbroken over the death of their dog and paid the Masons a visit afterward to express his sympathy.
