By Donald Wittkowski
The 15 mph speed limit on Venicean Road is intended to slow traffic to a crawl through the residential neighborhood of bayfront homes.
But neighbors say the speed limit has been ignored too often, prompting them to start a petition drive to have Sea Isle City take action against lead-footed drivers.
Councilman Jack Gibson, who lives on Venicean Road, said the petition has been signed by every resident on the block. His name is on it, too.
“I support their concerns,” Gibson said of his neighbors.
The residents want the city to install “speed humps,” a slight bulge in the road that would force traffic to slow down on Venicean. Speed humps are not as jarring as the better-known speed bumps commonly found in parking lots, Gibson explained.
“This is an effective tool and relatively inexpensive tool to calm traffic,” he said in an interview Wednesday.
The death of a neighbor’s dog stuck by a speeding vehicle served as the flashpoint for the petition drive, Gibson said.
Of particular concern are delivery trucks that have been speeding while heading to the Yacht Club of Sea Isle City at the end of Venicean.
“It includes delivery trucks,” Gibson said.
The next step calls for the neighbors to submit their petition to the city clerk to have the signatures verified. If 75 percent of the neighbors agree to the speed humps, the city must consider the petition, Gibson noted.
City Council President Mary Tighe said the Police Department and Public Works Department would be consulted on the petition to determine whether speed humps would be feasible.
Gibson believes Venicean Road and Pleasure Avenue are the only two streets in Sea Isle that have a 15 mph speed limit. It was reduced to 15 mph on Venicean two years ago in response to complaints about speeding traffic.
“It helps a lot, but there still are people who are abusing it,” Gibson said.
Now, speed humps are seen as the next option to get traffic to slow down.
If the petition drive is successful, three speed humps would be built on Venicean Road between 44th Street and the Yacht Club, Gibson said. No speed humps would be placed on 44th Street.
