Council to study Berry Road before speed hump decision

The Homewood City Council plans to increase speed limit enforcement on Berry Road and study traffic patterns before making a decision on whether to return speed humps to the street.

Berry Road had a series of eight speed humps that were removed for a paving project, and two were re-installed before the city was asked to consider other options to control traffic speeds on the street.

Around a dozen residents spoke at a public hearing on the issue at tonight's City Council meeting, a few of which asked the council either to leave the road as-is or remove the two humps that had been installed. They cited annoyance and car damage.

Ward 2 Representative Mike Higginbotham, who lives in Forest Brook, said in a previous discussion in May that he doubts the effectiveness of the speed humps, and they also make the road harder for emergency vehicles such as fire engines to access.

However, most of the residents who spoke on June 25 were in favor of returning all of the speed humps to the street. They all said they had seen an increase in speed of vehicles on the road since the speed humps were removed, and they were worried about the safety of walking near the street or children playing nearby. One Berry Road resident called it an argument of "inconvenience versus safety."

Several longtime Berry Road residents also recalled the lengthy discussions in the 1990s that led to the installation of the speed humps, including a traffic study. Others asked the council to consider stop signs or a smaller number of speed humps spread out along the road as alternatives that could be as effective.

Council members said they would like to get updated traffic data for the road and would contact Skipper Consulting about studying Berry Road. Higginbotham said he'd like to consider alternatives such as roundabouts or narrowing the road, among other possibilities. They also decided to ask the police department for more monitoring of the road as a short-term measure.

The issue was sent back to the public safety committee for the completion of the study.

Mayor Scott McBrayer and the City Council also recognized retiring Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Anastasia with a resolution in his honor tonight. Anastasia retires after 36 years in firefighting, a career that began and ends with Homewood Fire Department.

"Our city is much better because you've been here," McBrayer said, noting that Anastasia "always fought for the girls and guys of the department" to have what they needed.

Anastasia thanked his family for supporting his pursuit of a career that he described as a "calling," as well as the "incredible group of firefighters" he has worked with.

"I couldn't have done anything different," Anastasia said.

The council also:

• Approved its new stormwater management ordinance.
• Denied a sign variance ordinance for 285 Palisades Boulevard, where a local State Farm insurance agent had requested to place his sign on top of a wagon on the property, violating the height limit for signs. The city will also look into whether an existing sign on the building, designating it as the "Buddy Wade Building," fits the city's ordinances.
• Approved crosswalks or safety striping at the Edgeland Place-Forest Drive intersection.
• Approved work in the right-of-way at the Homewood Preserve trail, near the high school, for an Eagle Scout project to construct a bridge over a ditch. The bridge must meet city safety standards.
• Approved the creation of a subcommittee to create a social media policy for the city, which will include guidelines for city employees and elected officials on social media posts and comments.
• Approved replacement of an open administration position with a revenue examiner job opening, which would monitor business license applications and fees for the city.
• Carried over discussion of considering 260 Oxmoor Road to be a public nuisance due to excessive growth and litter. Code enforcement officer Scott Cook said the work he requested to bring the property into compliance was only partway done. The property owners said they have a regular landscaping contract and wanted more clarity on the specifics of what they were being asked to fix. Though the meeting briefly got contentious as the property owners alleged they were being singled out while other overgrown lots were left untouched, the council ultimately decided to give them until July 9 to complete landscaping and cleanup work.
• Approved Rosa Hill as the Ward 1 Library Board member.
• Set July 9 public hearings for 507 Tamworth Drive, 1801 Kensington Road, 1649 28th Avenue South and 1117 Hardwick Lane to be considered for declaration as public nuisances due to issues such as overgrowth, litter and open and unenclosed storage.
• Set an Aug. 13 public hearing for changes to the city's zoning ordinances.
• Dropped a sign ordinance variance request at the former Salvation Army store, 76 Green Springs Highway, after the owner redesigned the sign to meet city codes.