Residents express speeding concerns to City Council

Homewood residents who live on Lancaster Road asked the City Council for help on Monday, Aug. 19. 

During a Public Safety Committee meeting, council members listened to residents’ concerns about speeding drivers and the threats they pose. 

“We want to see something done just for the safety of the children,” Lancaster resident Michael Melvin said, “because we have close to 35-plus children on our street alone.”

Melvin and a few of his neighbors came before the committee to request that it consider installing speed bumps along their street to slow down fast drivers. The speed limit on Lancaster is 25 mph, but residents said that is often ignored by people who use it as a shortcut from U.S. 31 to Oxmoor Road. 

Police Chief Tim Ross said that his department has been monitoring the street closely since late July, following a complaint. Homewood police officers have stopped six vehicles and issued five citations in the past few weeks, he said. 

The department also has mounted a radar sign to the speed limit pole and has conducted a speed study. 

“The speed study indicated that the average speed of all the vehicles that passed through during the time that the equipment was out was 28 mph,” Ross said. 

Ross said the study also discovered that 85% of vehicles that traveled the street during the study were going 37-38 mph or below, while 12% of vehicles were going 40-49 mph.

Lancaster resident Rett Grover reinforced Melvin’s point and said that safety is his main concern when vehicles travel above the speed limit. 

“Ultimately, all of us would sleep a little easier every night knowing our kids, if they’re traveling three houses down, wouldn’t be in jeopardy of a fast car,” Grover said. 

Ward 5 Councilor Jennifer Andress, who represents Lancaster residents, said that the city typically tries to avoid adding speed bumps. Committee members said that speed bumps wear down vehicles and don’t eradicate speeding because they just push traffic over to neighboring streets.  

But committee members did propose alternative solutions to combat the issue. 

Andress proposed installing sidewalks, while Ward 1 Councilor Britt Thames suggested installing a bulb-out. Bulb-outs extend the curb and narrow the street, causing drivers to slow down. Thames also proposed making Lancaster part of the Shades Cahaba Elementary school zone, which would lower the speed limit. 

Other city officials at the committee meeting, including Building, Engineering and Zoning employee Greg Cobb, said that Thames’ ideas could gain traction and will be explored. 

In the meantime, Ross said that the police department will continue to keep a close eye on Lancaster.

“We’re still working that complaint,” he said.