Much like the rest of Chicago, over the last few years my West Town neighborhood has become speed hump-happy. Even Mayor Brandon Johnson has expressed support for speed humps. However, the state of Illinois does not officially recognize speed humps as a traffic control device, which is why several cities and towns don’t even consider them. Though we widely implement speed humps across Chicago, there are better ways to make our side streets safe. I’m not knocking the effectiveness of speed humps.
Aside from being an obstacle to emergency response vehicles, the design of our speed humps, often with rough entry and exit gradients or abrupt transitions, are not bike-friendly. And, superficially, they are downright ugly to look at. In the winter, when our streets are slushed or chalked with salt residue, they can be difficult to spot, even with painted warnings, making them a wintertime hazard. Too many of our humps are pockmarked and poorly maintained.