Raised Speed Reducer

Usage: Wide

A raised area of a roadway that deflects both the wheels and frame of a traversing vehicle with the purpose of reducing vehicle speeds. The two basic types of raised speed reducers are speed humps and speed cushions. Both are typically raised 3 to 4 inches above the level of the roadway, and both have a proven speed-reducing track record in New York City. While speed humps span the width of the street, a speed cushion is divided into narrow segments, so that vehicles with wider wheel bases (buses, emergency vehicles, large trucks) are not affected.

Sterling Place, Brooklyn

Benefits

Encourages slower vehicle speeds

Considerations

Not appropriate for designated truck routes, MTA bus routes, emergency response routes, or street blocks with FDNY houses or hospitals located on them
Neither speed humps nor speed cushions are appropriate on streets with more than one moving lane per direction
May impact emergency vehicle movement

Application

Locations with a history speeding issues
School locations are given priority
May be requested by the public, Community Boards, or elected officials with approval based upon speed, crash, street- geometry, and street-operations criteria

Design

Appropriate warning signs and roadway markings should accompany raised speed reducers
Space raised speed reducers to maintain desired operating speeds
Locate raised speed reducers in the middle of the roadway, with the gutters kept clear for proper road drainage
Use signage or other methods to alert operators of snow- clearing vehicles to the presence of raised speed reducers
Utilize recycled content in paving materials