Peppertree residents get second chance for speed hump request

The Oldsmar City Council last week decided to put the Peppertree Drive speed hump item back on the agenda in order to allow every council member to vote on the controversial issue.

Residents say drivers regularly speed through the curve on Peppertree Drive.

Residents of Peppertree Drive in Oldsmar have requested speed humps be installed near this dangerous curve on the street.

The Oldsmar City Council last week decided to put the Peppertree Drive speed hump issue back on the agenda in order to allow every council member to vote on the controversial item.

If you recall, the proposal that was put forth by a group of Peppertree residents was shot down by the council late last month, thanks two a 2-2 voting deadlock that couldn’t be broken due to the unexpected absence of Vice Mayor Eric Seidel.

But when the council reconvened on October 4, one of the first items addressed was the speed humps.

Oldsmar City Council member Dan Saracki.

Oldsmar City Council member Dan Saracki.

“Mayor, last meeting I feel that with Eric’s absence and the full council not sitting to make a decision on the Peppertree speed bumps, I would like to have the entire council represented on the speed bumps,” Council member Dan Saracki said during the approval of the Consent Agenda.

“I’d like to make a motion to reconsider the speed hump motion and to request to add that to the October 18 agenda.”

The motion was seconded and unanimously approved by all five council members, meaning the advocates for installing speed bumps near a dangerous ess curve on the road could see some satisfaction after pushing for the traffic calming measure for more than a year.

Peppertree Drive residents Carolyn Albertson and Brad Karczewski.

Peppertree Drive residents Carolyn Albertson and Brad Karczewski attended a meeting about the issue in August.

“We feel like Mr. Saracki did the right thing by putting it back up to be voted on,” Shannon Karczewski, who along with husband, Brad, was among the earliest advocates for the speed humps, said afterwards. “These are elected officials whose job is representing the interests of the citizens of Oldsmar. They failed to do that at the last meeting.”

“It has been a long road with this and we will not give up,” she continued. “I still don’t understand the hesitation of them to let us have what we are requesting. We have been informed that they have the speed bumps pre-made and sitting in a storage shed. The citizens on the street want them so what is the harm?”

Indeed cost is not an issue in this polarizing subject, as it’s already been stated that the plastic, removable speed humps cost roughly the same amount as the flashing speed warning signs preferred by Saracki and Mayor Doug Bevis.

While those two lawmakers don’t appear ready to change their initial ‘nay’ votes, at least one council member has made it very clear that he sides with the residents.

Oldsmar City Council member Jerry Beverland.

Oldsmar City Council member Jerry Beverland.

“The process that we have on this is really one of the few processes we have where we can actually do what we’re elected to do, and that’s to represent the people of the city of Oldsmar,” longtime Council member Jerry Beverland said during his Council Comments.

“When someone brings a petition in, we’re actually doing what we were elected to do, represent that group of people that brought the petition in. And I think the council should make that decision.”

Beverland pointed out the fact that whenever residents came to the city with a signed petition requesting a traffic calming measure in the past, the request was always approved.

And while the results of a traffic study did not support installing the speed humps, a search of the city’s Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program guidelines reveals another qualifying criteria: evidence of significant cut-through traffic.

The problems with speeders and “swervers” on Peppertree, including numerous mailboxes being crushed and the death of a young girl roughly a decade ago, have long been blamed on the increase in motorists using the side street as a way to skirt the lights at nearby Tampa and Curlew roads.

Oldsmar officials said data collected from a recent traffic study doesn’t support the installation of speed humps near a dangerous section of Peppertree Drive.

Oldsmar officials recently denied a request by residents to install speed humps near a dangerous section of Peppertree Drive.

“The last ten years have just been awful,” longtime resident Carolyn Albertson said at the study-results meeting, noting the street has been used as a cut-through to avoid traffic lights on Tampa Road ever since a new subdivision was built nearby.

Saracki even admitted to using Peppertree on a daily basis during his commute from his nearby home.

“I drive down the street all the time,” he said during the September 20 meeting.

The Karczewskis remain hopeful but dubious the next vote will go their way.

“We plan on trying to rally the troops again and get them back to the next meeting,” Shannon said.

“However, I know many were discouraged and frustrated by how things played out last time.”

Oldsmar Vice-Mayor Eric Seidel.

Oldsmar Vice-Mayor Eric Seidel.

Despite the doubts, all signs point to a reversal of the previous decision, with Beverland and Council member Gabby McGee having already voted in favor of the speed humps, and Vice-Mayor Seidel clearly stating his stance on the matter when the item was initially proposed.

“My feeling on it is…if the citizens who live there want a speed bump, they should get a speed bump,” Seidel said on June 7.

“That’s essentially what this process does.”

Stay with Oldsmar Connect.com for further coverage of this topic.

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One Response
  1. Lois Squires 7 years ago

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