A group of Papamoa residents who campaigned to get rid of a speed hump have won an historic victory. Vehicles had bumped over the hump since it was built nearly four months ago, shattering the tranquillity of the Pacific View Rd residents and unleashing a torrent of complaints to the council. Inan unusual u-turn this week, the council's regulatory committee backed the protesters and ordered that the hump must go. A similar community protest in Gate Pa resulted in a compromise which saw the Watling St humps flattened. Regulatory committee chairman Bob Addison was impressed with the research of the protesters, saying he had difficulty believing that the speed hump was a safety measure. "It was obvious that the hump was causing great distress." It was intended to slow down traffic approaching the Grenada St roundabout and to make it safer for children crossing Pacific View Rd to reach the playground. But the the families most affected were not given the required week's notice of construction of the hump. Once in, the crashing of trucks and constant thudding of cars shattered their peace and quiet and allegedly cut 25 per cent off the value of their properties. John and Kristine Summerville told the committee that the safety of children had been a red herring. "The only way to look after children was to supervise them and not expect a lump of concrete to be a good nanny." The Summervilles said the speed data used by the council to justify the speed hump was inconclusive. Only 5 to 8 per cent of drivers exceeded acceptable speed limits because speeds under 59kmh were not enforced by police and excessive speeds were at night when streets were empty. "Do we put speed humps on every street and inconvenience 92 per cent of all drivers for the sake of a few hoons who will speed anyway?" they wrote. Mrs Summerville said after the meeting justice had been done and they were all very happy. Tauranga's roads needed to be better policed against speeding drivers.
