Editor, Ceres Courier,

Had residents been informed of any neighborhood meetings - about the city not wanting to install speed bumps on Fowler Road - I, gladly, would have attended. My husband and I attended the April 8 City Council meeting related to that subject. At that meeting, the city choose to install unwarranted stop signs, instead of speed bumps, against the wishes of the neighbors.

I disagree that the stop signs have slowed traffic, and instead of solving the speeding problem, have resulted in many drivers ignoring the stop. I know this because I house sit a home on Fowler Road.

The removal of the stop signs makes perfect sense, as stop signs are not used by municipalities to slow down speeders. Other measures, such as roundabouts, speed bumps, bump outs, radar speed signs, and so forth are used to keep speeders from speeding. Regrettably, the city refused to use any of these measures to alleviate the speeding problem - despite the safety risks and resulting traffic impacts.

It looks like they voted for the stop signs because they were the least expensive. This is a little bit like telling someone that although we are flying to the wrong destination, the plane tickets were cheap.

Before the required CEQA settlement meeting, the city should take a serious look at their prior decision and remove the stop signs. Instead of stop signs, other measures should be put in place that have been proven to work. It is the right thing to do.

Carol Dutra,
Ceres