Arlington County introduces speed humps in school zones to increase safety

Arlington County officials are taking a new approach to getting drivers to slow down in school zones. It comes after previous efforts didn’t work out quite as well as they’d hoped. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal has the latest details.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Arlington County officials are taking a new approach to getting drivers to slow down in school zones.

It comes after previous efforts didn’t work out quite as well as they’d hoped.

Since last year, the county has been reducing school zone speed limits down to 20 miles per hour. That includes on 19th Street N near Cardinal Elementary School, where residents said plenty of people still drive too fast.

"Even with all the other signs up people don’t always slow down," Michael Zeutenhorst said. "Especially during the day, you can occasionally hear one zooming right through."

Now, the county is launching what’s called the Tactical Speed Humps Pilot project. They’ll install the speed humps in three locations where officials say they’ve continued to see the highest speeds, near Cardinal, Gunston Middle School, and Hoffman Boston Elementary School.

"We want to be able to accommodate and provide the safest environment we can for kids," said Arlington County’s Dan Nabors, the bureau chief for transportation, engineering, and operations.

Nabors said speed humps are less severe than speed bumps. He added they’re also easy to install and remove quickly if needed.

Residents who spoke to FOX 5 said it sounded like a good idea to them.

"Our neighbors are the ones, and my wife, put out the slow sign that you have over there because kids do cross here every single morning going to the elementary school right across the street," Ed Delacruz explained.

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Nabors said the speed humps have been ordered, and they’re expected to be installed sometime this fall.

For more information on the Tactical Speed Humps Pilot project click here.