Driver says unmarked speed bump in Somerville damaged his car
SOMERVILLE - Neighbors in Somerville are calling into question what you could call "Houdini humps." They are unmarked speed bumps that seem to appear out of nowhere to oncoming drivers.
"I'd say the bumps are unmarked fairly often. It seems like some might have tape on them sometimes and wear away," said Andrew Wiley, a small business owner in Somerville who paid a lofty cost for hitting an unmarked bump.
Wiley hit that unmarked speed hump on Kidder Avenue last year. He was going the speed limit at night but didn't see the dark bump. His car bottomed out and damaged his exhaust. It cost $1,600 to fix.
"I was on my way to pick up some snorkeling gear because I was on my way to Puerto Rico. I wasn't expecting to spend $1,600 on that little trip," explained Wiley. "I was on this small island in Puerto Rico, and they had speed bumps really well marked. This was a population with 1,200 people. These white lines on the road stretched for 12-feet leading up to the speed bumps there. The town of Somerville can't mark their speed bumps like a tiny island in the Caribbean?"
A year later, there are still unmarked humps on Kidder Avenue, and neighbors have begun complaining on social media. The humps do have signs next to them, but no markings on the ground.
"I saw someone in a local group saying we should go around spray painting them," laughed Wiley. "I thought that was a very good idea, maybe I will do it."
The city says the do have a plan, but it is weather dependent. Somerville Department of Public Works crews and their contractors always place permanent signs and striping on any bump installed in the Summer. In the colder months, new bumps get a sign and temporary striping. The material has trouble sticking in the cold.
DPW reps say in some cases, temporary striping can sometimes wear off over the winter, and any speed humps with striping wear are prioritized and striped first in the spring. The city expects to have all of the bumps covered by the end of May.