More than a dozen speed humps installed in Boston just last month were just removed after complaints from residents.
Part of a larger initiative to improve street safety across the city, people in Jamaica Plain said the 13 speed humps placed on Allandale Street were excessive.
The road spans just over a mile from Grove Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, to Centre Street by Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain. But the speed humps started at the Boston line and were concentrated over less than three quarters of a mile.
“When they first started putting the speed bumps in, I said, ‘Oh, that’s a good idea — slow people down,'” said Jim Cawley, who lives nearby.
But the number installed raised questions for him and his granddaughter, Nyah Cawley, who works as an emergency room technician at Faulkner Hospital.
“Having someone come down Allandale in an ambulance — I can’t imagine how slow the ambulance has to go on those speed bumps,” she said.
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State Rep. Bill MacGregor reached out to the Boston Transportation Department with residents’ concerns.
“They sent an engineer, they reviewed Allandale Street,” MacGregor said. “They realized that it wasn’t having the intention that they wanted, it was actually slowing it down more than 20 miles per hour, and obviously, in case of an emergency, that is a major issue.”
The speed humps were removed on the first weekend of February — less than a month after they were installed.
“I feel it’s a waste of the taxpayers’ dollars, which is unfortunate,” Nyah Cawley said.
They were part of Boston’s “Safety Surge” initiative. Launched in 2023, it aims to add 100 miles of streets with speed humps.
The city’s website says the initiative is part of a new approach, working proactively to add speed humps on all eligible streets instead of relying on nominations from residents.
“I think it’s good to have some,” said Ethan Yankowitz, who lives near Allandale Street. “Maybe there were too many, but I don’t think that’s a good reason to take them all out.”
“I think two or three speed bumps, approaching Allandale Farm, and maybe the senior residential community and the hospital, makes sense to slow traffic at the more dangerous crossing points,” added neighbor Susan Jackson.
The city shows where speed humps are planned on an interactive map on its website.
