A series of new speed bumps installed in a Guadalupe neighborhood is sparking frustration among residents, who say the measures are excessive, damaging their cars, and could delay emergency responders. City officials defend the bumps as a last-minute fix to slow traffic around the city’s new school, but acknowledge the rollout was rushed.
The issue came to light after viewers reached out to KSBY News, asking the newsroom to look into the sudden appearance of speed bumps along Arroyo Seco Road and surrounding residential streets earlier this month.
Jasmine Moreno, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2022, said she and her neighbors were blindsided.
“Honestly, we just woke up one morning, we drove down the road and there was some really high speed bumps there. And an excessive number,” Moreno said. “I have to drive over five to seven of these raised speed bumps every single time I leave and return to the neighborhood.”
Moreno said it’s not just an inconvenience.
“It just feels like they’ve shifted the cost over onto us residents through vehicle repairs and wasted time,” she said. “A lot of the community shares a concern when it comes to emergency response times.”
Other residents share those frustrations. Tom Stewart, a homeowner, said while he supports efforts to keep students safe, the number and size of the bumps go too far.
“It seems excessive, like, sort of, if a few is good, a lot must be better,” Stewart said. “And I think they could have just had the ones placed directly in front of the school. And they’re not friendly speed bumps. You have to slow down almost to a stop to go over them.”
City leaders say the intent was to act quickly. David Trujillo, Guadalupe’s public works director, said traffic concerns had been raised in the weeks before the school’s opening, and the city opted for the fastest option available.
“The speed bumps that we did have, receive and install, we got within seven days. So it was a quick fix,” Trujillo said. “As far as the straightaways, we didn’t really do any kind of data gathering, at least on my part. I can’t really speak for public safety, but we didn’t do a traffic study.”
Trujillo acknowledged the bumps are more aggressive than many expected and said the city intends to use money from a $90,000 Chevron safety grant to transition to wider, less jarring humps. Some removals could begin before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Guadalupe Police Chief Michael Cash, who also oversees fire response as director of public safety, said emergency crews tested response times over the bumps and found they remain within national standards.
“We tested it twice. The first time we came out, three minutes and six seconds. And the second time we came out three minutes and 13 seconds,” Cash said. “And as you can see, we’re under the industry standards of four minutes. So I want to make sure I can dispel that. It wasn’t just a feeling, we wanted to make sure that we had the facts.”
Still, residents say the rollout lacked transparency, and many want more community input moving forward.
“We really do want to work alongside the city. We want transparency from them,” Moreno said. “And we want community input to be considered alongside other factors when it comes to big city decisions, especially those that directly impact us.”
For now, the speed bumps remain, with some drivers slowing to a crawl and others speeding across, a daily reminder of a neighborhood divided over what safety should look like.
