Detroit Adds More Speed Bumps With $500,000 Investment for 203 New Locations

Detroit will install 203 speed bumps, backed by $500,000 in city funds for the 2025-26 budget. Combined with 65 bumps added since April, this push builds on the city's existing traffic safety network.

Work started in spring across Detroit's seven districts. The timing matches the city's budget cycle that began in July. Workers have placed bumps on streets where cars often speed past homes and schools.

District 5 Manager Keith Butler stressed the impact on public safety. He noted that when drivers slow down, safety improves for children and the elderly. 

In the Petoskey-Otsego area, one bump has already made streets safer. Cars can no longer zip through Whitney Street, which drivers once used to skip traffic on main roads.

"They have to stop, because the speed hump is high enough now," said Beverly Montoya according to Outlier Media. Montoya leads the Petoskey-Otsego Neighborhood Association and pushed for the changes. Yet she stays cautious: "As much as we'd like to say the speed bumps are deterring the speeding, people are still speeding. You should still be aware."

The city pays for new bumps through state gas tax funds, said Public Works Director Ron Brundidge.

Officials pick speed bump locations based on crash data, speed patterns, and nearby homes. They check for schools, parks, and cut-through traffic. The number of kids living close by also matters.

Weather and money affect how fast crews can work. "We had more valid requests in District 1, which resulted in more speed humps being installed in this district," Brundidge said about this year's work.

To get a bump, neighbors must show support through an application to Public Works. The wait can stretch past 12 months, as Petoskey-Otsego residents learned.

Speed bumps fit into wider city safety plans. Montoya works with Detroit SMART MODES to cut pedestrian deaths in at-risk zones. She also helped map danger spots in an AARP study of walkable streets.