McComb officials unanimously approved installing four moveable rubberized speed bumps on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Tuesday’s meeting in an effort to slow down the speed of drivers.
City Administrator David Myers said two of the speed bumps would be in each lane of the road.
He specifically said speed bumps will be near the Martin Luther King Center and near Craft Funeral Home.
The board’s action came in response to Selectman Bruce Mullins, who at a previous work session expressing concerns about speeding on the street.
“I met with the public works director (Eric Spurlock) today about the speed bumps, Selectman Mullins,” Myers said. “What we came up with was, it would be rubberized and to move those to various other parts of the city that’s having problems.”
Myers said a large speed bump would likely cost $645, but a smaller one would be cheaper. He said the size of the speed bumps that will be purchased has not been determined. He noted they would look similar to the ones by Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center.
Mayor Quordiniah Lockley said Myers and department heads are able to make purchases that are less than $50,000 without board approval. If the cost is $50,000 or more, the board must approve the expense.
“Understand that we authorize the placing of them, but we do not, unless it’s over $50,000, get involved in the purchasing of it,” he said.
Lockley said the money to pay for the speed bumps will come from the public works street division.
Myers said the four new speed bumps could be moved if vehicles are not going as fast in the future.
“If we put them on MLK, we think that, at some point, it may take care of itself and they will be able to move it somewhere else,” he said.
“We would like to put them down and be able to move them. It may be six months. It may be a year. Or, if it’s worse somewhere else, we may be able to order some more.”
Myers said feedback from the police department and citizens will determine if the speed bumps are working and if and when they need to be moved. He added, if the speed bumps are moved and problems then occur, they can always be put back where they once were.
Selectman Matt Codding had asked for a breakdown of the cost and how they would be paid for prior to the explanation.
“I really appreciate the breakdown, City Administrator,” he said. “I really, really appreciate the breakdown.”
Codding then suggested installing stop signs, in addition to the speed bumps, in areas where speeding is an issue.
“Stop signs are pretty cheap and installation going in would be easy, just concrete and a stick in the ground,” he said.
