Lantana officials address speeding

In an effort to deter speeders in the community, the two Lantana Fresh Water Supply District boards approved the purchase of two portable radar speed feedback signs at a cost of $8,800 at their March meeting.

The digital signs remind drivers of the posted speed limit and can be mounted to existing speed limit signs.

“We’ll focus on Lantana Trail but the nice thing is that we can move them to other streets in the neighborhoods as well,” said Lantana General Manager, Kevin Mercer.

The signs, which also collect data such as average speeds and traffic volume, should be installed by the end of April.

Mercer said that the first two locations of the signs will be on Lantana Trail northbound near Hickory Lane and southbound Lantana Trail between Kady Street and Terrace Drive.

The boards also discussed the pros and cons of installing speed tables on Lantana Trail and Stacee Lane to deter speeding after hearing a presentation from the Lantana Safety Committee.

A speed table is a traffic calming device designed as a elongated speed bump with a flat section in the middle, generally long enough for the entire wheelbase of a passenger car to sit on. The design allows cars to pass without slowing as significantly as with speed bumps.

The committee identified four areas on Lantana Trail and one location on Stacee Lane that may benefit from adding a speed table.

“We think it’s becoming a safety issue and we think that we need to do something to make it safer,” said District #7 board member Christopher Romolo. “We looked at different options and thought that this would be the most feasible to keep traffic moving yet slow it down.”

If approved, the speed tables would be marked with paint and warning signs to alert motorists.

“All it is essentially does is force people to slow down,” said Romolo. “We don’t want to put stop signs everywhere and impede the flow of traffic.”

Kevin Carlson, the district’s engineer, said that speed tables are usually installed on residential streets, not major thoroughfares.

“I think it would be a little unusual and unique in this area,” said Carlson.

The boards voted to have Carlson study the cost and feasibility of installing speed tables at five locations, with the first two being on Stacee Lane south of the bridge and Lantana Trail northbound between Laurel and Heritage.