Update, July 22: Commissioners approved the process at the July 22 meeting.

Hall County is considering a new process to allow residents to request speed tables which would require at least 75% of residents on the street to approve it. 

Under this new code, residents or homeowners associations could submit a request to the Hall County Traffic Engineering Division for a speed table, which is wider than a typical speed bump,  on their street. Staff then would review the application and see if the location qualifies. Then, it is the applicant’s responsibility to get affirmative signatures from at least 75% of property owners who live on the street. 

County staff will then schedule an engineering study on the area, and if it meets criteria, the request will go before the Board of Commissioners. The request must then successfully complete two readings and public hearings and be approved by the board. 

These are speed tables, not speed bumps or rumble tracks, meaning that they would rise 4 inches high in the middle, with 6 feet tapered on either side, according to an example included in county documents. They have a more gradual rise in height rather than smaller speed bumps. They can only be installed in residential areas, according to the documents. 

The cost of installation for the speed table will be paid by Hall County and later divided among all the homes in the entire subdivision on each residents’ property tax bill. Plus, each property owner in the subdivision will have to pay a $12 annual fee for maintenance.

Srikanth Yamala, Hall County director of public works and utilities, said the county had received two requests for speed tables in residential subdivisions last fall, but it did not have a system yet in place to process those requests.

“We are trying to be realistic and also give the neighbors the maximum opportunity to make this go all the way to construction,” Yamala said. 

Some of the requirements for a road to be approved for speed table installation include: less than an 8 foot vertical rise or fall in 100 feet of roadway, fewer than 3,000 vehicles traveling on the road per day and the 85th percentile speed must be at least 11 mph above the posted speed limit. 

The Board of Commissioners will hold a second public hearing for this code on July 22.