Speed bumps to be removed from Franklin garage
June 4, 2013 •
It’s not an earthquake or a plane flying overhead. That rumbling you sometimes hear and feel when you’re in Franklin Lobby 1 Conference Room or working at your desk is caused by cars rolling over speed bumps in the Franklin garage.
Those speed bumps will come out at the end of the month.
The bumps were installed four years ago to curtail speed in the garage, but they create more problems than they solve, said Chief Building Manager Roman Starno. When cars drive over them, the noise and vibrations resound in Lobby 1 and on the floors above the garage. They can also give cars a pretty rough bounce even when drivers observe the 5 mph speed limit.
“There is no significant safety risk in removing the speed bumps,” Starno said. “In fact, drivers are very careful, and we have never had any accidents in the Franklin garage.” The project also includes replacing metal expansion joints with plastic joints to further cut down on noise and vibrations.
The work will be done in evenings and on weekends to avoid disruption during the normal workday. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of June or early July.
Other UCOP garage upgrades are coming soon, Starno said, including improving the pedestrian path to and from the bicycle cage, additional signs and restriping. In case you haven’t noticed, an improved motion sensor lighting system was installed last fall to provide brighter light and cut down on electricity consumption.
Suggestion for another improvement … put a stop to the “pig” parkers. There are far too many cars taking up more than the one spot, and send all of the SUV’s and trucks to the top floor! Put notices on their cars and keep track, then tow. There have been too many times when several spots are unusable.
I have great concerns about removal of speed bumps. The cars come flying around the corners and there is never security there after 4. If so I’m guessing they are not allowed to comment to drivers. The speed bumps at least give someone warning who is backing out that something is coming.
As a person who feels the “earthquakes”, I am delighted the speed bumps will be removed. I was concerned about the building’s efficacy with the vibration caused by cars passing over the speed bump. Some civil engineer concluded that nothing untoward would happen to the building.
I am glad that this report is not going to be tested over time.
The best solution to speeding in the UCOP Garage is for everyone to just s l o w d o w n.