City says speed humps and flashers two different requests

Speed humps installed last February in front of Cathedral High School have created a lot of controversy.

ABC-7 has confirmed the city paid $9,000 for the speed humps at Cathedral, which were requested by City Rep. Larry Romero, a Cathedral alum, and approved by City Manager Tommy Gonzalez.

ABC-7 wanted to know why school districts have to pay for traffic calming devices, like flashing lights, but Cathedral got speed humps for free.

City officials told ABC-7 they are two very different requests.

“Unlike flashers, speed humps are not dictated by City ordinance,” City spokeswoman Tammy Fonce said. “The City traditionally has not charged for speed humps. School flashers are paid for by the applicant (per city code).”

With some districts budgeting as much as $90,000 per new school to install flashers, we wanted to know what they think.

“You know, we’ve talked about this and we have a lot of confidence in our City Council and we know they are going to follow all the guidelines and rules that they need to follow,” Ysleta ISD Associate Superintendent Pat O’neill said. “What happens over at Cathedral, that’s up to the City Council.”

City officials told us if a school wants speed humps installed on a street, they can start by requesting them like Cathedral did. However, they still must be approved by City Council.