AUGUSTA, Ga. () – It’s something most residents on Pepperidge Drive agree on, drivers need to slow down.
“I’ve seen several wrecks at that stop sign right there, so again, just speeding. And I’ve seen kids playing on their bikes and stuff just speeding, speeding by,”  said resident Carlton Bradley.
To slow down the cars, Pepperidge is petitioning for speed humps like those in other neighborhoods.
Pepperidge needed 51 percent of the property owners on the street to sign a petition but that can create an issue if the home is rented.
“There were several houses there was no one there and it was hard to find the owners,” said Bradley.
As commissioners continue to get requests for speed humps, they are making changes to city policy. Now, 51 percent of those living on the street must sign the petition, even if they don’t own the home.
“That should have been a no-brainer. Doing this process in the beginning with the previous policy, I think it benefits those who actually live on the street,” said Commissioner Tony Lewis.
In the past, if the owners couldn’t be found, those houses were not counted for or against, even if they were rented.
“You had less signatures that you needed but it was difficult for the community representatives that try to gather these signatures and try to figure out who is a property owner, who isn’t, so those should help them in this regard,” said Augusta Traffic Engineer John Ussery.
“The more people you can get to sign, whether it’s a renter or not, it’s still speeding. It’s going to hit the speeder, whether that person is renting or that person is the actual property owner,” said Bradley.
Neighborhoods want speed humps to slow down traffic and this new policy may speed up the process.