A speed hump is finally coming to Clark Place in Maybrook. When residents asked the village board for help in slowing speeding vehicles, a year of investigation and interim remedies resulted as the village Police Department, Public Works Superintendent and Village Engineer checked out traffic volume and speeds, regulations governing installation of speed humps cost of such humps, and results of speed signs and special police attention.

At Monday’s village board meeting, members unanimously voted to go ahead with installation of a speed hump near a school bus stop on Clark Place. (Trustee William Giannico was absent.)

“It’s a no-brainer,” said Mayor Dennis Leahy. “We will go in and put in the speed hump. It’s a good move and we’re moving forward.”

Trustee Daryl Capozzoli, who first brought the board’s attention to the issue last year and who has pushed adamantly for a speed hump since, said: “I think it’s a necessity for safety.”

Village Engineer Sean Hoffman provided the latest data from speed investigations on Clark Place. For the month of July, 28.9 percent of vehicles exceeded the speed limit of 30 miles per hour (mph), Hoffman said. That compared with a prior study by Police Department Chief Arnold “Butch” Amthor that showed nearly 50 percent of vehicles exceeding the speed limit, most at 40 mph or more and some at more than 70 mph. After the village board heard those shocking statistics, they approved installation of a flashing speed sign there and police increased patrols while they studied speed hump installation.

Police Department Lt. Dennis Barnett told the board at Monday’s meeting that the department will continue patrols there, even with the speed hump installation, but: “Our guys can’t sit there all day. We welcome anything that will decrease speed there, and we will still continue to do our enforcement efforts.”

The speed hump will not be permanently installed so it can be removed to enable winter plowing by DPW crews.

In a related matter, Lt. Barnett discussed a second flashing speed sign that is movable and that the village was able to procure. It has sat on Homestead Avenue near the village park for the last two weeks.

“We plan on moving it around the village,” he said. “We want to see how traffic is throughout the village.”