Request By:
Hon. David M. Roth
Greenbaum, Doll & McDonald
3300 First National Tower
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Joseph R. Johnson, Assistant Attorney General
In your letter to the Attorney General dated February 23, 1981, you have raised a number of legal questions with regard to the placement of speed bumps by the City of Seneca Gardens. The facts as you have set them forth in your letter are as follows:
The Board of Trustees of the City of Seneca Gardens has been requested by the residents of Dell Road to erect one or more speed bumps on such road. Dell Road is one of the residential streets located in the City of Seneca Gardens and is used as a public thoroughfare. There are no sidewalks along such street. Because of the location of Dell Road, the street is used by many motorists and is a street chronically subject to speeding violations by such motorists. The posted speed limit is 25 MPH.
The Board of Trustees of the City of Seneca Gardens is concerned that the erection of speed bumps on Dell Road and possibly other streets in the City will violate Section 189.337 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes and possibly subject the City or the Trustees to liability. Accordingly, the guidance of the Attorney General is being sought.
Your question is whether the placement of speed bumps by the City of Seneca Gardens constitutes a violation of the Kentucky Statutes or Regulations?
(1) KRS 189.337 states as follows:
(1) As used in this chapter 'official traffic control devices' shall mean all signs, singnals, markings, and devices placed or erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or dividing traffic.
(2) The bureau of highways shall promulgate and adopt a manual of standards and specifications for a uniform system of official traffic control devices for use upon all roads and streets. The manual and its future revisions and supplements shall be applicable to all roads and streets under the control of the bureau of highways or any county or incorporated city.
(3) All traffic control devices installed on any road or street after the adoption of the manual shall conform to the provisions thereof. Satisfactory operating traffic devices in use on the date of the adoption of the manual may continue to be used; however, if such devices are replaced or revised, they must be replaced or revised in conformance with the provisions of the manual.
603 KAR 5:050 which was promulgated pursuant to KRS 189.337 states as follows:
Section 1. The standards and specifications set forth in the federal 'Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways' (1978 Edition and subsequent amendments thereto) shall apply to all traffic control devices installed on any road or street. Satisfactory operating traffic control devices in use on the effective date of this regulation may continue to be used; however, if such devices are replaced or revised, they must be made to conform with the standards and specifications of the manual.
Section 2. A copy of the federal 'Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways' may be obtained from the Department of Transportation, Frankfort, Kentucky. A fee may be charged for each copy to help defray costs.
KRS 189.337(3) states that all traffic control devices must conform to the provisions of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. However, the Manual makes no reference to speed bumps. The legislature obviously intended that no traffic control device be installed which does not conform to Manual specifications and that no device be installed where there are no specifications set forth in the Manual to which it could conform.
Because the Manual makes no reference to speed bumps, there is no statutory or regulatory authority for their placement or installation. The absence of any reference to speed bumps in the Manual implies its deliberate exclusion. Bloemer v. Turner, 281 Ky. 832, 137 S.W.2d 387 (1940).
Although not provided for in the Manual, the legislature could provide for speed bumps through legislative enactment or the Department of Transportation could provide for speed bumps through administrative regulation. Alternatively, the city may wish to consider the erection of four (4) way stop signs at intersections for the improved regulation of traffic upon city streets.