Mikkeli softens speed bumps after drivers say they are too sharp

Mikkeli has softened nine speed bumps on Karilantie after drivers complained they were too sharp, Yle reports. The changes have raised concern among residents that the bumps will no longer slow speeding traffic in the Orijärvi residential area.

Residents had long urged the city to calm traffic on Karilantie, where the speed limit is 30 kilometres per hour. Orijärvi Residents’ Association chair Eevastiina Lappalainen said residents reported that some drivers were travelling at 60 to 70 kilometres per hour.

The city built the bumps this autumn, and they initially forced drivers to slow to below 20 kilometres per hour. It then received complaints that there were too many bumps and that they were too sharp. Some electric-car drivers said they feared the bumps could damage the underside of their vehicles, Lappalainen said. The city poured asphalt along the edges to make the bumps gentler.

Karilantie resident Antti Ruusu said the original bumps had calmed traffic, with some drivers choosing to avoid the road, but he believes the softened bumps are no longer effective. The residents’ association board also wanted more time to assess their impact. Lappalainen said children’s safety was the priority.

Mikkeli city engineer Pekka Kammonen said the bumps should allow cars to travel at close to the speed limit without damaging vehicles. City employees drove along the road after the bumps were built and found that drivers had to slow well below the limit before the changes.

The city uses Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency guidance, which says speed bumps on roads like Karilantie should be no higher than five centimetres. At a 30-kilometre-per-hour speed limit, the recommended distance between multiple bumps is 60 metres, with a maximum of 100 metres.

The nine bumps cost about 28,000 euros to build, and their alteration cost just over 4,000 euros.