SPRINGDALE -- The City Council planned a public meeting to change the name of a street and considered ways to slow traffic on another as they worked Monday as a committee of the whole.
The council will hear comments from residents at 6 p.m. July 11 about changing the name of Savage Street to Marty Street. The public meeting will be held immediately before that night's meeting of the full City Council.
When the neighborhood was initially platted, the street was named after Marty Savage, the subdivision developer, said Mayor Doug Sprouse.
Residents of Savage have asked for the name to be changed, said Amelia Taldo-Williams, a council member.
Members of the Police Department were going door-to-door to build relationships with Savage Street residents, Taldo-Williams said. Many residents told the police they didn't like the street name. They felt "Savage" meant those living on the street were connected with gangs that use "savage" as part of their names, she said.
Taldo-Williams did not share the police officers' names.
The council chose to use the developer's first name, so the street would continue to honor Savage. Savage died a few years ago, said Patsy Christie, director of the city's Planning Department.
Savage Street sits about a half mile between Luther George Park and Jones Elementary School in an area the city has targeted for revitalization.
According to law, the city will notify owners of property on Savage Street about the meeting. Ernest Cate, city attorney, said the street includes 17 lots, and all but one contain homes. His office will mail the notifications.
The street name will be changed by the city's geographical information services immediately after the council approves the name change, Christie said. This immediately updates the addresses with the city's emergency services, she said.
The city also will work to slow traffic on Lakeview Drive. Residents for several years have spoken before council asking for measures to slow drivers. A steep hill on the road adds to the concern.
The city will make the intersection of Lakeview and Turner Street a four-way stop, with stop signs posted soon, said James Smith, director of the Public Works Department. He said he immediately will move signs from other parts of the city that ask drivers to slow down for new roadway conditions.
The city already plans to mark bicycle lanes on Turner this summer, Smith said. He said he will include marking crosswalks in the bid for striping the road.
Smith said he noticed trails through the grass at corner lots, showing where residents have been walking to access the trails and bicycle obstacle course at Lake Fayetteville, he said. The crosswalks will solve that problem, he said.
Ben Peters, director of the city's Engineering Department, said the city within a few days will place on the street a trailer that measures and displays drivers' speeds. Residents say drivers slow down when the trailer and police patrols are on scene.
Peters said that previous speed studies along Lakeview only scored 25 points toward the need for traffic calming. He noted the city policy says the study must score 60 points before the city can act.
The study also showed 85% of the drivers were traveling at 34 mph when they passed the trailer, "And that's what you want in a 30 mile-per-hour speed limit," Peters said.
Police do patrol the area. Capt. Jeff Taylor noted police have made 601 stops in the area since January 2022.
"Traffic is an issue all over the city," Taylor said. "But we recognize there's a problem there, and we patrol down there when we have the resources."
Taldo-Williams said residents say drivers do slow down with police presence, but speed up when police move on to another area.
She suggested the city buy more permanent equipment to notify drivers of their speed, similar to what is used in Johnson. Peters and Smith said they will research prices for such equipment and report to the council in two weeks.
Lakeview's designation as a collector street in the city's master street plan limits the city's ability to slow traffic.
Collector streets under city policy are not eligible for traffic-calming measures, Peters said.
"We want to move cars on collector streets, not slow them down," Peters said. "Collectors are built for the community, not the residents."
Staff and council members agreed Lakeview is a unique collector because the area is mainly residential. The street also has open lots on the eastern end which make it seem like a rural drive, said Randall Harriman, a council member.
In addition, Lakeview is on the route of the city snowplows, Smith said. The plows would rip off any speed bumps or speed tables, and the cost to replace them would be high.
Taldo-Williams said the property owners want only speed tables.
"I believe there is an issue," Taldo-Williams said. "Can we come up with some sort of solution for them?"
Council member Jeff Williams agreed. "Well, maybe our policy is wrong."
Williams encouraged quick implementation of the signs and street striping as city staff further study the street.