VALLEY VILLAGE, Calif. - The Los Angeles Department of Transportation began accepting applications earlier this month ... for new speed humps to be installed in residential neighborhoods and if you blinked, you probably missed it.
Applications are now closed and don't come around again until January, 2020.
The process has become exponentially more competitive, even for those that got their applications in on time. Residential neighborhoods across the Southland are seeing an increase in traffic flying through due to traffic apps like Waze, which attempt to find drivers the fastest route possible, even if it means diverting through residential areas.
LADOT engineers recently putting the final touches on Ben Avenue, just east of Laurel Canyon Blvd. in Valley Village.
They spelled out "Humps" on the ground and put in a new sign denoting speed humps on the street.
"I've seen people fly down the street," said resident Debra Coleman, who led the effort to get the new speed humps installed.
She’s been trying for the past two years.
"[It's] literally like getting concert tickets to Hamilton," she laughed.
When the previous application window opened in October, she was ready to go in front of her computer at 8 a.m.
"I sat there watching the clock," she said.
She blames navigation apps, like Waze, for the increased traffic in her neighborhood.
"I wish Waze would go away. They’re bringing cars into neighborhoods, where the structure of the street really can’t take the traffic," Coleman said.
The city is in the process of working with Waze and other tech companies to create a pilot program that would redirect traffic away from small residential streets.
"Where are you going to so fast that you need to drive 60 mph down a residential street?" Coleman asked.
As a result of that frustration, the demand for a limited 450 speed hump slots has soared.
"We get 450 applications in 45 minutes," said Lan Nguyen, a transportation engineer who heads up LADOT's Speed Hump Program.
"Before, it would take maybe two months or three months to fill that."
Once applications come in, her team is busy reviewing them and surveying the streets. That can take months.
"We have to count the number of cars that go on their street," Nguyen said.
They have to look at all the other conditions, including if they're near a school and whether there is a pattern of speeding and/or crashes on the street.
Two thirds of homes on the block have to agree to install the speed humps and cast their votes to the city. Nguyen says in 80 percent of cases, the neighborhood agrees with the person submitting the application for the speed humps.
Critics argue the speed humps can create more noise and may slow down emergency response times, but Coleman found because of the number of children on the street, most of her neighbors supported the idea.
"You have to have fortitude and stick-to-it-ness," she said.
Her hard work finally paid off
"I love watching the people slow down," she said. "We like brake lights."
LADOT engineers say if a pedestrian is hit at 40 miles per hour, their chances of surviving are slim.
If drivers reduce their speed -- even by 10 or even five miles an hour -- those chances greatly improve.