HOAs have few options for slowing speeders
Q: We have a speeding problem on one of our streets. In December, a speeding car destroyed a large light pole; and two weeks later another speeding car destroyed the concrete walls of the drive way of one of the residences. I know a homeowners association board is responsible to keep the association property safe for the residence and owners. Where is this rule located in the Nevada Revised Statutes? We are planning on having a meeting soon with them, and this information would be very helpful.
Our board has been asked to correct the speeding problem for many years and has refused to do anything. Now we have property damage as they were warned that we would have.
A: You would not find any section in NRS 116 that mandates that the board of directors has a responsibility to keep the association property safe for residents and for the community. What you will find in NRS 116 is that the association has the responsibility to enforce its governing documents, such as rules and regulations where you would normally find some language on speeding.
If you are speeding on public maintained roadways, you could be given a speeding ticket. Unfortunately, associations do not have many effective options of slowing down speeders. Though speed bumps are an effective way of slowing down vehicles, they are not allowed in Clark County private communities. The reason concerns the response time for emergency vehicles, and they are not permitted by any Southern Nevada fire department. (Southern Nevada Amendments to the International Fire Code, section 503.4.1.)
Having a radar gun has its own issues. Many years ago, there was a proposed law, which would have allowed homeowner associations to use radar guns as a means of documenting speeders within their communities. This proposed law was defeated.
NRS 459.920 contains the prerequisites for the operation or display of radar guns, some of which are the following: A radar guns must conform to the product list of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and be inspected every three years to determine its level of power and structural integrity to comply with the minimum performance specifications for any given model that has been established by the United State Department of Transportation.
So, what can an association do besides newsletters, flyers courtesy letters and hearing fine letters to impress upon its residents to slow down?
There are several traffic-calming solutions that your association should consider:
■ 1. Stop stencils at every stop sign. This emphasizes where the driver needs to stop.
■ 2. Stop signs should be located at least in one direction at all intersections.
■ 3. Inspect your community to make sure that trees and other landscaping do not block the stop signs.
■ 4. Add speed limit signs throughout your community as some associations have them only at their entrances. Speed limits should be 15 or 20 mph.
■ 5. Install RPMs, raised pavement markers, which are the yellow and white dots or reflectors found on streets and highways as lane dividers. A series of these RPMs can serve as a “rumble Strip,” which can cause drivers to slow down and make the drivers aware of a coming stop sign. They are not as effective as the speed bumps and humps and are frequently loose or broken.
■ 6. Install Paver Rumble Strips, which have been approved by the fire departments for use in private residential communities. They are designed to alert drivers as to impending intersections and crosswalks. They are composed of interlocking concrete pavers installed into an asphalt payment.
I am sure that you and your concerned neighbors, as well as the board, can discuss all of the possible reasons why traffic-calming solutions will not be viable, but it is a start. Trying to legislate common sense and common courtesy can be a losing proposition, but we need to continually remind our residents to slow down.
Barbara Holland is a certified property manager, broker and supervisory certified association manager. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.