Sixth Street East Speed‑Hump Plan Prompts Residents to Push for Safety Measures on Avenue A
by James Coulter
A plan to add speed humps on Sixth Street East in Wahneta has prompted residents to call for similar traffic‑calming measures on nearby Avenue A.
At their regular meeting on Tues. On July 7, 2026, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted unanimously to approve several resolutions regarding the installation of speed humps on roads throughout the county.
The roads to have traffic calming devices installed are as follows:
- One on Bay Boulevard North (West) in Lake Wales ($5,000)
- Three on Eastside Drive South near Lakeland ($15,000)
- Five on Pryor Road near Haines City ($25,000)
- Three on Sixth Street East (Wahneta) near Winter Haven ($15,000)
The installation of these 12 speed humps is estimated to cost $60,000. Funding for these projects is available and budgeted within the County’s Transportation Millage Fund.
However, several Wahneta residents spoke during public comments to raise concerns about more pressing traffic issues on the adjacent Avenue A.
Many argued that frequent speeding and trailer‑truck traffic on the road pose a heightened risk to neighborhood children, especially those who walk to the nearby Wahneta Elementary School.
Residents Rosa Cabrera and Rosalinda Santillan, who live on the road, supported the Sixth Street humps but also urged the county to add them on Avenue A, citing speeding vehicles that endanger neighborhood children playing in the street.
Another resident, Ernest Oldaker, claimed that more drivers speed along Avenue A than on Sixth Street, with many vehicles allegedly speeding up to 80 mph.
“I really think it should be on Avenue A more than any other street,” he said. “I don’t know why we are wasting money on small streets when people go down that road 80mph. You are screaming for them to slow down, but they don’t slow down. A lot of times, it is the same vehicles. It’s not different people, but the same constant vehicles.”
Brittny Miller mentioned how she would often sit on her front porch and watch vehicles speeding up to 80mph, which proves especially problematic with children walking to and from school.
She pointed to other problems on Avenue A, including cars parked on the sidewalk. Often, she had to step into the road while walking her handicapped son to school because the sidewalk was blocked.
“We are putting in speed bumps instead of addressing the main issue on Avenue A,” she said. “I don’t think we need them [speed humps] on Sixth Street.”
Traffic Manager Amy J. Gregory, P.E., mentioned that she and her staff considered Avenue A several months ago, but that the road did not meet the criteria for traffic-calming devices.
Recent detours may have increased traffic and speeding in that area. Avenue A East at Fourth Street East has been closed daily for underground conduit work, pushing drivers onto Rifle Range Road and nearby neighborhood streets.
While many fatal and severe crashes have been reported in the broader Winter Haven area, there have been no publicly reported crashes or official traffic‑danger designations within that vicinity in recent months.
