Picking between a speed table and a speed bump comes down to two questions: where does the device sit, and how slow do you actually need traffic? A speed table is 22 feet long, built for a 25-mph road environment — residential streets, bus routes, pedestrian-priority intersections. A speed bump is 1 to 3 feet long, built for 5 to 10 mph — parking lots and private driveways. They aren't interchangeable. A bump on a residential street produces unsafe ride dynamics. A table in a parking lot is a $10,000 over-build. Below: the table-vs-bump decision from a buyer's standpoint.
Quick verdict
| Setting | Pick |
|---|---|
| Public residential street | Speed table |
| Bus route or transit corridor | Speed table |
| Pedestrian-priority intersection | Speed table |
| Parking lot circulation lane | Speed bump |
| Private driveway | Speed bump |
| Apartment-complex internal drive | Speed bump (entry) and speed hump (mid-drive) |
| Drive-thru or customer-pickup approach | Speed table (longer variant) |
| Mid-block calming on a residential street | Speed hump (better fit than either bump or table) |
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Variable | Speed bump | Speed table |
|---|---|---|
| Length (travel direction) | 1 to 3 ft | 22 ft (3 + 16 + 3) |
| Height | 3 to 4 in | 3 to 4 in |
| Profile | Sharp parabolic or rounded | Trapezoidal flat-top |
| Design speed | 5 to 10 mph | 20 to 25 mph |
| Best environment | Parking lot, driveway | Public street, residential |
| Material | Mostly modular rubber | Mostly asphalt |
| Bus impact | Severe (humps standing passengers) | Low (rides flat across plateau) |
| Fire-truck impact | Severe (jolts gurneys) | Low (gentle climb and descent) |
| Cost per unit | $200 to $1,200+ | $5,000 to $15,000+ |
| Lifespan | 5 to 10 years (rubber) | 7 to 10 years (asphalt) |
When to Choose a Speed Bump
Parking lot circulation lanes
The original bump environment. Lots have low baseline speeds (typically 10 to 15 mph) and a strong need to keep traffic to walking pace near pedestrian zones. A 2-foot rubber bump at a crosswalk or building-entry approach forces traffic to 5 to 10 mph without consuming the pavement footprint a table would.
Private driveways
A homeowner installing a single bump in a driveway uses a 1 to 2-foot rubber unit, anchored with concrete or asphalt anchors. Tables are not residential-driveway-scale.
Apartment-complex entry chokes
An entry choke at the leasing-office side of an apartment complex benefits from a high-impact bump that signals "slow zone now." Mid-drive calming should pivot to a hump or cushion, not stack more bumps.
Cost-constrained calming
Bumps are 90 to 95 percent cheaper than tables per device. For a property owner with $5,000 to spend, a series of 4 to 6 rubber bumps reaches more locations than a single table.
When to Choose a Speed Table
Public residential streets
The 22-foot footprint and the 25-mph design speed match residential-street geometry. A bump on a residential street is unsafe at the typical 25 to 30 mph approach speed -- the vertical pulse risks suspension damage and bottoming out.
Bus routes
Tables are the device of choice for any street carrying TriMet, LTD, Lane Transit, or Cherriots buses. A bump on a bus route is operationally disqualifying.
Pedestrian-priority intersections
A speed table at an intersection becomes a raised pedestrian platform. The plateau supports an ADA-compliant marked crossing under PROWAG (Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines). Bumps cannot serve this purpose.
Architectural / aesthetic streets
Brick-inlay tables in historic neighborhoods work as both calming and visual treatment. Bumps are functional only -- no aesthetic option.
Wide drive-thru or customer-pickup lanes
A table-with-extra-length variant (sometimes 30 ft) holds vehicle position and slows traffic at a drive-thru window. Bumps over-slow without holding position.
What About Streets and Parking Lots Together?
Mixed-use properties (apartment complexes, retail centers, school campuses) often have both a parking environment and a residential-street-grade approach drive. The standard Cojo design pattern:
- Bump at the parking-lot entry from the public road
- Hump or cushion at mid-drive locations inside the property
- Table at the public street if calming is also needed there
- Bump at internal pedestrian crossings inside the lot
Stacking different devices for different speed regimes produces better calming than installing 4 of the same device throughout.
Cost Trade-off
Industry Baseline Range
| Item | Speed bump | Speed table |
|---|---|---|
| Single device install | $200 to $1,500+ (rubber, anchored) | $5,000 to $15,000+ (asphalt or brick) |
| Series of 3 (same site) | $150 to $1,200+ per | $4,500 to $12,000+ per |
| Material | Rubber, plastic | Asphalt, brick, concrete |
| Annual maintenance | $50 to $200+ per device | $300 to $800+ per device |
Current Market Reality
The cost-per-device gap is large -- roughly 10 to 30x for tables vs bumps. The decision is rarely cost-driven, however; the right device for the speed environment is almost always the right financial decision because the wrong device produces complaints, vehicle damage liability, or operational issues that exceed the device-cost difference.
Cojo's Salem Drive-Thru Table Install
In April 2026 Cojo installed a 22-foot asphalt speed table on the customer-pickup-lane approach to a storefront crosswalk at a 14,000-sq-ft retail center in South Salem. Pre-install spot speeds in the pickup lane averaged 17 mph; 30-day post-install measurement averaged 8 mph. The table doubled as a raised-crosswalk platform marked per PROWAG. A speed bump in the same location would have over-slowed traffic to a near-stop and caused queue stacking.
Get the Right Device
If you are weighing a table vs a bump for a specific site, send Cojo a site photo and a brief description of the speed environment. We will return a free desk review with a recommended device and a quote within one business day. See the speed tables guide for the table engineering, speed cushions guide for the fire-access alternative, speed bump vs speed hump for the bump-vs-hump decision, speed table installation in Portland for a local example, or asphalt maintenance services for the full install scope.