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Resolution to change speed limit gets commission’s OK |
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Written by Tatiana Rodriguez
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Thursday, 10 July 2008 |
The Sweetwater City Commission approved a resolution Tuesday at their monthly meeting which will request that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) consider changing the speed limit on Highway 70 South within the city limits of Sweetwater from 70 to 55 miles per hour.
Because of concerns for the safety of local citizens and the general public, city officials consider the current speed limit to be unsafe for traffic both entering and leaving the city. Their resolution states that some residents living south of Sweetwater have experienced dangerous situations when trying to enter or exit from State Highway 70 due to the higher rate of speed.
The city is requesting that the speed limit change take place on the portion of state highway commencing at the southern entrance of the city at the intersection of Skelly Lane and State Highway 70, where the city limit sign is currently located, into Sweetwater. The 70 mph speed limit currently begins at the very beginning of Highway 70, near Bradford Lane.
“I think it would be a good idea to change the speed limit for safety reasons,” said city manager Eddie Brown.
Roy Dill, Nolan County area engineer for TxDOT, explained the steps that will be taken to approve or disallow the city of the speed limit change. According to Dill, a speed study will be taken at the location and a radar gun will be used to record speeds of drivers traveling along the stretch of road entering and leaving Sweetwater, and those speeds will be plotted.
Dill said the 85th percentile of those speeds will be the recommended speed for the stretch of road in question. The city’s recommendation will go to the Traffic Safety Committee in Abilene.
“Eighty-five percent of the population will travel at a reasonable speed,” said Dill. “Lowering speed limits encourages people not to follow speed limits.”
Brown suggested putting up cross signs to warn drivers to be wary of the residential intersections along Highway 70. Dill said that putting up cross signs would be another possible solution, but “sometimes putting up too many signs means the more likely people will become overindulged in reading signs and not concentrate on the road.”
Dill also asked for an accident history along the stretch of highway, stating that a report to give to the traffic safety committee would be another piece of criteria that would help the speed limit be lowered.
Dill said a study had been made at the same location less than a year ago, and the speed limit was not changed. He said the entire process will take approximately four to six weeks to complete. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 11 July 2008 )
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