LFP Council Corner - Review of speed limits continues

From LFP Deputy Mayor Tom French

For the past six months, the City Council has been considering reductions to speed limits on our local roads and state highways.

This work the Council is conducting is very timely and necessary. 

The reduced traffic during the pandemic has emboldened some drivers to ignore basic courtesy and safety and this has led to a significant increase in unlawful behavior on our roads and state highways. 

Traffic volume is down, yet infractions are up as well as crashes on a per-trip basis.

The Council is considering a multi-phased approach to setting lower speed limits which begins with the adoption of a speed limit setting methodology as required by state statute.

The methodology the Council has chosen is contained in the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) City Limits document from the summer of 2020. This document recommends a holistic approach to setting speed limits and prioritizes pedestrian and multi-modal safety.

As recommended in the City Limits document, the City will consider three or more phases to increasing safety on our roads. 

1. Setting default speed limits on many streets at once (such as 25 mph on major streets and 20 mph on all minor neighborhood streets),
2. Designating slow zones in sensitive areas, and
3. Setting corridor speed limits on high priority major streets, using a safe speed study, which uses conflict density and activity level to set context-appropriate speed limits

Seattle’s approach to lowering speed limits (including lowering speed limits to 20 mph on all neighborhood or local streets) has been very successful. Even without additional enforcement, there has been a dramatic reduction in severe accidents in many locations throughout the city.

It is the Council’s intent to create a speed-setting program that slows drivers down and reflects the character of our community.

We will also be considering traffic calming measures that can be implemented throughout our city. A variety of measures is being discussed, including, but not limited to:

Signalized crosswalks; intersections painted with murals; chicanes and pinch points; traffic circles; speed pillows; curb-separated shoulders and walking paths.

With very limited resources to implement these programs, the Council will be working very closely with the Mayor and Administration to ensure early successes and continued progress on improving pedestrian, bicycle, and multi-modal safety.

It is the intent of the City Council to begin acting on these steps beginning in the month of October. 

We invite you to send us your feedback and thoughts about speed limits and traffic calming as we move forward with making our community safer for all users of our roadways, paths, and sidewalks.