Decrease speed limit to 25 in Worland?

WORLAND — Should Worland’s residential side streets be posted at 25 mph rather than 30 mph as they are currently? Concerned resident Randy Harry believes they should be.

Harry spoke to the Worland City Council Tuesday night, asking that they consider making the change. He said he spoke to Mayor Jim Gill and Council member Keith Gentzler last week about the fact that he would like to see the speed limit reduced to 25 mph.

Harry provided a packet of information including the state statutes regarding speed regulations, and stopping distances between 30 mph and 25 mph (less time with 25 mph). “You can see there’s definitely a difference between 30 and 25,” he said.

Harry added, “One of my big issues is all of our city streets are seeing more activity with pedestrian traffic, bicycle traffic. Fifteenth Street we put the bicycle path down and it’s between the parked cars and the vehicles’ traveling lane.”

“It would be nice to see that dropped just for reactionary time. Most people are very cautious. I have talked to a few who said, ‘it says 30, I’m going 30.’ And they’re right. With that in mind I thought if we could address this and see where it could go and possibly we could make some changes.”

Harry said he spoke to Randy Merritt of the Wyoming Department of Transportation and Merritt went over the state statutes. Merritt is the District 5 construction engineer and former traffic engineer.

Wyoming Statute 31-5-301 b (ii) establishes a maximum speed limit of “30 miles per hour in any urban district and in any residence district or subdivision except on roads that have been designated a private road.”

Statute 31-5-303b states, “Local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may determine the proper maximum speed for all streets and highways within their respective corporate jurisdiction which maximum speed is reasonable and safe and which may be greater or less than the maximum speed permitted under this act.”

Worland Police Chief Gabe Elliott said one of his concerns is the cost for a study to determine the appropriate speed limit.

Statute 31-5-302 states that the superintendent can change a speed limit “upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation.”

Harry said his understanding from Merritt is that the city just needs to justify a reason, and there are reasons including pedestrian traffic and narrow streets. He said some of the streets in the city are only 50 feet wide. “I mean they are narrow, super narrow by the time you get the curb and gutter.”

Merritt, in an interview Wednesday, said that by state statute, every roadway is designated a statutory speed limit, and it doesn’t matter whether its city, county or state roadway.

“Any time you deviate from that state statute speed limit then it has to be done by engineering investigation,” Merritt said. “To be defensible in court [Worland] would need to have an engineering investigation that justifies why the roadway needs to not be the statutory speed limit.” The study would then have to be signed by the superintendent of the roadways, and with the city that would be the mayor.

Merritt said when he was doing the engineering investigations for WYDOT he looked at a number of factors, including in city limits, width of a street, whether parking is allowed on both sides, crash history and roadside safety.

“There are many things you can use to justify, but it must be something that is defensible in court,” Merritt said.

Elliott said during Tuesday’s council meeting that he knows Laramie did a study for their entire city at a cost of $75,000.

Harry suggested doing areas in the city and phasing it in, but Elliott said the city needs to have consistent speed zones.

Mayor Gill thanked Harry for his presentation and said the council would not take any action at the meeting but would review the material he presented.

OTHER COMMUNITIES

One community in the Big Horn Basin does have 25 mph residential areas — Powell. Powell has three different speed limits, 35 mph on Coulter, which is the highway through the city, 25 mph in residential areas and 20 mph in school zones.

Cody is 30 mph with a 20 mph school zone and a 25 mph downtown zone from about the Holiday Inn to almost the hospital.

Thermopolis is posted 30 mph except in school zones and in their downtown area, where it is 20 mph.

Basin is posted 30 mph with the school zone posted 15 mph.

Lovell is 30 mph except in the 20 mph school zones.

Greybull is 20 mph in the residential areas and 20 mph school zones.