Council deletes speed limits from code

    The Washington City Council voted 4-2 to amend its Municipal Code to delete sections that dictate speed limits on Highway 92 in the city limits. The deleted portion of the code states that the speed limit on Highway 92 between Seventh and 14th Avenue is 30 mph, which is now the posted speed limit. Councilors Mike Roth, Russ Zieglowsky, Merle Hagie and Karen Wilson-Johnson voted for the ordinance while councilors Fred Stark and Bob Shepherd voted against it.

    The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) conducted a speed study on Highway 92 earlier this spring and made recommendations in accordance with that study. One of those recommendations was to raise the speed limit between Seventh and 14th Avenue to 35 mph. Another recommendation was to lower the speed limit from 55 to 50 for eastbound traffic between the Airport Road and Wiley Avenue, which is the entrance to Walmart. 

    The debate Wednesday centered on the level of influence the city council had over the speed limits on a primary state highway, such as Highway 92. In August, City Attorney Craig Arbuckle said the council could pass ordinances that set speed limits different from the DOT?s, but that the ordinances would have no effect.

    Stark argued that the council was not powerless over the speed limits in town. He said that when DOT spokesman Frank Redeker presented the findings of the speed study and the  recommendations that followed, Redeker was not ordering the city to change its speed limits.

    At the March 17 council meeting during which he spoke, Redeker said, ?This is just a recommendation. No changes will happen tonight. If you wish to go with this or go with part of it, that?s fine. If you want to leave the signs as they are, that?s fine, too.?

    Stark said he interpreted Redeker?s remarks to mean the DOT was willing to give the council leeway in what speed limits were appropriate for East Washington Street. 

    ?He gave us a couple of options,? said Stark.

    In a phone interview Thursday, Redeker declined to comment on the future of the speed limit signs on East Washington. He said the DOT will need to review the council?s ordinance before proceeding with any changes.

    Mike Moore, United Presbyterian Home administrator, told the council he was worried about raising the speed limit on Highway 92 because the street is already difficult to enter.

    ?I didn?t think much about it until several of my residents started coming forward,? he said. ?I have 350 people out there ? residents and staff. They usually go out on East Washington. Since we added Walmart [on Highway 92], that has compounded the problem. The traffic is heavy from the east as well as the west. It?s very difficult, especially for my older people, to get onto that four-lane road. They might be as much a danger to the other people driving on the four-lane as they are to themselves.?

For more, see our Sept. 2 print edition.