Washington City Council debates speed limit changes

    The Washington City Council passed the first reading of an ordinance to adopt the recommended speed limit changes to Highway 92 proposed by the Iowa Department of Transportation. The changes would raise the speed limit from 30 to 35 mph for east and westbound traffic between Seventh and 15th Avenue, while lowering it from 55 to 50 mph for the eastbound traffic between the airport road and the entrance to Walmart, known as Wiley Avenue. The vote was 3-1 in favor of the changes. Council members Mike Roth, Merlin Hagie and Karen Wilson-Johnson voted in the affirmative while Fred Stark cast the only no vote. Council members Bob Shepherd and Russ Zieglowsky were absent. 

    This past winter, the DOT conducted a speed study to see how fast motorists drove on Highway 92 in Washington. In March, the DOT presented its findings to the council. At that meeting, DOT representative Frank Redeker said it is important to post speed limits that conform to how drivers really behave. He said that accidents are caused when there is great variation in vehicle speeds, and the faster drivers have to shift lanes to get around the slow drivers. 

    Stark expressed concern about raising the speed limit on the portion of Highway 92 that went by the United Presbyterian Home.

    ?The UP home has a lot of senior citizens who do walk across the street,? said Stark. ?Remember, these are elderly people, older than me. Imagine that. We also have elderly people who are backing out onto the highway. They?re already cautious about going out, and now the other drivers are speeding up even more. I would tend to think this would be a hazard. One of our main goals is the safety of the citizens. We?re looking at the car traffic, not the citizens.?

    ?By the same token, Fred, we also have sidewalks on both sides of East Washington,? said Roth.

    ?I agree with you, but I?m saying that there is a large contingent of retired people who live there, and they need to be taken into consideration,? said Stark.

Roth responded, ?We don?t want to be insensitive to them, by no means. But we don?t need a crosswalk there, I don?t think.? 

Mayor Sandra Johnson reminded the council that the DOT has jurisdiction over Highway 92.

?I?m just saying that I don?t agree with the DOT?s recommendations,? said Stark.

For more, see our April 29 print edition.