Agenda - Public Works Committee - 04/21/2009

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;} deletes the exclusive township l'eferenceand allows this definition to be applied regardless of jurisdiction. A Rural Residential District could be located in either a township oroity, along a l'Ofldway owned by any jurisdiction. The proposed changes also clarify the residence spacing measurements for this definition and recognize the specific development conditions which meet the Rural Residential District criteria. ' Residential ,Roa dway The current language for this defmition reads, in part, "'res'idential roadway' means a street or portion of a street that is less than one-half mile in length. . . ,U This wording lacks clarity and does not match the intended application. The recol'xunended language ha.s been clarified as to conditions for its appropriate application and includes only short (less than one~half mile) lengths of roadways and not short portions of a lqng stretch of roadway. Recommendations on Speed Limits 30 MPH in an Urban District At this time, Mn/DOT recommends no change to the basic Urban :Q,istrict speed limit of30 MPR. Mn/DOT acknowledges that the Task Force membership brought different views to this issue. Several members favor a speed limit change to 25 now, if it could be successfully achieved, or a move toward 25 in the future. Several factors were cited in suppoJ;'t of a 25 MPH speed limit. One key factor is the citizen,.level support for the change. Another~portant factor is the increased pedestrian survival rates at lower speeds in the event of vehicle~pedestrian crashes. . Other factors were inconclusive or argued against a change. Analysis of pedestrian crash data between Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa yielded inconclusive results as to the safety benefits of a 25 lvIPH (Iowa and Wisconsin) versus 30 MPH (Minnesota) residential speed limit. Furthermore, a review of the survival rates at different speeds, coupled with the number of pedestrian fatalities on low-speed roads,. indicates that to cause a significant change in pedestrian safety, travel speeds would need to change from 30 to 20 NfPR or even lower. The level of resources currently committed to law' enforcement and driver education make it difficult to enforce the existing 30 MPH limit. The judgment of the Task Force members, and of law enforcement personnel who were interviewed, is that in the current funding environment it would be difficult to establish proper enforcement of a 25 MPH statutory speed limit. _This could lead to a larger disparity in actual travel speed. Signing alone would not be expected to overcome that. Even if signs were posted at 25, merely posting speed limit signs have not been shown to cause a change in driver behavior. Dispersion in travel speeds amongst drivers is a greater factor in safety than is the posted or statutory speed limit of 30 WR or 25 l\1PH. There is concern that lowering the speed limit without a: large enforcement effort to support the change would not result in a safety improvement. In addition, the need to post signs to educate drivers to the new speed limit would be expected to impose a significant burden on some communities. Considering all aspects of the issue, Mn/DOT concludes that 30 MPH is the best speed limit for Urban Districts in Minnesota at this.time. Efforts today should be aimed at achieving compliance with the existing 30 MPH statutory speed limit. Though the topic could be revisited Page ii 26