Agenda - Public Works Committee - 04/21/2009

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n 2.0 CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND GATHERING INFORMATION Throughout the course of the study, various types of research efforts wet'e conducted so that MtVDOT and Task Foree members could further understand current speed limit experiences and make informed decisions on the evaluation and selection of alternatives, 2.1 Research on Speed Limits and Speed Zoning 2.1.1 Research 1n Minnesota The Minnesota Statutes for speed limits (and related definitions) are based on the National Uniform Vehicle Code (UVC), first established in 1929. Since that time a number ofupd'ates and modifications have been implemented to the UVC and to Minnesota Statutes, but key significant features remain. . Among the elements that have not changed in several decades are the following: . The urban district defInition is delineated by the presence of a house or business every 100 feet; this has been a constant in the WC and Minnesota Statutes. . The speed limit in Minnesota has been 30 .11PH since approximately 1937 for areas within what came to be termed "urban districts" in 1963. Currently, the urban district speed limit recommended in the lNe is 35 NtPH. . The uve recommends that authority for all speed zoneS be the responsibility of the State Commissioner of Transportation. Minnesota Statute does assign that authority to the MnlDOT Commissioner. This was originally done - and continues to be done this way - to ensure uniformity in the implementation of speed zoning across the state. (An exception to this responsibiHtyofthe Commissioner exists in the provision for establishing a 25 IvlPH speed limit on a "residential roadway." In 1994 a road authority having Jurisdiction over a residential roadway was granted the right to establish such a speed limit if the authority chose to adopt that limit for the residential roadway and sign it appropriately.) A unique element in current Minnesota Statute was added approximately 10 years ago. A "rural residential district" defmes a category of territory that can only exist in, a township; however, recent development practices have created residential areas other than townships that meet the rural residential district classification. Appendix A"l summarizes the history of Minnesota speed laws from 1881 to the present. 2.1.2 Research in Other States Research was conducted on definitions and speed limits for the other 49 states to provide a general overview of the state of the practice nationwide. Although data could not be readily obtained for all types of information from each state, a significant amount of information was acquired. Page 4 31