Agenda - Public Works Committee - 04/21/2009

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q District to an Urba.n ResidentialDistl'ict The potential for different speed limits to be applied to Urban Residential Districts and Urban Business Districts also pt'esents concerns about uniformity of speed limits based on driving conditions. "Urban District" was found to be a reasonable tnethod for describing urban area conditions requiring a lower statutory speed for most city roadways. The overall view of the Task Force was that the Urban District concept was understandable to the motorist (Le., the motorist can recognize an urban zone and know that the statutory speed limit for that zone is 30 MPH). It was further recognized that for roadways that meet the general characteristics of the Urban District but for which a higher travel speed is appropriate (e.g., collectors and arterials), the agency should request a speed . study; those t;<'pes of roads should likely not be 30 wIPH roadways. The current definition of Urban District was deemed to be generally acceptable, with the exception that some agencies interpret the term "streets" to include highways and others don't. The Task Force agreed that if conditions are the same along 11 roadway (e.g., there is 100 ft. spacing), it is appropriate that the roadway, regardless of whether it is a highway or street, should fall under the same definition for the sake of unifonnio/ statewide. 3.1.2 Urban District Recommended Text The Task Force recommendation is to modify the Urban District definition as shown below: Statute 169.01, Subd. 59. Urban district. "Urban district'.' means the territory contiguous to and including any street or highway which is built up with structures devoted to business, industry, or dwelling houses situated at intervals of less than 100 feet for .a distance of a quarter of a mile or more. 3.2 Rural Residential District 3.2.1 Rural Residential District Discussion The question posed by the legislature regarded whether the current 55 1'IPH speed limit in rural residential districts within cities is appropriate. However, as the Task Force explored this issue, it expanded to include other considerations relevant to this definition; the review was not limited to areas within cities. In the CUlTent text of Minnesota Statute 169, the Rural Residential District definition does not appear in 169.01 DEFINITIONS, but rather appears in 169.14. The Task Force recommended moving the definition to 169.01 along with the following changes: . Houses must be visible and fronting the roadway; this is a feature recognizable by the driver. . HDuses may be on both sides or only on one side of the road. Page 14 41