Agenda - Council - 05/12/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

deletes the exclusive township reference and allows this definition to be applied regardless of jurisdiction. A Rural ResidentiaTDistrictrnuld be located in eitlclarito tl esheptdence spaon ga roadway owned by any ~unsdiction: The proposed changes also fY measurements for this definition and recognize the specific development conditions which meet the Rural Residential District criteria. Residential Roadway The current language for this definition reads, in part, "'residential roadway' means a street or portion of a street that is less than one-half mile in length ...." This wording lacks clarity and does not match the intended application. The recommended language has been clarified as to conditions for its appropriate application andstretch of~oadway. less than one-half mile) lengths of roadways and not short portions of a long Recommendations on Speed Limits 30 MPH in an Urban Districf At this time, Mn/DOT recommends no change to the basic Urban District speed limit of 30 MPH. Mn/DQT acknowledges that the Task Force membership brought different views to this issue. Several members favor a speed limit change to 2S now, if it could be successfully achieved, or a move toward 2S in the future. Several factors were cited in support of a ZS MPH speed limit. One key factor is the citizen level support far the change. Another important factor is the increased pedestrian survival rates at lower speeds in the event ofvehicle-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 MPH (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 MPH or even lower. The level of resources currently committed~to law~enforcemerit 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 2S 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 2S, merely posting speed limit signs have, not been shown to cause a change in driver behavior. Dispersion in travel speeds am ~ g1VlpHivTherea concern that in safety than is the posted or statutory speed limit of 30 MPH 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 cor~ununities. Considering all aspects of the issue, Mn/DOT concludes that 30 MPH ~~ at a h esp~egd limit for Urban Districts in Minnesota at this time. Efforts today should b compliance with the existing 30 MPH statutory speed limit. Though the topic could be revisited Page ii -154-