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County staff demos new speed-study software; commissioners raise Warner Recker Road limit to 45 mph
Summary
A county staff member demonstrated new GPS-based speed-study software that produces faster traffic reports; commissioners approved raising the speed limit on a stretch of Warner Recker Road to 45 mph after reviewing study results.
WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. — County staff demonstrated new speed-study software that uses aggregated GPS data to produce traffic-speed reports more quickly, and the board approved an increase to a 45 mph speed limit on a one-mile stretch of Warner Recker Road.
Mike King, identified in the meeting as a county staff member working on traffic studies, described the new system as a replacement for older radar boxes that required onsite battery changes and multi-day deployments. "With our new software, it takes me about a minute to complete a study on any road in the county," King said, and added the system can query up to 18 months of historical data and provide 80th-percentile speed calculations. On one example he shared, the 80th-percentile speed on a segment was 52 mph while the posted limit was 35 mph. "Even the average speed was 47," he said.
King said staff can provide results to callers via an emailed link that shows charts by day and time and can aggregate by neighborhood or road. He said the data are anonymized: "We don't know anybody. All we get is a number. It was just speed. 10 cars, and they went 35 miles an hour." He also said the sheriff's office and the board have access to the software.
Separately, a staff presentation asked the board to approve increasing the posted limit to 45 mph on Warner Recker Road between Steve Moore Road and Warrington Court, while keeping a short segment near overhead utility poles excluded until poles can be relocated. Staff said the stretch is roughly one mile and that typical pedestrian and bicycle activity was low in the segment under consideration.
A commissioner moved to approve the speed-limit change; the motion received a second and passed by voice vote, 5-0.
Ending: Commissioners said the new software will speed reviews of traffic complaints and allow staff to produce on-demand neighborhood reports; the Warner Recker Road limit increase was approved and will take effect after signage is installed.
