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Safety committee suggests $12,000 traffic study to seek lower speed on Route 306
Summary
The council's safety committee recommended commissioning a traffic study (~$12,000) to pursue lowering the posted speed on Route 306 through the village from 45 to 35 mph; council asked staff to obtain details from the village engineer.
The Village of South Russell's Safety Committee recommended starting the formal process to seek a reduced speed limit on Route 306 through the village by commissioning a traffic study estimated at about $12,000.
Why it matters: A speed reduction would affect motorists and pedestrians along Route 306 and could be a precondition for future crosswalks or trail connections; the change requires ODOT review and official approval.
Committee members said the 45 mph limit is increasingly incongruent with higher traffic and pedestrian activity near the village center, restaurants and gas station. The committee suggested lowering the speed limit to 35 mph and noted similar transitions have been used in neighboring jurisdictions to slow traffic entering more congested village cores. The police chief supported the idea as "a worthwhile" effort and said the village's engineer would need to do the survey and work with ODOT.
Council did not authorize expenditure at the meeting but asked staff to consult the village engineer for more detail and to return with cost and scope, noting the traffic survey is typically the first required step in a formal request to ODOT. Committee members emphasized the outcome is not guaranteed: ODOT could recommend a different speed or decline the request, depending on the findings.
Next steps: Staff to coordinate with the village engineer, obtain a written scope and firm cost estimate for the traffic survey, and report back at the June meeting.
