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Council adopts NDOT-recommended speed-limit changes for Howard Boulevard and other stretches
Summary
Columbus adopted ordinance 25-07 to amend city code speed limits on Howard Boulevard and nearby streets after NDOT speed studies; the state will change the posted signs.
Columbus City Council members on May 5 adopted Ordinance No. 25‑07 to amend speed limits on portions of Howard Boulevard and adjacent stretches based on a Nebraska Department of Transportation speed study.
Staff and council discussed two distinct areas covered by the ordinance: Howard Boulevard near the casino and a corridor that includes 20th and 3rd streets east of Eighteenth Avenue. Council members asked whether the city or the state changes speed-limit signs; staff answered the state updates the signs. One council member asked whether a reference to "Eighteenth Avenue" should read "East Eighteenth Avenue"; staff clarified the chart in the code (the ordinance attachment) accurately identifies the segments and that NDOT maps align with the change.
The ordinance amends Schedule I of Chapter 74 of Title 7 of the Columbus City Code to set new speed limits (50 mph, 45 mph and a 55 mph segment from East Fourteenth Avenue to the east corporate limits as described in the ordinance text and attachment). The council suspended the rules, read the ordinance by number and adopted it by voice vote.
City staff advised that the changes follow an NDOT speed study and that deviating from the study could increase liability. The council adopted the ordinance and a staff member confirmed signage will be changed by the state.
