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Belgrade adopts simplified city speed limits, leaves state roads to MDT
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Summary
Council replaces an outdated speed ordinance with a simpler framework that keeps default city speed at 25 mph, allows a 35 mph maximum where posted, and gives the city manager/designee authority to set school zones and special signage.
The Belgrade City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 2025-4, a rewrite of the city's speed-limit code that replaces an older, detailed list of posted speeds and school-zone locations with a simplified framework.
City staff said the existing speed ordinance appeared to be a carryover from the 1980s and required extensive cleanup. The new ordinance establishes a base city speed limit, sets a maximum posted speed, and grants the city manager or designee the authority to establish and adjust school zones and other special speed-control areas following engineering review.
City Manager Neil explained the change to council members and noted an important limit: "we're not allowed to regulate speeds on any state road," meaning sections of Jackrabbit, Dry Creek and the frontage road remain the jurisdiction of the Montana Department of Transportation. The city can adopt and post speed limits on municipal streets and can add enforceable park and school zones once appropriate signs and orders are issued.
A central element of the rewrite is clarification on school zones. The city manager said staff wants flexibility to work with the school district to adjust hours and start times to match actual school schedules — for example, moving from an 8 a.m.–5 p.m. blanket period to narrower morning and afternoon windows tied to school start/stop times. Council members also discussed potential engineering-driven measures such as flashing beacons and crossing arms on busier roads like Jackrabbit or Spoon.
Councilors asked about practical costs of changing posted speeds. Staff estimated that installing speed-limit signs across a neighborhood could run several hundred dollars (staff gave examples: adding stop signs to a small subdivision was about $80; putting signs throughout a neighborhood could be about $300), and confirmed any posted speed different than the base would require proper signage to be enforceable.
The council voted to adopt the ordinance after a public hearing opened and closed with no public comments on this item. The motion to adopt Ordinance 2025-4 was moved by Council member Madamois and seconded by Council member Minicucci; the vote was recorded in the meeting as unanimous.
Ending — The rewritten ordinance is meant to bring Belgrade's code in line with common practice among Montana cities: default municipal speed limits for city streets, explicit limits on state roads left to MDT, and a streamlined process for school-zone designation and special-event speed controls.
