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Council adopts lower speed limits on several residential streets citing school safety
Summary
The council introduced and moved to adopt ordinance 28‑25 to reduce posted speed limits from 30 to 25 mph on several residential streets near Westview Elementary; residents and the sponsor cited school safety and lack of sidewalks. The council suspended the normal waiting period and approved the change by roll call.
The Muncie City Common Council on Sept. 8 introduced and then adopted Ordinance 28‑25, which reduces the speed limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour on several residential streets — Mackenzie Street, Tyrone Drive, Shellbark Road and Bittersweet Lane between Westview Boulevard and Riverside Avenue.
Resident Sarah Williams, whose son attends Westview Elementary, told the council she regularly witnesses school‑age pedestrians and school buses on those streets, observed speeding and said there are few sidewalks and no traffic calming features. Council sponsors and other members described the measure as a public‑safety step to protect children walking to school, particularly as daylight hours shorten.
Because the matter was presented as a school‑safety measure, the council voted to suspend the usual waiting period and adopt the ordinance at the same meeting. The city engineer indicated the office had been notified and consented to the proposed reduction. The motion to suspend and adopt passed on a roll‑call vote, and the ordinance will take effect according to the city’s traffic ordinance implementation procedures.
Council members also discussed installing radar speed signs and other longer‑term traffic‑calming measures on school routes; the sponsor said the neighborhood association supported the change. The council recorded its roll‑call vote in the meeting minutes.
