Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Speed Limits Engineering Study topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Keizer committee votes to seek engineer study on 20 mph residential speed limits
Summary
The Traffic Safety Bikeways Pedestrian Committee voted to recommend the City Council hire a certified engineer to evaluate lowering residential speed limits to 20 mph and to pursue the ODOT speed-zone process if warranted.
The Traffic Safety Bikeways Pedestrian Committee voted to recommend that the Keizer City Council hire a certified traffic engineer to evaluate changing residential speed limits to 20 miles per hour.
Committee members said they want a formal engineering study to assess whether 20 mph residential zones are appropriate citywide and to determine the steps, cost and ODOT approvals required.
The motion was presented during discussion of several neighborhood traffic management applications. A committee member moved "I move that we recommend to the city council that an engineer be hired to evaluate turning all residential streets within Keizer to 20 miles an hour." The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote with no recorded nays; committee members recorded no formal tally in the minutes.
Committee discussion addressed enforcement limits, the state review process and budget implications. Keizer police told the committee that targeted enforcement and presence can reduce speeds, but acknowledged the department’s limited traffic-unit staffing. City staff and the committee noted that under current Oregon practice ODOT must review speed-zone changes and that cities typically submit engineering documentation prepared or certified by a qualified engineer. City staff said the city does not currently hold a certification needed for the ODOT submission and that hiring or contracting a certified engineer would be necessary to proceed.
Committee members said the motion is intended to start a formal conversation with the council and the budget committee about funding the engineering work; staff said the recommended next step is to forward the committee’s recommendation and ask council to authorize or fund the engineering evaluation.
Next steps: the committee’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration and to the city budget process for possible funding of an engineering contract. If council approves, staff said an engineer would assemble the data required for ODOT review and propose a specific program (citywide vs. targeted streets).
