The City of Pacific operations committee voted Oct. 30 to recommend that the Board of Aldermen lower the speed limit on a residential stretch of Lamar Parkway after multiple residents urged action.

Two residents who live on Lamar Parkway told the committee the roadway—known to some neighbors as “Drag Strip Parkway”—carries commuter and school traffic at speeds they consider unsafe for a now-developed subdivision. "There's a bunch of homes there and a lot of folks live there," said Chuck Justice, who identified himself as a business owner and resident at 89 Lamar Parkway. Irene Braden, a resident of 107 Lamar Parkway, said she witnessed several close calls during trick-or-treating last year and suggested a posted limit as low as 20 miles per hour.

The committee discussed where a reduced limit should begin and end and settled on recommending a change for the neighborhood segment from Rose Lane to Old Grey Summit Road. Committee members noted the road also functions as a feeder route, but staff said reducing the limit over that short stretch would add little travel time while improving pedestrian safety.

Chairman Loesch moved to "recommend to the Board of Aldermen an ordinance change for reducing the speed limit on Lamar Parkway from Rose Lane to Old Grey Summit Road," and the motion was seconded. A voice vote carried the motion; the committee’s recommendation will be drafted into ordinance language by city staff and forwarded to the board for formal consideration.

Committee members said enforcement resources and emergency response impacts were considered. Public Works staff reported the police department had no objections and that emergency services raised no known operational objections to a lower posted speed in the neighborhood segment.

Next steps: city staff will draft ordinance language for the Board of Aldermen to review and will include the committee’s recommended termini. The recommendation does not change the speed limit until the board adopts an ordinance.

Votes at a glance: Motion to refer speed-limit reduction to the Board of Aldermen — outcome: recommendation approved by voice vote.