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Post Falls reviews speed study on Cecil Road, considers posting changes and enforcement
Summary
City staff presented a speed study showing frequent speeding on Cecil Road and elevated school-zone violations; engineers recommended posting 35 mph in parts of the corridor and police said targeted enforcement and parking restrictions on Spokane Street will continue.
A speed study presented to the Post Falls City Council on Dec. 3 found substantial speeding on Cecil Road and prompted staff to recommend a mix of enforcement and signage adjustments. The study (conducted Oct. 17–19) showed northbound volumes with about 28% of vehicles exceeding the 30 mph limit and southbound lanes with a 55.5% over-limit rate; peak recorded speeds reached about 61 mph, the police representative said.
Council heard the study from the police chief, who described the JAMR data and recommended targeted enforcement during school hours and in problem stretches. "We were getting speeds up to 61 miles an hour," the chief said while reviewing the device’s results. He added that average daily counts over the three-day sample were roughly 5,820 vehicles and that the department had issued warnings and citations in the corridor to address the problem.
City Engineer Robert Paul explained the engineering approach to setting speed limits and said the 85th-percentile speed and pace speed both supported raising the posted limit in some sections. "The 85th percentile speed which is between lanes 1 and 2 at 38 miles per hour… I would tend based upon this data and my experience lean towards the 35 miles per hour," Paul said, summarizing how engineers choose a posted limit.
Councilors raised residents’ noise and safety concerns and asked about collision history; Paul said collisions on Cecil between Hope and Bogey since 2019 numbered about five and that installing a roundabout on Pole Line had reduced collisions there. Police and engineering staff noted that school-zone enforcement has been a major element of recent activity: during a recent enforcement emphasis, staff reported 197 total actions from Sept. 3 to Nov. 13 with 47% of violations for speeding in school zones.
On Spokane Street, staff described parking and classification issues north of Prairie Avenue. Paul said part of the corridor was built narrower than originally planned and recommended continued no-parking markings on the east curb and striping of the north segment as traffic grows. He also said speed signs will be posted where missing. The city noted local code limits for parking near hydrants and crosswalks and explained that speed bumps are not recommended because of winter maintenance and emergency-response impacts.
Next steps include staff follow-up with the resident who raised the complaint, additional enforcement in targeted locations, and engineering follow-up to finalize recommended posted speeds and striping plans.
