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Resident urges 20 mph local speed limit near school; city to deploy speed trailer and study speeds
Summary
A Mount Angel resident urged lowering town-controlled speed limits from 25 to 20 mph near the elementary school; the police chief said a speed trailer will gather data in January–February and staff recommended education and targeted enforcement before any citywide limit change.
A Mount Angel resident pressed the council to consider lowering speed limits on town-controlled surface streets from 25 mph to 20 mph to protect children walking to the elementary school, prompting staff to outline a plan to collect speed data and pursue education and enforcement.
"I would propose reevaluating speed limits in town from 25 to 20 on surface streets," Michael Pito told the council, citing observations of motorists traveling faster than expected through school release times and cut-through traffic near Markham and Garfield. He said shorter daylight hours amplify the safety risk for children walking to and from school.
The police chief said the city will deploy a speed trailer to gather analytics and recommended doing a traffic study and modest enforcement before any broad speed-limit reduction. "Once we get the speed trailer here, we can certainly do some studying," the chief said, adding supply-chain delays mean the trailer is expected sometime in January or February.
Staff noted replacing signs to reflect lower limits could be costly and said alternatives such as education and targeted enforcement may be more feasible in the short term. Councilors agreed to move the trailer to troublesome locations and review collected data before deciding on regulatory changes.
The council did not take an immediate vote on speed-limit policy; instead staff will return with speed-trailer data and recommendations for next steps.
