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Residents press city over Narrows speed‑limit cuts, stop signs; council cites engineer recommendation
Summary
Residents urged the council to reconsider lowering the speed limit and adding stop signs on Narrows, saying the changes create backups and may not change driver behavior. City staff said a Vioxx traffic study recommended the measures and noted a public workshop had been held.
Multiple residents raised concerns about recent traffic-calming changes on Narrows, including a lowered speed limit and two added stop signs. At public comment, Kareem Pitts said his phone "has been blowing up" with complaints and asked whether a study had justified the changes. Pitts asked specifically, "Did we have studies? I mean, were there a lot of wrecks?" and urged council to explain how the city reached the decision.
City leaders responded that the city contracted a traffic study with Vioxx, which recommended slowing traffic — including taking the speed limit down to 25 mph at that curve — and the city had held a public workshop to collect comments. A council member emphasized the liability risk of ignoring engineering recommendations: "We paid a lot of money to get that advice," and suggested obtaining a second engineering opinion if council chose to depart from the recommendation. Residents and council members also discussed alternatives such as a flashing yield sign and increased enforcement versus permanent infrastructure changes.
