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Resident, engineers debate lowering Tomlinson Road speed after fatal crash
Summary
After a June fatal pedestrian crash near Monon Trail Elementary, resident Chris Stidham urged the council to reduce Tomlinson Road’s posted speed to 30 mph; city engineers recommended a reduction from 40 to 35 mph and described planned trail, crosswalk, and RRFB installations and right-of-way negotiations.
Chris Stidham, who identified himself as the father of a child killed in a June crash at 196th and Tomlinson, urged the council to set a 30-mph limit on the corridor and criticized reliance on 85th-percentile-only approaches. “Just going from 40 to 30 cuts in 0.5 the risk of serious injury … and it cuts by 25% the risk of fatal accidents,” Stidham said, citing federal safe-streets research and urging a lower posted limit to improve survivability.
John Young, Executive Chief of Operations for the City of Westfield, presented engineering findings and a package of near-term safety work including perimeter trail connections, a marked crosswalk with a pedestrian refuge and rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFBs) at the school entrance, and long-term trail connectivity to nearby neighborhoods. Young said the city’s speed study recorded 85th-percentile speeds of about 46–47 mph and median speeds in the low 40s, and that the department’s engineering judgment supports a reduction from 40 to 35 mph as a balance between mobility and safety: “That 35 number is really a good balance between mobility and pedestrian safety,” he said.
Council members pressed on alternatives and enforcement: multiple councilors suggested expanding school-zone boundaries (which are posted at 25 mph) or adding raised crosswalks and other physical calming measures; one councilor argued that enforcement — not just signage — will drive behavior change. Young cautioned that posted-speed changes alone typically reduce operating speeds only 1–2 mph without physical design changes or increased enforcement, and noted the city will pair the speed change proposal with enhanced police enforcement.
Young also described project constraints: the city lacks right-of-way for four parcels needed to build trail segments and is negotiating appraisals and easements; tree removal on the east side cannot occur before Oct. 1 because of brown-bat seasonal restrictions. He said RRFB signs have a 6–8 week lead time and that installation and trail construction are targeted for late fall if right-of-way negotiations complete, or spring if acquisitions are delayed.
The ordinance to revise the traffic code was introduced as a first reading; councilors may amend the proposed posted speed before final adoption at the next meeting. The council did not take a final vote on the Tomlinson speed change on Aug. 10.
