| Commissioners asked to consider more speed limit changes 1/12/05 For the second time in a couple of years, Clallam County commissioners are being asked to tinker with speed limits on a number of county roads, creating a “crazy quilt” of speed zones that could catch you off guard. It was just two years ago that the county imposed a number of speed limit changes, many of them on some of the county’s busiest roads in the East End. In most cases, speed limits were dropped, in some cases by as little as 5 miles per hour, in response to public complaints about speeders. Some of the limits had been unchanged for years, but the county was being pressed to cut speeds because of rapid growth and increasing traffic. And those arguments were being made again this week, as commissioners consider nearly a dozen speed limit changes around the county. In every one of the 11 locations, speed limits would drop anywhere from 5 to 15 miles per hour, including some of the major arterial roads. During a hearing that lasted for nearly two hours, commissioners heard some criticism for the lower limits, but most of the speakers, including several new residents of the area, pleaded with commissioners to preserve safety and “rural character” by slowing traffic down. Engineers recommend against some of the changes, saying the lower limits, saying the roads are designed to handle a little higher speed and some of the changes probably wouldn’t bring a significant safety improvement. Commissioners made no immediate decisions after Tuesday’s hearing.
They’ll continue to take written comments on the proposed changes
through the end of the week and probably vote on the new zones in
a couple of weeks.
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