Geneva to re-examine speed limit policy
A new task force will study whether the way Geneva sets and enforces speed limits needs to be updated after 23 years.
Aldermen gave the go-ahead for the task force at a policy-discussion meeting Monday night.
People who live along Fargo Boulevard or Bent Tree Drive, in particular, have been complaining about the speed of traffic on those streets. The city designates both as minor collectors.
Minor collectors connect strategic regional arteries (such as Randall Road, Fabyan Parkway or Kirk Road), major arterials (State Street) and local streets. They handle 2,000 to 6,000 vehicles a day and can have speed limits of 25 mph to 35 mph. The speed limits on Fargo and Bent Tree are 30 mph.
The designation does not take into account the number of homes, businesses, parks and schools along the street.
Alderman Michael Clements noted that Geneva uses a standard set by the federal government, commonly called the 85th percentile standard. If 85 percent of drivers are moving at or below a certain speed, something close to that speed is considered an appropriate speed limit.
"I have to tell people 'I can't lower the speed limit on your road because people are speeding on your road,'" Clements said.
A report from the police department showed the average speed on Bent Tree was 35 mph, and the 85th percentile mark was 39.5 mph. Per the 1996 policy, that only merits putting up more signs, increasing random police patrols, putting up a speed-indicator device or maybe parking an empty "ghost" squad car there.
He said the National Transportation Safety Board, in a 2017 report on speeding, suggested using other ways to determine speed limits.
The 85th percentile standard was determined in 1964, based on data collected in the 1950s on rural highways. The report says there is "not strong evidence" equating the 85th percentile speed to the lowest crash rate on all types of roads.
Clements suggests the city do what the state does: Take into consideration not just the amount of traffic, but the number of driveways and intersections, and the use of the land along the roads. Bent Tree, for example. has houses and a park on one side, and entrances to shopping centers on the other.
Police Chief Eric Passarelli said his department follows a policy set in 1996 that requires a speed study to determine whether a speed limit should be changed.
When the department looked at Fargo and Bent Tree in the fall, there were only two accidents on each street, Passarelli said. Two were due to drunken driving, one was due to texting while driving, and the other was reckless driving.
But the lack of accidents may be a chicken-and-egg situation. Residents who spoke at the meeting said they avoid traveling the streets as much as possible, won't ride their bicycles on the streets despite having designated bike lanes, and won't let their young children play in their front yards, because they believe the streets are dangerous.
No size was determined for the task force, nor a date for it to start meeting. Aldermen agreed with Mayor Kevin Burns that members should come from throughout the city.