Label Fargo Blvd. 'residential,' increase East Side Drive enforcement, Geneva speed committee says
Engineers should study reclassifying Fargo Boulevard as a residential street. And there should be signs at the intersections along South Third Street warning east- and westbound drivers that cross traffic does not stop.
They are two of the recommendations an ad hoc speed control policy task force delivered to the Geneva City Council Monday.
The task force was assigned to study the city's 23-year-old policy for setting speed limits. It was formed after people who lived along Fargo and Bent Tree Drive complained people were driving too fast on those west-side streets, which are designated as minor collectors.
Minor collectors connect strategic regional arteries, major arterials and local streets. They handle 2,000 to 6,000 vehicles a day, and can have speed limits of 25 to 35 mph. Fargo, at least, was designed to be a collector - albeit a curvy one, at the developer's insistence, according to Mayor Kevin Burns.
The limits on Fargo and Bent Tree are 30 mph.
Fargo is lined with houses, and connects a state highway (Route 31) and Randall Road, a regional arterial road. Bent Tree has the rear entrances of shopping centers on one side, and a park and houses on the other. It connects Fabyan Parkway, a regional arterial, to Fargo.
The task force reviewed about 500 online surveys solicited by the city, and worked with representatives of the public works and police departments.
"Speeding and pedestrian safety are really big issues in this community," chairman Paula Krapf said of the survey results. Others said people enthusiastically discussed traffic concerns with them, in person and on Facebook.
The task force had two members from each ward.
City workers will review the report and recommend what, if anything, to do.
Geneva uses a standard set by the federal government, called the 85th percentile standard, to determine speed limits. If 85 percent of drivers are moving at or below a certain speed, something close to that speed is considered an appropriate speed limit.
A study last fall showed the average speed on Bent Tree was 35 mph, and the 85th percentile mark was 39.5 mph. Per current policy, that only merits putting up more signs, putting out a speed trailer, parking an empty squad car out there or increasing enforcement.
Although it was tasked with talking about speed limits, the committee also discussed other measures. South Third Street is wide, six blocks long, connects two state highways and is lined with shops. It has no stop signs.
The committee also recommended prohibiting left turns off Woodward Avenue on to East Side Drive, and increasing traffic enforcement on East Side.