The City of Tucson will look at lowering speed limits along some bicycle boulevards from 25 to 20 miles per hour.
The city council will consider the proposal during their study session on Oct. 19.
According to an agenda document the city is recommending a 12 month pilot program on the 4th Avenue/Fontana Bicycle Boulevard where the city will lower the speed limit to 20 miles per hour.
According to the proposal, the reduced speed limit will reduce crashes, reduce injuries in the event of a crash and attract more bicyclists and pedestrians to the street.
Concerns include being able to enforce the lower speed limit and will need some traffic enforcement. The report also indicates a concern that motorists will use other roads making other neighborhood streets busier and upsetting residents on those streets.
The cost to replace the signs would be less that $5,000.
Tucson Living Streets Alliance is encouraging their members to write letters of support for the change.
This is a great idea.
The other benefit to lower speed limits is that traffic noise will decrease.
Good idea.
But According to the City of Tucson Bike/ped program newsletter, that would require a change in STATE law….
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Currently, guidelines for speed limits are set by state law. http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/28/00701.htm says that speed limits on residential streets – nearly all bicycle boulevards are also classified as residential streets – cannot exceed 25 mph. Reducing the speed limit to 20 mph would require a change to the state law.
http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=7a844eac7a66f1513047490f5&id=08938fb900
EdBeighe I’m confused by your wording (which I realize is copied verbatim).
If speed limits on these streets can’t exceed 25 mph, what’s the problem with limiting them to 20 mph?
@CiteMoreDrivers EdBeighe Because 20 mph is a greater limit than 25 mph.
No one is going to slow down on the 4th ave stretch of the bike boulevard until some actual traffic calming devices are installed. Speed limit signs and a week of police enforcement can only have minor influence and will probably piss people off more than change their driving habits.
When the bike boulevard was being implemented, they ran into the problem of finding out the street qualifies as a minor arterial, thus requiring smaller traffic circles, flatter speed tables, and a more open roadway for emergency vehicle access. In short, the bike boulevard that was implemented was not exactly the one they wanted to install because the master plan requires full emergency vehicle access on 4th ave.
Now that 6th ave is a 2-way street instead of a 1-way street, in my opinion, maybe the city should work on changing the designation on 4th ave. and spend some money calming the street, as well as Drachman as it comes into Feldman’s Neighborhood. I know this costs significantly more money, but good design can alter driving behavior, speed limit signs, from my experience, don’t.
I would love to see Tucson enforce laws prohibiting cyclists riding side by side.