Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
COLFAX — Public Works Director Mark Storey recommended county commissioners lower speed limits on the first of a list of county roads in a meeting Monday morning, Oct. 5 .
The suggestions came out of five speed zone studies on 50 mph roads. First would be a drop to a 35 mph limit on Sand Road, because of driveways and sight distance. Next, a new 40 mph limit on Becker Road and Cashup Flats Road - from U.S. Highway 195 to state Highway 23 - as well as a new 35 mph limit on part of Elberton Road and 30 mph on Draper-Brown Road.
County Engineering Department analyses were conducted last spring on 15 mostly gravel roads.
The studies included speed, size of vehicles, crash history of the roads and clear zone hazards (trees, cliffs near the roadside).
Raw speed data was collected by a ¼-inch thick box screwed into roads for a week.
"It takes an electromagnetic signature of the vehicle," Storey said. "You can tell the habits of the drivers by the data."
Changes to speed limits must be approved by county commissioners, who are expected to receive formal requests on the 15 roads in the next few weeks.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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