I’m writing as a member of City Council’s Transportation and Safety Committee to echo concerns constituents have shared with me regarding the proposal to increase the speed limit on North Main Street from 50 mph to 60 mph. City Council will likely be taking a final vote on this proposal on Monday, December 2nd.
The most troubling aspect of this proposal is the increased severity of crashes that will result according to ODOT District Traffic Engineer Chris Waterfield who spoke at Council’s November 18 meeting. The likelihood of a crash being fatal doubles when speed increases from 50 mph to 60 mph and death is 4x more likely when speed increases from 50 to 70 mph.
In addition to putting lives at greater risk, more severe crashes will result in an increased burden on our safety services. That’s at a time when BG Fire Division has just experienced its busiest three months since at least 2018 and – although our response times are phenomenal – this area currently has some of the highest in the city.
Another potential issue is the spillover effect (i.e., the increase in vehicle speed in adjacent zones). According to Mr. Waterfield, ODOT doesn’t conduct “before/after” comparisons so data on this effect wasn’t readily available. However, there is plenty of evidence from other sources that suggests this should be a concern for our community. Although there are fewer pedestrians and cyclists in the zone where the speed limit would be increased, Mr. Waterfield noted there are many more in the zones immediately south. The potential for increased speed in this area – which also has far more sidewalk intersections – should be a great concern.
A third concern is the fact that, as noted by Mr. Waterfield, several elements were not factored into the speed study conducted by ODOT. First, the incoming Abbott Labs project. This is one of the most significant economic development projects our community has seen, and we do not yet know what the full impact on traffic patterns and future development will be.
A second factor that wasn’t included in ODOT’s speed study is the presence of a school within this zone. While it’s hard to believe many children are walking to this location, there is a higher volume of traffic turning off and onto the road any time families drop their kids off or pick them up.
Finally, the City was just awarded a $3.6 million grant to build a shared-use path along this stretch of road. This path will make the road safer in many respects, but it will also lead to an increase in non-vehicular traffic and create more intersections where collisions can occur. With traffic moving at higher speeds these collisions would be more likely to occur and more likely to be fatal.
With a final vote expected by City Council on Monday, December 2, please take a minute in the coming days to share your thoughts on this proposed change.
Jeff Dennis
Bowling Green City Council, At-Large
