Reply to River Road speed limit change to 35 mph

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Reply to "River Road speed limit change to 35 mph"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]River Road is a residential street. People's driveways empty out directly onto the road. Further, it's impossible for those residents exit their driveways to see speeding cars coming around the turns.

I'm fine with 35 mph and ticket cameras. Idiots won't change their ways until the fines accumulate.[/quote]

I have no problem with the new speed limit either, but this part of River Road is not a residential street.  It's a divided highway.  The 35 MPH speed limit is an over-reaction to the tragic deaths of the Whitman student and his parents two years ago.  Understandable, but really, the 45 MPH speed limit wasn't unreasonable.  The real problem is the crosswalks.  They should build a pedestrian bridge.[/quote]

If the speed limit is only reasonable if you remove the pedestrians, then the speed limit isn't reasonable.

Not to mention that a speed limit of 45 mph means that lots of people think it's just fine to go 57 mph. With a speed limit of 35 mph, they will go 47 mph - which is what you consider appropriate.[/quote]
That's not exactly how it works.  Raising (or lowering) speed limits does not automatically make people increase (or decrease) their speed to a set amount above the limit.  People will drive at an average speed appropriate to conditions, regardless of the posted limit.

An example: Great Falls St. in Falls Church/McLean has a posted limit of 35, and people generally drive 35-40 there because that's the speed that makes sense on that road (wide, straight, good sightlines and houses set back far away from the road).  A road of similar design near my house has a posted limit of 25.  People still routinely drive 35-40 there.  Again: speed appropriate to conditions.

Or look at freeways: routes where the posted limit is 70, people drive around 70 because that's what's appropriate for most freeways.  Where the limit is 55, people still drive around 70.  Conversely, the narrow, crowded back streets where I live are all posted 25, but people tend to go 15-20 mph because the posted limit is actually higher than is comfortable for most people to drive.[/quote]

While the road geometry appearance matters a lot, speed limits and enforcement matter to some degree.  [/quote]

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