Speed Limits That Are Too High

[kphoger]

I would do 25 for small roads without a double yellow line and 30 for roads with a double yellow line.

What does the presence or absence of a yellow line have to do with it?

I don't see why this street necessarily deserves a higher speed limit than this one.

[hotdogPi]

I have no problem with people treating residential roads as minor collector roads and driving 35-40 MPH through them as shortcuts, as long as visibility is good. One 40-MPH car per 20 seconds or so is not enough to block access to and from driveways, and using alternate routes reduces congestion on the main roads.

35 to 40 is highly inappropriate for residential or neighborhood streets. Too many variables to go such a speed.

Roads where such speeds could be considered appropriate should be posted as such.

It's probably because I'm used to suburban residential roads, not urban ones.

I'm mostly thinking of roads like this one (although this particular one isn't an alternate route to anywhere). I wouldn't recommend going 35-40 on streets that are less than 1/4 mile long, as you'll just have to slow down again to turn.

[kphoger]

I think 30 is too high for any residential street with uncontrolled intersections.

[jakeroot]

I would do 25 for small roads without a double yellow line and 30 for roads with a double yellow line.

What does the presence or absence of a yellow line have to do with it?

I don't see why this street necessarily deserves a higher speed limit than this one.

For setting limits, IMO, nothing.

For encouraging lower speeds, probably everything.

Example: a stretch of E. Aloha St in Seattle was lowered from 30 to 20 a few years ago. To accomplish this, they removed the center line to make it at least appear more residential: before / after.

[jakeroot]

I have no problem with people treating residential roads as minor collector roads and driving 35-40 MPH through them as shortcuts, as long as visibility is good. One 40-MPH car per 20 seconds or so is not enough to block access to and from driveways, and using alternate routes reduces congestion on the main roads.

35 to 40 is highly inappropriate for residential or neighborhood streets. Too many variables to go such a speed.

Roads where such speeds could be considered appropriate should be posted as such.

It's probably because I'm used to suburban residential roads, not urban ones.

I'm mostly thinking of roads like this one (although this particular one isn't an alternate route to anywhere). I wouldn't recommend going 35-40 on streets that are less than 1/4 mile long, as you'll just have to slow down again to turn.

Suburban roads are a tough situation: not quite urban enough to warrant 20 across the board, but certainly not rural enough to permit default limits of 35+.

In the case of your example, I would need to see it in person, but 30 seems like about the fastest I'd be comfortable going: no center line, soft shoulder, adjacent housing, limited visibility from vegetation, etc.

I think 30 is too high for any residential street with uncontrolled intersections.

In the case of Seattle, all residential/neighborhood streets are 95% uncontrolled. These roads are default 20, posted only higher as necessary (but this being extremely rare).

[andrepoiy]

In the Toronto area, most residential streets are 40 km/h, and there's a push to lower all residential streets to 30 km/h.

There is a suburb called Richmond Hill, where all the old streets have a limit of 50 km/h. (The new subdivisions are 40). I feel like 50 is a bit high for those streets.

[GMoney0805]

At the risk of being ratio'd...

US 131 and I-196 in downtown Grand Rapids. The speed limit on US 131 through downtown GR stays at 70 mph, despite...

• An interchange with I-196 that requires left hand movements and turns that can be taken at no greater than 30 mph (personal experience talking), with traffic merging in on the left and inverted switches
• Heavy traffic
• An s-curve just south of the interchange that requires speeds no greater than 50 mph and requires drivers to stay in their lanes

You really can't stay at 70 mph until north of Leonard Street or south of Wealthy Street. They should consider a 60 mph zone for that area.

As for I-196, the speed limit is 65 mph, and then 70 south of Lake Michigan Drive, despite the narrow shoulders, left hand merges, left hand exits, and crazy tight curves between US 131 and Market Avenue. The speed zone should be 55-60 accordingly, but only for that section.

US 131 used to be 55 mph between 28th Street and Ann Street & I-196 used to be 55 mph between M-45 and Maryland Avenue


iPhone

[RoadMaster09]

Federal Blvd in Westminster in suburban Denver, between 104th and 120th Ave. 55 mph in a residential area.

A high school student was hit and killed trying to cross at the intersection with 112th a couple of years ago.

google.com.au/maps/@39.8980802,-105.0251731,3a,41.1y,196.99h,93.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRxHUoEwcviTP9bJQS5-gJw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

Agreed that 55 is too high there. I'd personally set it at 45 mph given the setting and development.

[Robinsml]

Some central and eastern Oklahoma roads are posted at 65 when they should be at 50-60. These narrow roads have no shoulders, steep ditches, sharp curves, and bad sightlines. Examples are SH-99 north of Stroud, US-177 from Carney to south of Perkins, OK-78, and US-377 south of Fittstown.

[crispy93]

Never thought I'd have many additions to this collection, but here's one I encountered recently in Greenwood Lake, NY:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.2131613,-74.30725,3a,17.7y,215.44h,88.52t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHq0NwxdUAOSBCrTqCM80IA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DHq0NwxdUAOSBCrTqCM80IA%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D211.7427%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

Most limits in NYS seem too low (mostly area speed limits that bother me). But Dutchess County has some county routes with 55 MPH zones and 20 mph curves. I suspect this is simply because a town never requested a "real" limit be set, 45 is probably appropriate.

The eastern-most section of CR 21 has two 5 MPH hairpin turns in the 55 zone. There's another county route off NY 82 for Sky Acres Airport that has short 55 mph sections between its 20 mph curves.

[Rothman]

I've found curve advisory speeds in NY to be ridiculously low, especially downstate, even considering winter conditions.

[PColumbus73]

On US 35 between I-64 and Chillicothe the speed limit varies from 65 to 70 to 60.

In West Virginia, 65 as-is is probably fine, but might be better as 60, you have back-to-back hills with long-ish grades that make it difficult to maintain a consistent speed.

In Ohio, the speed limit is either 60 or 70 between the Ohio River and Chillicothe. I would prefer if they could split the difference and have it at 65. I typically set my cruise here at 65 anyway.

[LilianaUwU]

I've gotten another example.

Chemin de l'Étang-des-Caps in my hometown was once limited at 80 km/h, which is 10 km/h faster than Autoroute Métropolitaine (A-40) in Montréal. It was later changed to 70 km/h with segments at 50 km/h.

One of the speed limit signs there, seen below, was how I became a roadgeek back when I lived there as a baby, when my dad threw rocks at it as a way to entertain me.

The sign that made me a roadgeek by Liliana Vess, on Flickr

Similarly to Chemin de l'Étang-des-Caps, most other streets in my hometown have, or had, a speed limit of 80 km/h, which was absurd thanks to all the potholes. Thankfully, most of them were lowered following a speed study around 5 years ago.

[sprjus4]

On US 35 between I-64 and Chillicothe the speed limit varies from 65 to 70 to 60.

In West Virginia, 65 as-is is probably fine, but might be better as 60, you have back-to-back hills with long-ish grades that make it difficult to maintain a consistent speed.

In Ohio, the speed limit is either 60 or 70 between the Ohio River and Chillicothe. I would prefer if they could split the difference and have it at 65. I typically set my cruise here at 65 anyway.

I can understand raising the at-grade portions to 65 mph in Ohio, but I don't see the issue with the 70 mph limits on the freeway portions. No reason to keep it 5 mph less there.