Lexington reduces speed limit downtown

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – As part of Lexington’s effort to make the city more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, the Division of Traffic Engineering is in the process of changing the speed limit on 21 downtown streets from 35 miles per hour to 25 mph. There were 229 collisions between vehicles and pedestrians or cyclists in Lexington in 2014. Police say that 164 of those accidents occurred downtown.

In response to this data, Commissioner Dowell Hoskins-Squier recommended the speed limit change to council when she was Director of Traffic Engineering. “If a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle at 25 MPH, the fatality risk is 5%, whereas if a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle at 35 MPH, the fatality risk is 45% and increases to 85% when the vehicle is traveling over 40 MPH,” Hoskins-Squier says.  “The reduction in speed limit is all about pedestrian safety and decreasing injuries.”

Council approved the speed limit change on February 4, and Traffic Engineering began installing the new signs in mid-March. It is anticipated that all 158 speed limit signs will be installed by the end of April.

Roads affected are:

• Bryan Avenue
• Fourth Street
• High Street
• Jefferson Street
• Loudon Avenue
• Maple Avenue
• Martin Luther King Blvd
• Maxwell Street
• N Limestone
• Rose St/Elm Tree Lane
• Second Street
• Seventh Street
• S Ashland Avenue
• S Limestone
• Third Street
• Upper Street
• Virginia Avenue
• Waller/Cooper
• Walton Avenue
• W Sixth Street
• Woodland Avenue

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet decided not to change speed limits on downtown streets that are state roads such as Main, Vine and Broadway.

Public service announcements emphasizing why higher speeds can be a threat to pedestrian safety will be aired on local television stations.  The ads encourage drivers to obey the 25 mph speed limits downtown and in residential neighborhoods.  The ads will start in April and run through June.  A social media campaign will start in April.  Funding for the campaign is provided in part by donations made to Kentucky’s “Share the Road” specialty plate program administered by the Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeway Commission.

The Police Department will assist with raising driver awareness regarding reduced speed limits in the downtown area in the initial phases of the campaign before active enforcement takes place