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45 mph too fast, petition says

Raising the speed limit by 10 mph on part of Forest Lakes Boulevard would encourage speeding, signers of a petition objecting to the proposal say.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published August 11, 2006

OLDSMAR - A proposal to raise the speed limit on a 1-mile stretch of Forest Lakes Boulevard from 35 mph to 45 mph has prompted more than 200 city residents to sign a petition against the move for safety reasons.

Thomas Lovett, who signed the petition, said people are already speeding on that part of the road. Raising the speed limit, he said, will just encourage people to drive faster.

"Instead of going 45 they'll be doing 55 or 60," he said.

Currently, motorists observe two speed limits on the stretch of Forest Lakes Boulevard from Tampa Road to Race Track Road N.

From Tampa Road to Pine Avenue N, it's 35 mph; from Pine Avenue N to Race Track Road N, it's 45 mph.

In May, the City Council asked the staff to look at the possibility of raising the speed limit on the 35 mph stretch. It was originally lowered by the council because of a school crossing at Lakeview Drive. But since then, a traffic signal has been installed there.

Pinellas County owns the road, but the city has jurisdiction and can change the speed limit based on an engineering study, said John Mulvihill, director of public works.

A speed limit study conducted by Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., concluded that the traffic conditions on the road met all technical requirements to allow the council to raise the speed limit to 45 mph.

The study concluded that the average speed of the 85th percentile of drivers from Tampa Road to Pine Avenue is 46 mph.

Council member Jim Ronecker, who brought up the idea to increase the speed limit, said he drives on Forest Lakes Boulevard several times a day, and every day he sees deputies pulling people over for speeding.

"It became more and more apparent that the road doesn't function as a 35 mph road," Ronecker said.

However, he said, the council wouldn't "force anything down anyone's throat."

The council heard the results of the study last week and will discuss changing the speed limit at Tuesday's 7 p.m. council meeting.

Mayor Jerry Beverland said he is concerned that raising the speed limit will result in drivers speeding even more. But he can see why some would want the speed limit raised.

"Forty-five is pretty slow-going down there and I understand that," Beverland said. "I have to watch myself, too."

[Last modified August 10, 2006, 22:43:22]