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Staff photo by Allison Kwesell The City Council is considering changing the speed limit on MLK Boulevard from 25 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour.
Audio clip
John Van Winkle
A change to speed limits on M.L. King Boulevard might mean posting signs that reflect how fast people actually are driving, the city's traffic engineer said Wednesday.
"They are totally ignoring the speed limit," said Traffic Engineer John Van Winkle.
The posted speed limit on M.L. King Boulevard now stands at 25 mph, five miles per hour less than other downtown roads. Mr. Van Winkle proposed to the City Council this week that the speed limit be raised to 30 mph on M.L. King between Georgia Avenue and Palmetto Street and 35 mph between Palmetto Street and Central Avenue.
No one drives 25 miles per hour down the stretch of road now, Mr. Van Winkle said. His department conducted a series of studies on the road the past two years and found most people drove between 35 and 40 miles per hour on the road, he said.
"Nobody did the speed limit," Mr. Van Winkle said.
The City Council will be looking at the speed limit change in the coming weeks.
But not everyone agrees that raising the speed limit is the answer. Troy Bage, vice president of the M.L. King Neighborhood Association and a boulevard resident, said families live on the street with children and pets.
"We do not want any increases whatsoever," he said.
Any speed increase would mean people would drive even faster on the road, Mr. Bage said. Drivers now go 40 to 45 mph, he said, and if the speed limit was raised to 35 mph it could mean speeds approaching 50 miles per hour in the residential neighborhood.
City Councilman Andraé McGary, who represents the district, said he could be comfortable with a uniform 30 mph from Georgia Avenue to Central Avenue. He said he does not want the speed limit set at 35 mph in a residential neighborhood.
"An average speed in a residential neighborhood is 30 mph," Mr. McGary said.
Plans call for revitalization of the boulevard and, if more businesses and people move into the area, faster speeds could mean problems for bicyclists and pedestrians, he said.
Business owners along M.L. King gave mixed reviews about the proposed changes. James Massengill, co-owner of Chatt Smokehouse, said he did not think there are enough postings of the current speed limit on the road.
He would be in favor of raising the speed limit, he said, but right now the road is a "speed trap."
"They make a mint off people who just don't know," Mr. Massengill said.
Seth Champion, owner of Champy's Famous Fried Chicken, said if the speed limit was raised people would go even faster.
"They already fly through here anyway," he said. "You don't want that speed limit going up. The slower, the better."
SPEED CHANGE
City officials proposed raising the speed limit on M.L. King Boulevard to 30 mph between Georgia Avenue and Palmetto Street and 35 mph between Palmetto Street and Central Avenue.
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
Keep the signs. Restrict enforcement. Allow drivers to continue to drive as they're now doing. There are enough problems without adding more via MLK Blvd.
Well, if people use the crosswalks properly and don't use the street as a playground for their kids, then raising the limit to 30 or 35 shouldn't be a problem. I can't tell you the number of times I have traveled down MLK Blvd and watched people step right out into traffic with no regard for cross walks or traffic signals. Maybe the police should start giving out some jaywalking tickets.
I remember when the speed limit, on this one certain street on Lkt Mtn., about 30 years ago, was 45 mph. Now it's down to 25 mph. But cars have better brakes, better handling, I see less kids out on the street (they're inside watching TV and playing wii) but still the limit goes down and down. Why? I'll tell you why, the nanny state, soccer moms and the general liberal agenda wants you to walk to work. God forbid you may trip over someone or get snake bite. Cause you can't kill a snake anymore. Get your bikes out, these idiots will make you wear a helmet and will ticket you because your tires aren't up to specs. Remember, that's how Obama is going to fix the energy problem. Ha, just check your tires. That will save us. The country has run aground, Chattanooga is no different. Someone please do a study... and find out how many kids are getting run over now versus 30 years ago. I bet my life it's less now. Kid Politico
I agree, 25mph is just rediculous and usually is slow enough to attract the wrong kind of attention. When I see someone going that slow, i usually can't help but assume they are looking for a hooker or to purchase drugs.
25 miles an hour is to slow. However, having lived on that street I know people drive way to fast. It is sometimes dangerous to get in and out of your car because people will gun it and switch lanes towards you when they notice you are trying to get in or out of your car. As well, Rather than slowing down or give some courtesy people will intentionally try to block you from parking on the street even when you use your signal. Or when exiting a space people will do the same. There is a lot of pedestrian traffic on the road and the connecting roads. Turning vehicles will not yield to pedestrians and often speed up or honk when someone tries to cross the street properly. Cars will travel over fifty miles an hour on that road especially when approving central from either side. The intersection of central and mlk has many accidents due to speeding and impatient drivers. At night, drivers often run that light going way to fast. I have seen several bad accidents at that intersection due to careless driving. On a residential street with so much traffic people should not be going so fast. I hate speed cameras, however, I believe a solution would be to raise the speed limit to 30 and cameras should be installed that issue ticked at 35 miles per hour.
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