Ladies and gentlemen, cool your engines.

The city of St. Paul plans to reduce speed limits a notch on five city streets, taking things from 35 mph to 30 mph.

The reductions in the five newly-designated “Urban Districts” bring the speed limits on parts of Cretin Avenue and Wabasha, Fillmore and Mississippi streets in line with what’s typical for most St. Paul streets. And they’re intended to put pressure on the county and state to move in the same direction.

The resolution — which was approved by the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday — was sponsored by Council Members Samantha Henningson of Ward 4 and Rebecca Noecker of Ward 2.

The state will still have final say. “Unless the Minnesota Department of Transportation has any objections, the city will be installing new speed-limit signs in the near future,” said Lisa Hiebert, a spokeswoman for St. Paul Public Works.

Henningson, who was an aide to former City Council Member Russ Stark before assuming the Ward 4 seat, said she’s heard consistent complaints about traffic speeds along Cretin Avenue between Marshall Avenue and Interstate 94, near the Town and Country Club. Pedestrians wait at bus stops on either side of the street, crossing against traffic moving at near-highway speeds.

“The Ward 4 office has heard for years from neighbors who want to slow down that street,” Henningson said. “The faster the traffic, the more dangerous it is.”

In fact, some studies from the United Kingdom have shown that a pedestrian’s chances of dying when struck by a vehicle moving at 20 miles per hour are 15 percent. Fatalities climb to 45 percent if the vehicle is moving at 30 miles per hour, and they climb even further to 85 percent if the vehicle is moving at 40 miles per hour.

The five stretches, which measure anywhere from one-fifth of a mile to a full mile, span Cretin Avenue North from Temple Court to Iglehart Avenue, Wabasha Street from Cesar Chavez Street to Kellogg Boulevard, Cesar Chavez Street from Anita Street to U.S. 52, Fillmore Street from State Street to Plato Boulevard East, and Mississippi Street from University Avenue to Phalen Boulevard.

“Most of our streets are already 30 miles per hour, and this is an effort to reduce speeds on the stretches that we have control over,” said City Council President Amy Brendmoen. “It sets the stage for our county and state to follow suit.”

There’s plenty of stretches in St. Paul, however, where the city has little say.

Rice Street, for instance, is a Ramsey County Road, and the north end of the street is posted at 35 miles per hour, though drivers tend to pour on the speed.

“We’ve clocked people going 58,” said Brendmoen, who represents the area.

Reducing speeds on city streets isn’t as easy as some might expect. It takes careful discussion with state officials.

State law establishes statutory speed limits on city streets under ideal conditions, but a city can seek exceptions, including within school zones and for streets that have bike lanes.

“Urban districts” are streets where businesses and other structures are spaced less than 100 feet apart for at least a quarter of a mile. In each of the five designated areas, city engineers found at least two quarter-mile stretches that fit the criteria.

Some residents would like to see things decelerate even further.

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A leisurely pace also allows drivers to take in the scenery in business and historic districts, rather than zipping through.

In recent years, advocates for cycling, walking and urban development have called on the state to lower urban speed limits from 30 mph to 25 mph.

“There’s a larger conversation about what the right speed is for residential streets,” Henningson said.