Joel Burgess

jburgess@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE - Drivers will need to ease off the gas in some places after a City Council decision this month to lower speed limits on a dozen streets.

The council unanimously approved lower speed limits for the 12 road segments at a Feb. 14 meeting. There was no discussion of the change, though City Traffic Engineer Jeff Moore said Thursday the change happened after safety concerns and studies of each road.

The drop will be from 30 or 35 mph down to 20 or 25 mph, depending on the road.

Two road segments will go to 20 mph:

Depot Street from Livingston Street to Clingman Avenue (now 35 mph)

Roberts Street from Clingman Avenue to Lyman Street. (now 25 mph)

Ten road segments will go to 25 mph: (All but London and Spooks Branch Road are currently 35 mph)

Clarendon Road from School Road to School Road

Congress Street from Choctaw Street to Livingston Street

Depot Street from Livingston Street to End of City Maintenance

Faircrest Road from Beaverdam Road to End of City Maintenance

Le-An-Hurst Road from Edgewood Drive to Round Top Road

London Road from Belvedere Road to West Chapel Road (Now 30 mph)

Pine Acre Boulevard from Midland Drive End of City Maintenance

Roberts Street from Haywood St-W to Clingman Avenue

Spooks Branch Road from Beaverdam Road to End of City Maintenance (Now 30 mph)

Sweeten Creek Industrial Parkway from Sweeten Creek Road to End of City Maintenance

The lower limits are meant to protect drivers, pedestrians and people on bicycles, Moore said.

"Speed is one of the biggest factors in crashes. When you look at the survivability of a crash, the difference between 30 and 25 mph is measurable," the city's traffic engineer said.

"Between 25 and 20 is measurable. If you are a pedestrian and get hit, your chances of surviving are so much better at a slower speed."

The biggest drop will be on Depot with a 15 mph reduction from 35 mph to 20 mph.

Business owners and others on that street were consulted about the drop, Moore said. That area has seen many changes in the last decade with new businesses and apartments causing an increased mix of cars, pedestrians and other types of traffic.

In June, the city dropped the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on Charlotte Street, another place with a heavy mix of traffic types.

The new speed limits will go into effect once signs are in place. It could take about a month to get all signs erected. Some may include additional symbols and colors to alert drivers to pedestrians.

Some of the roads do not now have speed limit signs. In those cases, they default to 35 mph, the citywide limit. Municipal transportation staff are studying whether to lower that to 25 mph.