Winter resident asks governor for help on speed limits here

Ever been driving the speed limit on Interstate 19 in Green Valley and been passed by trucks, cars or motorcycles?

Sure you have.

To drivers going the 65-miles-an-hour limit it seems like someone is always passing.

But lowering the posted speed limit to 55, as one winter resident proposed to Gov. Janet Napolitano, can’t be done without a study.

And, in fact, a study might lead to an increase in the speed limit.

Dr. Mikio H. Hiraga wrote Napolitano to complain about Green Valley traffic that exceeds 65, and he urged “in the interest of safety and reduction of noise” that the limit be reduced to 55 if possible.

Hiraga, who summers in Ann Arbor, Mich., wrote her in February and Wednesday said he hadn’t heard back.

State law does say that the speed limit in population centers of 50,000 or more must be reduced to 55.

But unless the population here reaches that number, the speed limit is supposed to reflect what about 85 percent of the drivers are driving.

A section on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Web site says, “Legal speed limits are established by law…and may be changed only when justified on the basis of an engineering study.

“A widely accepted principle is to set speed limits as near as practicable to the speed below which 85 percent of the vehicles are traveling on the highway.

“Experience has shown that approximately 85 percent of the motorists drive at a speed that is reasonable and prudent.”

And the Web site further said that if limits are set too low, drivers will exceed them.

“There is a common belief among laymen, and even by some officials, that the mere posting of speed limit signs will cause drivers to react accordingly.

“This is not true and is why posted speed limits must be realistic to receive compliance.”

Hiraga spoke Wednesday to the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council’s Traffic and Arroyos Committee.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749