Panel backs slower speed on Hwy. Y near Riveredge

The Ozaukee County Board this week  approved lowering the speed limit on Highway Y north of Newburg and near the Riveredge Nature Center from 55 mph to 45 mph.

Under the new ordinance, the speed limit for 2,100 feet on Highway Y north of Highway 33 in the Village of Newburg will be 25 mph and then 45 mph for 1.2 miles further north, curving past wooded nature center property until it intersects with West Hawthorne Drive.

The decision to lower the speed limit was made after officials at Riveredge requested a speed study be done from Highway 33 to Hawthorne Drive. 

The request was prompted after vehicles began lining up on Highway Y because of parents picking up their children from the Riveredge Outdoor Learning Elementary School.

Center officials made adjustments to the school’s pickup procedure but requested the study anyway.

The study was conducted by the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office last year and included deploying a speed trailer in multiple locations in the study area to record the speeds of passing vehicles.

Speed limits are usually adjusted to match the speed traveled by 85% of drivers because motorists are considered generally capable of determining a reasonable driving speed, county Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren said. 

Data from the study showed 86% of the drivers on Highway Y drove between 42 and 52 mph, prompting Edgren’s recommendation to lower the speed limit to 45.