Panel pumps the brakes on speed limit change

A push to lower the speed limit on Lakefield Road through the towns of Grafton and Cedarburg from 45 to 35 mph failed to advance through an Ozaukee County Committee last week.

Residents living between Struck Lane and Green Bay Road had asked that a traffic study be completed with an eye to lowering the speed limit there.

Lakefield Road, also known as Highway T, changes into Portland Road as it enters the City of Cedarburg, where the speed limit is 25 mph.

A speed study consists of the Highway Department deploying a radar recorder in multiple locations to obtain the number of passing vehicles and their travel speed data.

Results of the study conducted last year were presented to the county Traffic Safety Commission last July and showed 85% of drivers traveled 49 mph or less, showing “good” compliance with the posted 45 mph speed limit.

As a result, the commission voted to make no changes, following what is known as the 85 percentile rule.

As proposed, the lower 35 mph speed limit would begin at Green Bay Road, where there is a four-way stop, and continue west.

According to a memo to the Public Works Committee from county Highway Commissioner Jon Edgren, the rule from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation states that motorists are generally capable of determining the safest driving speed.

“The speed at or below which 85% of the vehicles travel a particular roadway, has been found to best represent this perceived ‘reasonable’ speed,” to promote safety and reduce the risk of crashes, he said

“Unreasonably low speed limits, also called irrational speed limits, are not effective in changing driver behavior and have several negative effects,” including creating more dangerous conditions, he added.

In October, Cedarburg Police Chief Michael McNerney and several residents who live along that stretch of highway asked the commission to reconsider their request.

The commission again made no changes.

In January, McNerney was joined by Ozaukee County Supr. Jack Arnett and Cedarburg Ald. Amanda Didier  to again ask for reconsideration of the speed limit or at least forward the item to the county Public Works Committee.

The commission forwarded the matter to the Public Works Committee with no recommendation.

McNerney also presented speed studies to the commission that showed “hundreds” of vehicles accelerating 15 to 25 mph over the city’s 25 mph zone.

Edgren pointed out, however, that those vehicles represent only about 2% of those traveling through the area and 75% of those speeding are traveling east from Portland Road onto the county highway.

Edgren also pointed out that, under state law, lowering the speed limit by 10 mph would trigger the state Department of Transportation to review an engineering and traffic investigation to determine if the reduction is acceptable.

“I do not believe that (the state) would approve the reduction given their typical adherence to the 85th percentile limits,” he said.

“In short, I continue to stand by my recommendation for no changes due to the compliance with the existing speed limit.”

Edgren also noted there have been no crashes reported on that stretch of road except for two vehicles that ran off the road and fled the scene in 2017.

“My concern is attempting to lower the speed limit will create a situation with more unsafe passing as some vehicles will strictly follow a lower speed limit causing faster vehicles to pass,” Edgren said.

Public Works Committee members Supr. Dan Vogel and Chairman Marty Wolfe voted to approve the lower speed limit but were outvoted by committee members Suprs. Tom Bichler, Tom Grabow and Justin Strom.