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Project News
From the Ocala Star Banner
Study finds no reason to slow speed on SR40
Published April 22. 2004
BY SUSAN LATHAM CARR
STAFF WRITER
OCALA - After residents complained about the higher 55 mph speed limit, the state Department of Transportation studied State Road 40 in Lynne and determined that the speed limit is appropriate.
"We didn't find a safety problem related to speed," Chris Cairns, FDOT traffic engineer said Wednesday. "What we are looking to do and what we find is safest is what the road is designed for and what people feel comfortable driving."
According to Cairns, 85 percent of the people feel comfortable driving about 58 mph in the two stretches of road the agency studied. So, the speed limit will stay at 55 mph rather then be turned back to the former 45 mph that was posted for about 30 years.
"I think I am going to call a state representative and go to the governor," said Joyce Porter, who lives on the north side of SR 40 in Lynne. She is upset that the speed limit was raised. Porter, who is 75 years old and who has lived along the road her entire life, has difficulty getting in and out of her driveway on the increasingly busy two-lane road.
Cairns said the FDOT did radar checks in two areas along SR 40. One lies between Southeast 183 Avenue Road and Southeast 189 Avenue. The other is 134 Terrace and Northeast 145 Avenue Road. He said FDOT measured hundreds of vehicles.
"Basically, what we are trying to do is have an even flow along the corridor," Cairns said. "In general, we want the speed limit to be consistent with what people are driving out there."
Cairns said if the speed limit was set artificially low at 45 mph, people would continue to ride at the higher speed. Cars then would wind up tail-gating or passing the cars going the lower posted speed and, that, he said, would cause safety problems.
He said FDOT also looked at the crash history in the area, and that did not indicate that the speed limit should be lowered.
"I am not saying we have to have crashes to do something," Cairns said. "If we see something that's obviously unsafe, we will address it."
That does not sit well with Porter or with her 83-year-old brother, Richard Mills. Mills lives on the south side of SR 40 in Lynne. He, too, has difficulty getting in and out of his driveway.
"I knew we couldn't do anything because it's out of control," Mills said. "We will just try to learn to survive. Maybe if gas gets to $3 a gallon we may not have as much traffic."
The higher speed limit does not sit well with local law enforcement, either.
"This is not just a slab of pavement going through a burg," said Marion County Sheriff Lt. Bill Sowder. "This is a community, a living, breathing community. What about the human element of it? Does that not have impact? Is that not a factor?"
Cairns said the lower speed limit would only give law officers more enforcement responsibilities.
"I have plenty of tickets," Sowder said. "It might become an issue where we might have to do more traffic enforcement, but isn't that what we get paid to do?"
Cairns could not say at what speed the road is designed because the road was planned "so long ago." But he said the FDOT did not find anything that indicates that it was designed for the slower speed. The speed in Lynne was raised to 55 mph on Sept. 20, 2001. By state statute, the speed on a two-lane rural road could be posted as high as 60 mph.
"I understand where they are coming from," Sowder said of FDOT. "You have pavement. You have statistics. But what about the people?"
Susan Latham Carr covers state issues. She may be reached at susan.carr@starbanner.com or 867-4156.
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