News on the Traffic Front...

After our Battle Creek Board Meeting where traffic on Ruth Street came up again, Kathy Lantry had a talk with the City's Public Works Department. It turns out they did a speed study on Ruth Street in 2006 and found that, at certain times of the day, the average traffic speed was 5 to 10 miles per hour over the speed limit (which is 30 mph, by the way!!).

There are several things that they are going to do about this:

1. put the street in the queue for getting one of the electric speed indicator signs (there has been one on Minnehaha lately - these show people how fast they are going and tends to slow those people down who just don't realize that they are over the limit...)
2. adding the bike lanes on Ruth Street that we lobbied for last year - striping these lanes in narrows the street and has been proven again and again to slow people down (a public meeting about these lanes will be coming up soon...)
3. putting in turn lanes at the freeway entrance - this will also clarify how many lanes there are on the street and keep traffic moving, but not too fast.

The main thing to remember about traffic anywhere in the neighborhood is that WE are the ones who set the example, set the pace, and let people know we live here. Having people out walking on the sidewalks slows people down, too, but if you don't want other people to speed, make sure you drive the limit, too!!

P.S. If you are interested in committing to drive the speed limit or less in this neighborhood and every other neighborhood, pick up a PACE CAR bumper sticker at the district council office.

UPDATE: June 8 - the city CAN'T put in a digital speed reader on the northbound lane - there is no room and no electricity. We are looking into other options.