Council to Discuss Speed Limits

By Robert Struckman, 12-01-08

Who sets speed limits?

The Missoula City Council will hold a public hearing on how fast you can drive and other ways the city limits the way Missoulians get around by car this evening at its weekly meeting starting at 7 p.m. at the council chambers, 140 W. Pine St.

Recent changes to the speed limit on Duncan and Greenough drives in the Rattlesnake neighborhood have prompted the scrutiny. One issue is who should be setting limits, and how those should be done. Are signs enough? City engineers say no. Speed limits that contradict the engineering of the street and the needs of drivers will result in constant infractions. On the other hand, what happens when city engineers make a change that’s unpopular in the neighborhood?

Councilman Dick Haines of Ward 5 said Public Works employees should make decisions like this, as technical expertise is required. “It shouldn’t be a political decision,” he said, likening the situation to one in which a politician imposes his will on what medical treatment a patient might receive.

“It’s about restriking the balance between policy and technical guidance, if it’s appropriate,” said Ward 1 Councilman Jason Weiner, who also said he didn’t want to make speed limit questions into fodder for political debate.