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By MORGAN AHART
Staff Writer
Several residents voiced their concerns about the speed limit on South Lincoln Avenue in a March 30 residential committee meeting, arguing a 2017 speed limit increase in the area should be reversed.
"Here in our highly residential neighborhood, we have not just cars, but semi-trucks blowing by almost constantly," said Tara Peters.
Tara and Todd Peters, who have lived on South Lincoln for seven years, said that they had been experiencing issues related to the speed of vehicles in the area since before the speed limit was increased from 25 miles per hour to 35 in 2017, and that the problems had only gotten worse since.
"We went to bed one night and the speed limit was 25 miles per hour, when we woke up the next morning it was 35 miles per hour," said Tara.
Tara said that speeding had been and continues to be a near constant issue in the area, noting that when the speed limit was still 25 it was already common for drivers to travel between 30 and 35, and since the increase drivers had regularly been traveling through the area at speeds ranging from 38 to 41.
Tara also said that the area has heavy foot traffic as one of the city's main thoroughfares, with many residents walking for leisure in the area and many kids walking to school, and that she was concerned about a car going off the road at these speeds. She also argued that the street is frequently used by the Quaker Trolley and that the excessive speeds coupled with the slower pace and larger footprint of the trolley presents a traffic hazard from vehicles attempting to pass.
"I understand we are a main route into town, that is highly used by the residents of Salem and people coming in and out of town, but ultimately, we're still a residential neighborhood and a historic neighborhood. I would like to see the speed limit lowered back down to 25. I would like to see the cars and the traffic on our street slower," said Tara.
Tara also discussed concerns about semi trucks frequently traveling through the area, which are not supposed to travel through the city off the state routes. She said that many of these trucks are coming and going from Freshmark. She said that when she contacted Freshmark they said that their drivers knew better and should not be traveling through the area.
Todd questioned why the speed limit had been changed in the first place, and what could be done about enforcement regarding truck traffic in the area, noting that GPS routing should take them around the city's residential areas.
"I echo her concern with the amount of trucks that come up and down the street. There is a substantial number of them from my opinion. From what I know, that is not a designated GPS route. It routes them around, so these truckers are taking it under their own accord to come through that way. I met up with one out by Parks and White House today and it followed me all the way home," said Todd.
City Service Safety Director Joe Cappuzzello said that a traffic study had been done at the time that found the increase was necessary to maintain a smooth flow of traffic in the area due to the volume of cars moving through.
"There's almost 8,000 cars a day that go up and down Lincoln with a steady flow of traffic. They studied it and looked not just on South Lincoln but North Ellsworth, and a couple of other places in town, and the thought process at the time was that you have to keep a constant flow of traffic when you have that many people," said Cappuzzello.
Cappuzzello also said that since then, the city had continued to study the situation and to monitor for any patterns such as "additional accidents, excessive ticketing and things of that nature" which are considered when citizens express their concerns.
Salem Preservation Society Member Karen Carter was also concerned about the increase in speed in the area, noting that semi trucks often cause the windows in her home to rattle when they go by. Carter also echoed Tara's point that many of the trucks were coming and going from Freshmark, arguing that the company should be fined.
"It's unbelievable how fast they are going now in a residential area, and that's my concern, a residential street with lots of young families moving in with young children. A lot of them, not all of them, but a lot of them go 40 miles per hour, and that's way too high to be in the city in a residential area, and it's just that simple," said Carter.
Carter also questioned why there had never been a significant traffic issue in the area if there was such an intense volume of traffic already prior to the speed limit increase.
"It would be different if we were asking to go from 50 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour, but we'd just like to go back to the 25, that's all, and I think everybody would really be happy with that," said Carter.
Councilman Evan Newman began his statements to the committee members by thanking them for holding the meeting and listening to the residents' concerns, citing how many people were in attendance.
"I just want to say thanks for hearing out the concerns of the citizens here. Over the last six months there have been a number of issues brought to council, and this is the largest contingent of residents I've seen at any meeting thus far…I feel that is a testament to people being concerned about a valid issue," said Newman.
Newman said that while he had not initially intended to speak at the meeting, he had his own concerns he wanted to share.
"I have a daughter that's now 2 and a half weeks old. As she grows up alongside the neighbors on the street and in the ward, she can feel safe going from house to house. I hope that her friends can feel safe going from house to house. Secondly, around this chamber, we've talked for a number of weeks about the safe routes to school act. South Lincoln is a heavily traveled school route. So, we're going to take grant money to improve sidewalks and to improve routes to school, but we're not going to address the traffic concerns? Or we're considering maybe not," said Newman.
Newman also said that South Lincoln is a route to both the high school, St. Paul School and Reilly Elementary; has a bus stop at Mullins Park; and is going to be the site of the Lincoln Plaza Project, again noting the heavy foot traffic in the area.
"I hope people walking can feel safe and be a part of the community in that way," said Newman.
Police Chief J.T. Panezott said he shared residents' concerns, but noted that as the city council is the city's legislative body and the department enforces the laws council makes, he does not have any personal opinion regarding the speed limit. However, he said that due to residents' concerns they had been in contact with several trucking companies, telling them they needed to stay out of the city's residential areas.
Panezott said that while most of the drivers were "hard working guys trying to make a living" who had been following their GPS and gotten lost, "trucking is a huge problem in town." Panezott also said the department had a study done in 2016 and had the truck route changed.
"We had the truck route changed around Salem. They ignored it. It's a suggestion, we can't enforce it," said Panezott.
Panezott also said that there had been issues catching the behavior when officers were sent to monitor traffic, noting that he had regularly sent officers to monitor traffic in the area as a result. Panezott said that Tara's speed estimates had been correct, and that while officers are in the area, they are recording vehicles traveling at speeds between 38 and 41 miles per hour.
Panezott said that in preparation for the coming discussions on the speed limit he had collected data on every traffic accident requiring a police report in the city since 2019. Panezott said that in that time there had been 20 minor traffic crashes, seven of which had been at the intersection of Franklin and South Lincoln, and 18 crashes requiring the more exhaustive OH-1 report for insurance and legal purposes, 10 of which had been at the intersection of Franklin and South Lincoln.
"I don't have something where I can come and say, 'look, in the last five years we've had 20 cars run off the road and run into somebody's house or a tree.' We will do whatever council asks of us," said Panezott.
Panezott also said that if any residents are able to get the names of the companies and identifying information of the trucks traveling through residential areas to report them to the police.
Committee Chairman Dennis Plegge said that he had spent a portion of the day monitoring the traffic in the area himself to gain perspective on the residents' complaints, and committed to continuing to listen to residents and to examining the issue.
"We're going to continue to have meetings, and we can't guarantee as a city that things are going to be changed your way, or our way, or anything like that, but we are concerned with the safety of the residents. That's what we have to take under consideration before anything else -- the safety of the people of the city. I'm sure Chief Panezott will help out in any way that he can, and we'll resolve this. Just give us a chance," said Plegge.
mahart@mojonews.com