Proposed Cape County ordinance intended to clear up confusion about speed limits

The Cape Girardeau County Commission and the Cape Special Road District will host public hearings in July to set speed limits on a number of county roads. But most residents who drive the affected routes will not notice any changes because posted signs already reflect the recommended limits and the proposed "changes" will just make them more clearly enforceable.

Mark Phillips, engineer for the Cape Special Road District, said that about 90 percent of the 46 roads within the district that will be considered during the hearings bear signs stating their speed limits are either 25 or 35 mph. The reason for the hearings, he said, are to officially make local laws match the posted limits. The actual speed limits technically were raised to conform to state guidelines 15 years ago.

When Cape Girardeau became a first-class county in 1997, the speed limits on county roads and highways "not located in an urbanized area" and not designated as rural expressways or interstate highways were automatically set at 60 mph, per state statute. In order to reset them, the county must hold three public hearings and pass an ordinance.

"Officially, we did not have enforceable speed limits," Phillips said Thursday.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle disagrees. Citing an additional paragraph in the law that says "for the purposes of enforcing the speed limit laws of this state, it is a rebuttable presumption that the posted speed limit is the legal speed limit," Swingle said the limits set in 1973 when Cape Girardeau was a second-class county remain valid.

However, Swingle said Thursday that formally updating the county ordinances is a good idea "just to be safe."

Swingle said he initiated an effort to clear up any confusion in 2004. In a memo to Sheriff John Jordan, county highway administrator Scott Bechtold and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Swingle expressed concern about lawyers using their interpretations of the law as a defense in speeding cases.

Once the county adopts the posted limits under its current designation as a first-class county, the law will be "absolutely clear," Swingle said.

Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper said Thursday the county primarily wants to make sure the law reflects what is safe for drivers. Many county roads were once small "farm to market" roads, he said, and were not engineered to handle the high speeds and large vehicles in use today.

The one road being considered that falls outside of Cape Special Road District is County Road 601, which has seen increased traffic due to the building of Saxony Lutheran High School and the development of heavy industry along the road. Koeper said Monday that the school, Heartland Materials and Hoffmeister Sawmill are all in favor of reducing the speed limit from 60 to 40 mph. County Road 601 is the only of the roads proposed for speed limits that will have a 40 mph limit. Others will have 35 or 25 mph limits.

Koeper said there is no financial incentive for the county to solidify the speed limit ordinances or reduce speed limits. The Missouri State Highway Patrol monitors speeding on most county roads, though the sheriff's department also engages in some speed enforcement, Koeper said, and all fees from traffic citations issued go to the state, not the county.

Trooper Clark Parrott, public information officer for the highway patrol, said attention to county roads increases when residents complain of excessive speeds by vehicles near their homes or when certain areas have high accident rates. Otherwise, he said, enforcement is mostly focused on state roads.

Koeper said the public is invited to share opinions for and against the proposed changes and that, unless further study is found to be needed, a decision will be made in the county commission meeting following the third public hearing. A copy of the proposed ordinance is available for review at the county clerk's office.

Hearing dates and locations are:

* July 5 at 9 a.m., Cape Girardeau County Commission Chambers, Cape Girardeau County Administrative Building, 1 Barton Square, Jackson.

* July 10 at 10 a.m., Cape Special Road District office, 120 Warson St., Cape Girardeau

* July 12 at 9 a.m., Cape Girardeau County Commission Chambers, Cape Girardeau County Administrative Building, 1 Barton Square, Jackson.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol was not immediately able to provide statistics on the number of speeding citations issued on the county roads in question Thursday afternoon. Representatives at the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department were not available for comment on traffic enforcement Thursday afternoon.

salderman@semissourian.com

388-3648

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Sq., Jackson.

120 Warson St., Cape Girardeau