Public hearing draws supporters for speed limit changes on Cape Girardeau County roads

Residents and county officials said Monday that speed limits should be changed quickly on roads known for excessive speeding and accidents.

During the first of three public hearings scheduled on the issue, no residents voiced opposition to adopting an ordinance that would change the speed limit on County Road 205 and Singing Hills Drive. If adopted, the speed limit would be reduced to 35 mph on County Road 205 between Benton Hill Road and Highway 74 and 25 mph on Singing Hills Drive.

Public hearings and passage of the ordinance are required before the speed limit can be reduced on either roadway. All county roads have a default speed limit of 60 mph, unless a commission approves a reduction.

Rock Wilferth, chairman of the Cape Special Road District, which maintains both roadways, said discussions on changing speed limits on dangerous roadways has been going on for several years.

"As we maintain 105 miles of road in the area, we are always interested in the safety aspect of the road, keeping them in as good a condition as we can," Wilferth said. "We have found there are some roads specifically that are more dangerous than others."

Charles Brawley of 2514 Singing Hills Drive said he's tried to convince county and city officials to lower the speed limit on his road for eight years. He said the hearing is an important step toward accomplishing that goal.

"This is a historic day for me," Brawley said.

Speeding tickets on County Road 205 frequently are thrown out of court. Such an incident occurred in 2003, when a driver from Cape Girardeau contested a speeding ticket received on the road. The driver's attorney had planned to argue that the county did not have authority to set speed limits because the commission never instituted a speed limit ordinance after it was designated a first-class county in 1997. However, a court did not rule on the issue because the speeding charge was dismissed in 2004.

"Law enforcement was really adamant about slowing people down," District 1 Commissioner Paul Koeper said. "The road gets slick, and every time it rains or snows it seems like there's an accident."

The city of Cape Girardeau conducted a study of County Road 205 traffic flow from Oct. 6 to 19. In the study, city engineer Kelly Green found that in the westbound lane most of the drivers were traveling at 50.38 mph and those in the eastbound lane were driving at 48.9 mph.

A study by the Missouri State Highway Patrol between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2008, found that 75 accidents occurred on County Road 205.

"This reinforces the need to lower the speed limits to 35 mph," Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said.

If approved, the speed limits would go into effect once new signs are posted.

Two more public hearings are scheduled this week, both at 10 a.m. One hearing is scheduled today at the Cape Special Road District office, 120 Warson Drive in Cape Girardeau, and the final hearing on Thursday at the county administrative building, 1 Barton Square in Jackson.

Sharing costs

In other action, the commission signed a contract with the Little River Drainage District to share costs of clearing brush from drainage ditches along the remnants of Whitewater Creek. For decades the ditch in Delta has gradually filled with sediment, vegetation and trees, blocking drainage and resulting in flooding in parts of the community.

Work must be complete by June 1 or the project will not be eligible to receive about $1 million in federal funding for the restoration of drainage along Whitewater Creek. The project would dredge ditch bottoms along the creek and should be complete by September 2011.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

243-6635

Pertinent addresses:

1 Barton Square, Jackson, MO

120 Warson Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO