Sean C. Morgan
According to statistics gathered by new electronic speed limit signs on Airport Road and 1st Avenue, 95 percent of drivers drive no more than 5 mph over the speed limit.
The vast majority of drivers travel at the speed limit or slower.
“It’s a pleasant surprise,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn.
During the collection periods, the signs displayed the speeds of drivers on the two roads.
Sweet Home Police Department collected data from the 1st Avenue sign between Sept. 3 and Oct. 13.
During that period, 66,680 vehicles traveled the street, said Police Chief Jeff Lynn. Of those, 73 percent drove 25 mph or slower. Some 22 percent drove at 26 mph to 30 mph, which means 95 percent, 63,346 vehicle operators, drove 30 mph or slower.
Four percent traveled at 31 mph to 35 mph, Lynn said, leaving 1 percent, approximately 667 vehicles, traveling at higher speeds in nearly a month and a half – or 16 vehicles per day.
Over on Airport Road, between Sept. 4 and Oct. 6, 83 percent of drivers traveled at the speed limit, 35 mph, or slower, Lynn said. Some 12 percent traveled at 36 mph to 40 mph, with 95 percent traveling at 40 mph or slower.
Again, 4 percent traveled at no more than 10 mph over the limit, 41 mph and 45 mph over the limit, with 1 percent traveling more than 10 mph over the limit.
Two drivers were clocked at 71 mph to 80 mph on Airport Road, and 33 traveled at 51 mph or faster.
The sign clocked 21,896 vehicles; 18,174 of them traveled at the speed limit or slower. It recorded 219 traveling more than 10 mph over the limit.
“It really lets us take a look at what the data says,” Lynn said. “It removes perception – less subjective and more objective.”
Officials found no major speed problems on either street, he said. “There is an issue with volume (on 1st Avenue). There’s probably worse areas in town than Airport Road and 1st Avenue.”
As for the volume of traffic on 1st Avenue, “there’s no way to solve that unless you block that road off,” Lynn said, noting that it would likely shift traffic onto other roadways between Highway 20 and Highway 228, like Nandina and Evergreen streets.
Heavy traffic is an issue there, he said, but the decision several years ago to allow parking on both sides of the street has helped force drivers to slow down.
“Airport does need a couple of signs,” Lynn said. “It is lacking.”
Enforcement of the speed limit will be driven by data, Lynn said. Police officials broke down the speeders according to the time of day.
Speeders appeared all day long, but police will target patrols for 1st Avenue and Airport Road during the five times when the data shows the most speeders are present, for example, between 6:30 and 6:40 a.m. on 1st Avenue.
Eventually, the Police Department and Public Works will begin moving the speed signs around, Lynn said, and two more have been ordered for use specifically on Main Street. They’ll be used downtown, where several members of the public and city councilors have complained about speeding.
“The perception is there’s a speed problem downtown,” Lynn said.
Sgt. Jason Van Eck previously told The New Era it can be difficult catching speeders and traffic offenders on Main Street with the volume of traffic in the downtown area, which makes it more difficult for officers to get behind an offender.
He noted that Main Street has so much volume in the past couple of years that he has started picking and choosing which crossroad he uses to access Main Street.
He expects to see speeding most often east of 18th Avenue and west of Highway 228.
City officials must meet with Oregon Department of Transportation officials after the signs are shipped to Sweet Home to finalize their locations on Main Street.