School zone speed limit updated

SANDPOINT — The 15 mph speed limits along Division Avenue in school zones are now in effect only when flashing.

City officials said the new signs have been programmed to flash on school days in the morning between approximately 7:20 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and in the afternoon between approximately 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

The afternoon schedule varies on Wednesday to adjust for early release, said city officials. Signs adjacent to the Sandpoint High School flash during the lunch hour.

The slashing signs are intended to increase compliance of the new speed zone and serve as initial test locations which will be monitored and adjusted for effectiveness before being implemented at other school zones throughout the city, Sandpoint officials said.

The speed limit change to the school zone came up in the Feb. 3 council meeting when Preston Stinger, the city’s engineering consultant with Fehr and Peers, presented the findings of Sandpoint’s Road Safety Audit for Division Avenue.

The findings revealed hazards and safety concerns and categorized them from short-term, medium-term and long-term mitigations.

Stinger said that when doing an audit, Fehr and Peers does not use data collected to analytically say which projects or improvements need to be completed, but instead looks at the road corridor systematically.

A press release issued by the city noted the reduced speed limit in school zones was a key recommendation from the audit of the Division Avenue corridor as part of the city’s multimodal transportation plan. City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said that the audit noted that the 10 mph reduction in speed is the engineering standard for school zones.

Stapleton told the Daily Bee that the speed limit change was not chosen over other mitigations mentioned in the audit, but that other mitigations measures would be addressed over time.

In response to criticism on the change of the speed zone Stapleton said that city staff had not heard concerns from many citizens

“The [dissenting] perspective has been heard and considered, and the decision to keep the 15 mph reduced speed is based on keeping the safety of the children as the top priority.”

As part of its strategy in addressing the overall safety concerns, Stapleton said the city will focus on short term mitigations first. Those concerns include non-ADA compliant ramps in intersections, electrical poles blocking visibility for cars turning on Division, poor lighting at night, lack of bus stop amenities and updating the traffic lanes to better service pedestrians and cyclists at a later date.

The speed limit will stay at 20 mph when the flashing lights are not on, said Stapleton. If vehicles still travel at higher speeds then reducing the speed limit to 15 mph will be considered.