Comments on: Decatur Still Working On City-Wide 25 MPH Speed Limit Plan

By: DEM

DEM — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 23:38:34 +0000

Of course I am for some restrictions. But I believe speed is less important than other factors like driver attentiveness, and some speed limits are far too low.

By: DEM

DEM — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 23:36:45 +0000

Fair enough, I think we have some common ground.

By: At Home in Decatur

At Home in Decatur — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 21:15:44 +0000

4,473 deaths and 76,000 injuries don’t tell the whole story. If no one is walking on certain roads because there are no sidewalks or the intersections are so dangerous, then the pedestrian morbidity and mortality will be low but the roads are still not safe for pedestrians. And how many of pedestrian deaths and injuries were preventable? The overall cumulative human death rate is 100% but we accept that because we all have to die sometime. But even a low number of infant deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases are a tragedy because they could have been prevented. And how many children are among pedestrian deaths and injuries? We tend to have a lower tolerance for preventable deaths among children who otherwise would live for 70-80 more years. Kids who live less than a mile from school have to walk or bicycle there unless their parents can drive them (which raises the pedestrian risk!).

We spend a lot of money preventing terror and rare infectious diseases in this country even though the current death and injury rate due to terror or Ebola is quite low. So it is a judgment call whether or not any particular health threat is worth intervention; it’s not just a numbers game.

By: Angelo

Angelo — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 20:52:38 +0000

I do love the original Top Gear by the way…

By: Angelo

Angelo — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 20:35:42 +0000

Ok, I agree with you that one size fits all is not appropriate for every street. I still believe we could do more to strongly encourage people to drive more carefully and slowly on streets where people live and children play.

By: Angelo

Angelo — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 20:26:35 +0000

Alright then to heck with the pedestrians and cyclists. Let’s argue the case from a vehicular injury and mortality rate. Or maybe combine the two. Statistical analyses is fine and well but 50% or more of Decaturites (is that what we call ourselves?) believe there is a problem. I’d also argue that your numbers are skewed because they are based on the national average which includes urban, suburban and rural areas. Are you in favor of any traffic restrictions at all?

I think I like ASDF’s utopian vision best. It would render these discussions moot. Ban all vehicular traffic in Decatur!

By: DEM

DEM — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 20:03:12 +0000

I am not advocating for Top Gear-style road testing through your street, Angelo. That should be obvious. And 25 may well be very appropriate on most residential streets. But it’s an absurdly low limit on Scott, as one example, and I agree with others that it’s too low on Candler as well. Reducing COD’s limits to 25 everywhere and at all times is far more likely to be a revenue-raising effort than it is to improve public safety. And per my post below I think your concerns about safety are overblown anyway.

Any speed limit higher than zero will pose some risk to others. In my view, drawing the line at a speed as low as 25 requires the proponent to make a strong case.