ELKINS — Elkins City Council has approved the final reading of an ordinance that reduces the speed limit to 15 miles per hour in a defined residential area of Fourth Ward.

During the most recent City Council meeting, all nine council members present voted in favor of the final reading of Ordinance 349, which will reduce the speed limit to 15 miles per hour on all streets bounded by Sycamore Street, Randolph Avenue, Diamond Street and “the City’s eastern boundary.” Third Ward Councilman Christopher Lowther was absent from the meeting.

According to Ordinance 349, homeowners and residents in the affected area had “expressed concerns” regarding vehicle speeds, pedestrian safety and neighborhood conditions to the city. The resolution also states that, while the average posted speed limit in the area is 25 miles per hour, some portions already have posted speed limits of 15 miles per hour, “resulting in a patchwork of speed limits that can create confusion for motorists and inconsistent enforcement conditions.”

While Diamond Street will be included in the speed limit change, the speed limits on Sycamore Street and Randolph Avenue will not be affected.

The roads that will be affected by the new ordinance are Bell Street, Boundary Avenue, Boyd Street, Buffalo Street, Cherry Street, Church Lane, Court Street, Diamond Street, Earle Street, Elm Street, Fayette Street, Gay Street, Guy Street, High Street, Howe Avenue, Key Street, Kirk Street, Locust Street, Marro Drive, Oak Street, Park Street, Paule Street, Prospect Street, Slaughterhouse Hill Road, Summit Street, Sugar Hill Lane, Terrace Avenue, Thorne Avenue, Vine Street, Vista Avenue, Weese Street and Woodford Drive.

The speed limits in all alleys within the described area will also be changed.

Before the council voted on the final reading, Third Ward representative Erika Plishka voiced her qualms with the ordinance. Plishka stated that she did not wish to see this ordinance lead the way into changing the speed limit in other neighborhoods.

“I’m not crazy about the idea because I don’t like the idea of it being a pilot program to go into other neighborhoods in the city,” Plishka said. “I just wanted to voice that.”

Fifth Ward representative Cody Thompson countered that he hoped the ordinance would be piloted into his ward due to the amount of reckless driving and speeding he has witnessed in that area.

“I’ll be quite honest, I’m sure where Councilman (Burley) Woods lives, people come off Randolph (Avenue) and they fly,” Thompson said. “I’ve seen them not even stop at stop signs, and we have children now on my street and they play on the sidewalks. There’s been a car crash right in front of my house… You should not be going that fast in residential neighborhoods… No one wants to be living in front of a highway, essentially, when it’s really a residential street.”

Fourth Ward representative Andrew Carroll reiterated points he made when the council voted on the first reading of Ordinance 349 on Dec. 4, stating that bigger the vehicle, the more of a danger they are to pedestrians.

Since 2009, the rate of pedestrian death has grown about 80% nationally due to the growth in size for car models over the years, Carroll told the council during the Dec. 4 meeting. He explained that reports show that, over the past three decades, “our passenger vehicle size has gone four inches wider, 10 inches longer, eight inches taller and 1,000 pounds heavier.” Carroll also noted that even a speed limit of 25 miles per hour can be very unsafe for pedestrians as – if someone is hit by a vehicle traveling at about 23 miles per hour — that person’s chance of dying is 10%.

“Surely, you can’t change everyone’s behavior… Rules don’t make people better people,” Carroll said during the Jan. 8 meeting. “We all know that, but this, I think, gives us good grounds to make people aware. You have consequences for driving a car. You ought to pay attention and be more reasonable for your neighbors.”

Fourth Ward representative Nanci Bross-Fregonara also reminded the council that the Elkins Police Department placed speed monitors in the Fourth Ward area to give the City an idea of the current average driving speed. At the council’s Dec. 4 meeting, Elkins Police Chief Travis Bennett stated that the highest speed recorded on High Street was 41 miles per hour, while the median was 29 miles per hour. High Street’s current speed limit is only 25 miles per hour.

As Fregonara explained during the Jan. 8 meeting, with Ordinance 349 in place, the City could monitor if the speed limit change makes a difference or not in how people drive on those streets.

First Ward representative Robert Chenoweth then asked what the city’s plan was to inform citizens about the speed limit change and when it will take place. Elkins City Clerk Sutton Stokes stated there will be updated speed limit signs and that the city will publicize when the signs will be going up. 

Elkins City Operations Manager Michael Kesecker confirmed this, stating he would contact both the City’s Communications Manager Leon Kaye and Bennett on when the new signs will be installed so the city can put out a notice and the Elkins City Police can prepare to begin enforcing the new speed limit.

The Elkins City Council is scheduled to meet again on Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Phil Gainer Community Center.