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Apr 01, 2024

Speeding in subdivisions a growing issue, county officials say

Residents of Bayhorse Road and Muldoon Canyon Road east of Bellevue made the case last week to Blaine County commissioners for lowering the speed limit in their neighborhood from 35 mph to 25 mph.

Residents of Bayhorse Road and Muldoon Canyon Road east of Bellevue made the case last week to Blaine County commissioners for lowering the speed limit in their neighborhood from 35 mph to 25 mph.

While the commissioners were asked to consider an application for a speed bump, both Blaine County Road and Bridge Manager Steve Thompson and the applicant, Bayhorse Road resident Mimi Crocker, said a lowered speed limit was preferable to a speed bump.

“I’ve lived there for 12 years, and it has turned into a speedway,” Crocker told the board. She applied both for a speed bump and a lowered limit.

Thompson said the speed limit in the area used to be 25 mph, but he wasn’t in his current role when it went up and wasn’t sure the reasoning. “My recommendation is to go in and drop it back down to 25,” he said.

Thompson noted a speed bump in a 35 mph zone would create additional safety issues because of the amount of slow down required to go from 35 to a speed at which to go over the speed bump safely. “Normally on a 35 mph road you don’t have speed bumps.”

When there is an application for a speed bump or lowered speed limit, Thompson explained that there is data collection that precedes any recommendation. Based on 1,915 cars travelling on the road over a two-week period, Thompson said 1,790 (or 93%) were traveling at or below 35 mph.

That isn’t to say speeding isn’t a problem, Thompson noted, especially in subdivisions like Bayhorse Road that have experienced significant growth over the past decade.

Crocker noted that the fact cars are primarily driving at or below the limit “supports that fact that it’s okay to go a little slower.” She said there are many people who use the road on foot, bike, and horseback.

“This isn’t the only subdivision we are seeing speeding issues in,” Thompson said. “I want the board to be aware that it’s a countywide issue.”

Thompson noted a similar situation and a recent change from 35 mph to 25 mph on Rodeo Drive off of Croy Creek Road. However, he said, he is now working with the Blaine County Sheriff’s Department on enforcement. After a number of complaints came in, Thompson said the results of a new speed count showed 80% of cars going above the new 25 mph limit.

“The answer is not the flashing signs,” he said. “They work good for about a week or two when you first put them up, and then they are ignored.”

Thompson said there are always people who try to see how high of a speed they can register on the sign. Consequently, Thompson said, they shut off the signs’ ability to show speeds above a certain number.

Two of the three Bayhorse Road area residents who spoke at the Aug. 22 meeting expressed frustration at a lack of presence of the Sheriff’s department in the area.

Dennis Higman, who lives on Muldoon Canyon Road, said he’s called law enforcement about the problem “and nothing happens.” He said he didn’t think the problem was people who either live or work in the neighborhood, but people who often go up to “party.”

“There is a certain element that speeds like crazy,” he said. “It makes me very angry.”

All three commissioners agreed to first pursue an ordinance to lower the speed limit on Bayhorse Road. Subsequently, they will look further into changing county ordinance language to make it easier to lower speed limits and address the issue throughout the county. They also discussed the importance of follow up in order to determine if lowering the speed limit is having the desired effect.

Commissioner Angenie McCleary noted: “To be most effective, we need both of those tools,” in terms of lowering the speed limits through an ordinance and then enforcing those lowered limits.

“We have grown a lot, and there has been a lot of change, especially in the last five years,” said Commissioner Chair Muffy Davis. “And we are learning to adapt and deal with some of those changes.” 

[email protected]

“The answer is not the flashing signs.”

Steve Thompson

Blaine County Road and Bridge Manager

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