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Updated: 3:53 PM Aug 17, 2010
UPDATE: St. Albans City Council Rejects Speed Limit Change
St. Albans City Council rejected a citywide speed limit of 15 miles per hour Monday night.
Posted: 8:10 PM Aug 16, 2010Reporter: Brooks Jarosz, Jeremy Edwards Email Address: brooks.jarosz@wsaz.com, jeremy.edwards@wsaz.com |
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32 Comments 
UPDATE 8/16/10 @ 11:45 p.m.
SAINT ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- St. Albans City Council rejected a proposed ordinance to set a citywide speed limit of just 15 miles per hour.
Drivers there thought they may be riding the brakes but the decision was made to leave the speed limits alone.
"When a speed limit is dropped to 15 miles per hour it makes it easier for a law enforcement officer to determine when a person is speeding," Mayor Dick Callaway said. "15 miles an hour is not creeping along when going through school zones and since children may be present in these residential areas I think it's a good reminder that we need to be concerned about those young people."
Council members on the safety committee wanted to curb speed in neighborhoods and make it consistent throughout the city.
There were six votes against the ordinance and four votes for it. At the last council meeting, the first reading of the ordinance was passed unanimously.
"We just thought from a safety standpoint that we were trying to do something to try to have continuity throughout the city," council member John Boles said.
Since then, council members say they've been bombarded with e-mails, phone calls and letters for and against the proposed citywide speed limit.
Many streets in St. Albans are already marked 15 miles per hour in residential areas. There would have been some exceptions if the ordinance passed. Kanawha Terrace, Walnut Street, 6th Avenue, and other state roads would have remained at their posted speeds.
"The average person will slow down to the 15, resident Bob Shingleton said. "Those than don't care, it won't affect them one bit since we don't have enough police officers to police the area."
Dozens of people showed up to Monday's meeting to express their concerns saying the new speed restrictions would be a waste of money and couldn't be enforced. One of the other big concerns was the hills in town, saying it's tough to go up those streets at just 15 miles per hour.
"I tried several times to go 15 miles an hour down there and it's stupid," one resident said. "That's all I can say, whoever thought of this is stupid."
Some city leaders say 15 miles per hour is common in school zones and this change was mainly aimed at keeping neighbors in the residential areas safe.
"It's a good idea for the kids sake," Chris Cottrell said. "We've got all kinds of kids running around and we have cars running through here constantly and you can't stop them."
UPDATE 8/16/10 @ 8 p.m.
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- St. Albans City Council voted Monday night to reject a citywide speed limit of 15 miles per hour.
There were six votes against the ordinance and four votes for it. At the last council meeting, the first reading of the ordinance was passed unanimously.
We have a crew at the meeting. Keep clicking here at WSAZ.com for more updates.
ORIGINAL STORY 8/2/10
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- St. Albans City Council voted Monday night to approve a citywide speed limit of 15 miles per hour.
There would be some exceptions. Kanawha Terrace and streets owned by the state of West Virginia would not be affected by the changes.
City leaders say the change is aimed at keeping neighbors in the residential areas safe.
"Hopefully it will slow down people in the residential areas, Councilman Jerry Cogar says. "That is where we have trouble. We have lots of kids playing in the streets, lots of elderly and it is not the place to be going 35, 50 or 60 mph."
The final vote on the proposal will happen at city council's next meeting in two weeks. If council approves it, the speed limit changes will go into effect immediately.
Latest Comments
I don't know about some of these cities I am reading about. I just read one story here where someone said, Have you ever heard of the police pulling someone over for tailgating? Where I live if you get caught it's a $100.00 fine. No exceptions.
Norman, St Albans has a population of more than 2000, in fact it was over 11,000 as of 2000. It's officers are certified in so much that they attend the WVSP Academy. By the numbers I've found it is a Class II city. On the main point of things though, 15 mph is a bit too slow and I agree with the posters about keeping the kids out of the roads.
Speed limits mean nothing to most drivers. If you run the speed limit they flash their lights, tail gate, etc. Just enforce the existing speed limits. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel to catch speeders in St. Albans or anyplace else you set up radar.
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