Speed limits on gravel roads in the area could increase this November, thanks to a new state law under which it appears many stretches will no longer qualify for 25 mile-per-hour residential postings.
‘We do not yet have an inventory of which roads will be impacted by this change,? said Craig Bryson, spokesperson for the Road Commission for Oakland County. ‘We will be doing that inventory in August.?
Approved in April, Public Act 85 takes effect Nov. 9, and changes the restrictions for ‘prima facie’speed limits, reducing the areas that could be posted at 25 mph.
On roads where there is no posted speed limit, or on gravel/unpaved roads, the speed limit is known as the ‘prima facie? speed limit, which is subject to driver judgment of driving conditions.
‘If there is a posted speed limit on a gravel road, this is the maximum for optimum conditions and drivers are expected to drive at lower, suitable speeds when conditions are less than optimum,? according to a brochure from the road commission
Both state Rep. Jim Marleau (R-Lake Orion) and state Sen. Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) voted in favor of Public Act 85, also known as House Bill 5240.
Under the current law, 25 mph speed limits on gravel roads can be established in ‘residential districts,? which were defined as areas that are not business districts and where for at least 300 feet, the road frontage was mainly occupied by ‘dwellings or by dwellings and buildings in use for business.?
This clause allowed the county road commission to post 25 mph speed limits on some roads that no longer qualify for this speed under the new law.
Now, in order for a gravel road to be 25 mph, it must have 60 or more vehicular access points within a half mile.
Vehiclar access points are defined as side streets, driveways or private roads.
Roads having 45 to 59 vehicular access points within a half mile will be 35 mph.
Thirty to 44 vehicular access points within a half mile earns a speed limit of 45 mph.
All other roads with no posted speed limit will be considered 55 mph, which is known as the ‘general speed limit.?
Which gravel roads will change to what speeds must still be determined by the road commission.
‘That means literally going out and counting the vehicle access points on every single road, every mile of every road,? Bryson said.
‘We’ve got to go count all 800 miles of gravel road all over the county and see how many access points there are. It’s going to take us some time,? he noted.
On some roads, Bryson said, ‘It will be obvious.?
‘You drive down and there’s only a couple of access points,? he explained. ‘For others that are close, you want to make sure you’ve got them in the right category.?
Once the inventory of gravel roads is completed, Bryson said, ‘We’ll start making the changes in October.?
‘We’ll finish up by the end of November,? he explained. ‘Technically, the deadline is supposed to be November 9, but we’re comfortable that if we get them all changed by the end of November, everybody will be satisfied.?
Although the law was passed earlier this year, Bryson said it hasn’t received much publicity.
‘That’s exactly why we created a new brochure (which explains the change),? he said. ‘We’re going to go out and begin to educate people as we get closer to the actual change.?
Lt. Thad Peterson, commanding officer of the traffic services section of the Michigan State Police, said the push for the new law came from state legislators who said ‘we need something in between? the 25 and 55 mph speed limits on gravel roads.
Most gravel/unpaved roads in Michigan are 55 mph roads.
‘Because we were trying to work with the legislators who were looking for another alternative for their constituents, we went out and started to be very creative,? Peterson said.
‘Based on a lot of research? done by the state police, correlating speed limits with a system of vehicular access point counts ‘seemed to work pretty accurately for paved roads and for gravel roads on a good day.?
‘On a good day, when the road is in decent condition, even on a gravel road you will see the operation speeds of vehicles somewhere within very close ranges to what we’ve got listed in that new statute based on access points,’Peterson explained.
Complaints from motorists and residents also helped fuel the development of ‘in between? speeds on gravel roads.
‘We were getting complaints from both ends ? drivers who were being ticketed for exceeding the 25 and gravel road residents who were feeling that 55 was excessive,? Peterson said.
Peterson said the 25 mph speed limit is posted too frequently and ‘often used improperly? on many gravel roads in Oakland County.
‘You could drive on almost any gravel road almost anywhere in the county and have it posted 25 (mph),? he said. ‘It was almost everywhere on almost all gravel roads.?
The lieutenant said the 25 mph limit should only be used ‘where you have a lot of houses close together that are close to the road, sidewalks, cars parked on sides of the road, children playing.?
‘That’s where a 25 mph speed limit is appropriate, not out in the country where the houses are set way back from the road (and they) are very few and far between.?
Setting the speed limit ‘artificially low,? such as 25 mph in an area that doesn’t warrant it, can ’cause the likelihood of a crash to go up? as faster drivers either attempt to pass slower drivers or are taken by surprise as they come upon them.
Peterson said Oakland County uses the 25 mph residential limit ‘almost like a blanket speed limit for gravel roads.?
‘I don’t know of any other county in the state that was using it to that extent or even close to that extent,? he said. ‘Well, that’s obviously not correct.?
In response to this, Bryson said, ‘Our traffic engineers would not label them (25 mph) unless they thought they met what had been the definition of a residential district.?
‘I think (Peterson’s) probably right that we used it more than anyone else,? Bryson noted.
‘Part of the issue is that a lot of the local officials like them because they get a lot of pressure from residents living along the roads who want them to be lower. And we try to accommodate the desires of the local officials,? he explained.
‘This (new law) will resolve that issue. Whether the residents like it or not, this will change things and some of (the roads) will no longer be eligible (for 25 mph speed limits).?