The idea to increase the speed limit on two Fayetteville streets came to a dead stop at the Jan. 17 meeting of the Fayetteville City Council.
The council reviewed the idea of raising the speed limit on South Jeff Davis Drive and Beauregard Boulevard/Redwine Road from the current 35 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour. The speed limit was reduced to 35 miles per hour in October 2011 and the police department was later directed to conduct a speed limit analysis of those areas.
Reporting on the analysis, Chief Steve Heaton said an analysis conducted on South Jeff Davis in October showed an average speed of 40.07 miles per hour. Heaton in 2010 had requested that the speed limit be reduced to 35 miles per hour after an analysis showed that nearly 30 percent of vehicles were traveling 50-75 miles per hour.
A similar analysis was conducted on Beauregard Boulevard/Redwine Road in December, showing an average speed of 47.5 miles per hour. Heaton said half the vehicles were traveling 45-50 miles per hour which is 10-15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
“With regard to Beauregard Boulevard/Redwine Road, traffic is traveling an average of 12 mph over the posted speed limit. During peak driving hours in the morning and afternoon, traffic is dense in the Redwine Road and Beauregard Boulevard area. Additionally, there are several residential areas along Beauregard Boulevard. Increasing the speed limit in the area would potentially create hazard to those residents coming out of their subdivisions,” Heaton said in a Dec. 18 memo.
Heaton recommended, and the council agreed, to leave the speed limits on both roads at the current 35 miles per hour.
