Coralville council votes to lower speed limit to adhere to neighborhood safety. new development

Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen
·4 min read
The Coralville City Council unanimously approved a 10-mile-an-hour speed limit reduction near the intersection of First Avenue and East Dovetail Drive during Tuesday's meeting, after residents expressed concerns for blind corners and new development.
The Coralville City Council unanimously approved a 10-mile-an-hour speed limit reduction near the intersection of First Avenue and East Dovetail Drive during Tuesday's meeting, after residents expressed concerns for blind corners and new development.

It’s time to slow your roll.

The Coralville City Council unanimously voted to decrease the posted speed limit on portions of First Avenue and Dubuque Street, effective later this month.

Maximum speeds on those two main thoroughfares will be lowered as much as 20 miles per hour in an effort to keep subdivisions on the city's northside safe.

A January change.org petition outlined community frustrations with what residents feel are excessive speed limits, specifically in areas around blind corners and along a narrow roadway with a limited shoulder.

Current speed limits are posted 55 miles per hour on the twisting roadway along both First Avenue and Dubuque Street near the North Liberty roundabout.

Residents at a July city council work session also said turns onto First Avenue felt unsafe at various neighborhood entrances.

The council agreed to institute speed limits no higher than 45 miles per hour along the northern parts of First Avenue and Dubuque Street. Speeds on a large stretch of road parallel to one another will be dropped to 35 miles per hour to accommodate residential activity. First Avenue will see a change to 35 mph from Oakdale Avenue to north of Meade Drive, while Dubuque Street's 35 mph limit will continue north to County Down Lane.

The proposed speed limit changes along First Avenue and Dubuque Street in Coralville will introduce more consistent speeds along two of the city's main thoroughfares.
The proposed speed limit changes along First Avenue and Dubuque Street in Coralville will introduce more consistent speeds along two of the city's main thoroughfares.

Lowered speeds just in time for school

Changes are expected to take effect on Wednesday, Aug. 23, Iowa City Community School District's first day of classes, which includes nearby Liberty High School. The Coralville city council plans to approve the second consideration for the speed changes a night prior.

“Our intent will be to probably be ready to hopefully make that switch the first thing the following morning,” Coralville city engineer Scott Larson told the Press-Citizen on Tuesday. “We do intend to make use of some of our smaller digital message boards to get the message out even a week in advance.”

The council unanimously approved Tuesday's first consideration, hoping to act swiftly to ensure slower, safer driving throughout the school year.

“For me, this is a perfect example of how municipal government should work — respectful comments from citizens and then the hard work by our city staff and the end result is sensible and really helps,” Councilor Keith Jones said at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Studies revealed inconsistent but speedy trends

The city studied driver habits for four days in April, analyzing the speed of an average vehicle, which was in the 85th percentile in various spots.

Larson said his conversations with residents date back nearly a decade as development expands. He said 85th-percentile speeds indicate a “reasonable speed limit” along a stretch of road since most motorists drive at or below that speed.

Data was collected by the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County on behalf of the city of Coralville.

The current speed limits along First Avenue and Dubuque Street in Coralville, which include speed zones of 35, 45, 50 and 55 as drivers navigate between Coralville and North Liberty.
The current speed limits along First Avenue and Dubuque Street in Coralville, which include speed zones of 35, 45, 50 and 55 as drivers navigate between Coralville and North Liberty.

As First Avenue heads northbound from Coralville toward North Liberty, drivers passing Rustic Ridge Road heading north averaged 60 miles per hour, five miles over the current speed limit. The 85th percentile was 63 miles per hour, a decrease of 3 miles per hour since the study was last done in 2018.

Meanwhile, further south on Auburn Hills Drive, a marginal speed increase was observed, one or two miles per hour above the limit. Drivers were occasionally clocked at 59 miles per hour in the southbound lane, which has a posted limit of 45/

Daily traffic along First Avenue north of Auburn Hills Drive decreased by 35% from the 2018 survey of the same stretch of road, from 4,680 to 3,468.

Larson said in addition to speed, the city considers several other factors, including the number of drivers who turn off into subdivisions or driveways, the consistency of these speed limits with others along similar roads as well as the winding curves of First Avenue.

A rise in development likely means more speed changes ahead

The influx of new side streets and driveways branching off First Avenue means the newest speed reduction is not a long-term solution, Larson said.

Additional construction could be the answer, he said.

“Nobody wants to see more traffic signals out there, especially in their neighborhood,” Larson said. “But if we had a roundabout, say at First Avenue in Auburn Hills Drive, that roundabout with serve two very large subdivisions on either side of First Avenue. That would make it easier for them to get on and off the road.”

Roundabouts, like at Holiday Road and First Avenue, would force high-speed drivers to slow down, providing a safer, smoother traffic flow.

“We have ideas on a couple of other locations along the corridor that use the geometry of a roundabout to help slow traffic versus relying on somebody driving down a relatively straight road, you know, to see a speed limit sign and slow to that speed limit,” Larson said.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on Twitter @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Coralville council lowers speed limit on First Avenue, Dubuque Street