Lane County lowering London Road speed limits near Cottage Grove due to speeders

Haleigh Kochanski, Eugene Register-Guard
·2 min read
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Lane County and the Oregon Department of Transportation have designated seven miles of London Road, from Cottage Grove to Cottage Grove Lake, a safety corridor. The two-year pilot project is part of ODOT's new county safety corridor program.
Lane County and the Oregon Department of Transportation have designated seven miles of London Road, from Cottage Grove to Cottage Grove Lake, a safety corridor. The two-year pilot project is part of ODOT's new county safety corridor program.

Due to complaints about speeders, new speed limit signs will be posted in the coming weeks along portions of London Road and South Sixth Street on the east side of Interstate 5 near Cottage Grove. Traffic enforcement will also be increased.

The first seven miles of London Road from Latham Road to Cottage Grove Reservoir were designated in July 2021 as the "London Road Safety Corridor," which means it gets overtime traffic enforcement, doubling of traffic violation fines, public education campaigns and engineering improvements, according to Lane County.

"More people have been killed or seriously injured on the first seven miles of London Road between Cottage Grove and the lake than most roads in Oregon," the county said, noting most of the serious crashes on London Road have involved drugs and/or alcohol.

Lane County’s request to the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Speed Zone Panel to lower the speed limit on portions of the road close to Cottage Grove was approved Aug. 30. The lower speed limits are:

  • 45 mph on South Sixth Street from I-5/Goddard Lane to Latham Road.

  • 45 mph from Latham Road to Hootens Corner Road.

  • 50 mph from Hootens Corner Road to Williams Creek Loop.

A county map shows the seven-mile area covered by the London Road safety corridor.
A county map shows the seven-mile area covered by the London Road safety corridor.

In addition to the lower speed limits, Lane County will enhance recommended speed signs around curves.

“While it may feel comfortable to drive fast on a rural road, please keep in mind that there are homes along the roads with people needing to pull in and out of driveways and walk across the street to check their mailboxes,” Lane County senior transportation planner Becky Taylor said. “Most traffic fatalities and serious injury crashes involve excessive speeds.”

The doubled traffic fines within the safety corridor are intended to make people think twice about speeding and do not generate enough revenue to support enforcement activities, the county said. Enforcement is primarily funded by grants for officers willing to work overtime shifts.

Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@registerguard.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: London Road speed limits reduced near Cottage Grove, Oregon