March 29, 2024

20 to 25

Public hearing on changing business district speed limit scheduled June 4

Did you know the speed limit in Osceola's downtown business district is 20 miles per hour?

Well, you do now. However, that speed limit may change soon.

"The DOT is changing the speed on Highway 69, or Main Street, going through our business district from 20 to 25 miles per hour," said Osceola City Administrator/Clerk Ty Wheeler during an Osceola City Council meeting May 21, "and we've discussed and determined that we would change the rest of the business district to 25 miles per hour so that is uniform."

Wheeler said an ordinance allows a local jurisdiction or the Iowa Department of Transportation to change a speed limit within defined districts if it feels necessary to do so.

Speeds

Twenty miles per hour is the most common statutory speed for business districts. In residential areas and school districts, 25 miles per hour is the most common statutory speed.

According to the Iowa Code, statutory limits are based on the concept that uniform categories of highways can be traveled safely at certain preset maximum speeds under ideal conditions. Whether the speed limit is posted or unposted, drivers should reduce their speed below these values in poor weather, heavy traffic and under other potentially hazardous conditions.

A public hearing on the speed regulations is scheduled during the June 4 Osceola City Council meeting.