“Dear PoPville,
An Argument for Lower Speed Limits in Residential Areas?
Not sure what DC laws are b/c I don’t have a car. But I have noticed that DC drivers tend to navigate their vehicles like maniacs, and it can get quite stressful walking about…”
The reader includes a link and graph from Andrew Sullivan that shows pedestrians have a 45% chance of being killed by a car going 30mph but only a 5% chance if it is going 20mph.
Yesterday on twitter Ward 4 Council Member Muriel Bowser tweeted:
“Should speed limit on residential streets be 15 mph? I just intro’d legislation to require lowering the speed limit. Let’s talk about it.”
Personally I’m opposed to a 15mph limit. I echo what some have said already – I’d prefer enforcement of current laws. When I see a car going 50mph on a residential street it is terrifying. And that should be illegal. I think 15mph is just painfully slow. I’d also be curious to learn how a “residential street” is defined? What do you guys think – should the residential street speed limit be lowered to 15mph?