Parts of Old Spanish Trail under speed study as PDOT looks to make safety changes

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The speed limit along the 6.3-mile stretch of Old Spanish Trail that runs from South Houghton Road to East Valencia Road varies from 35 to 50 miles-per-hour.

People who use that stretch to bike and horseback ride say it can be dangerous for them.

“You have two corners that are whipped around. You have one right up here, and then one right down here. And what ends up happening is if somebody were to come around that corner, someone could easily hit you and your horse," says Kaitlyn Higgins, a commuter who uses Old Spanish Trail weekly, "So, it's really hard to get across the road not knowing if somebody's going to slow down or stop.”

The Pima County Department of Transportation is currently conducting a speed study for parts of Rincon Valley, including South Old Spanish Trail.

“It's ultimately a combination of both enforcement and infrastructure improvements to remind the drivers that this is not a place that you want to do excessive speed, and monitoring that condition to see what the short speeds are compared to posted speed,” says Deputy Director Paul Casertano.

Casertano also says they plan to work with the Pima County Sheriff's Department when it comes to enforcement.

“There's also other infrastructure amenities or features that we would look to install that will help kind of calm speeds, like looking at lane widths, making sure that there's enough shoulder access. There's other striping and signing features that would help kind of remind the driver to temper their speed a little bit,” says Casertano.