The City of Tucson is lowering speed limits along eight street segments throughout Tucson. The decision is part of a five year general plan by the Tucson Mayor and Council.
One of the longest stretches of road that will see a change is about four miles of Broadway Blvd. from Country Club to Wilmot.
Elliot Dumont owns Roadrunner Bicycles on Broadway, so Dumont says he bikes around the area pretty often.
“I think drivers are routinely 15-20 miles over the speed limit," he said. "It's terrifying, especially with the width of the bike lane. Although, it is shared sometimes with the bus, it really doesn’t make you feel safe when you have multi-ton vehicles hurdling down the road going that fast.”
The Tucson City Council voted to drop the posted limits in eight areas by five miles per hour.
The areas are:
- 22ND ST (I10 TO PARK)
- BROADWAY BLVD. (COUNTRY CLUB RD. TO WILMOT RD.)
- ALVERNON WAY (BROADWAY BLVD. TO SOUTH CITY LIMIT)
- ALVERNON (CONCORD STRAVENUE TO VALENCIA RD.)
- GRANT/IRONWOOD HILL (GREASEWOOD TO 15TH ST.)
- IRONWOOD HILL (WEST CITY LIMIT TO GREASEWOOD)
- OLD SPANISH TRAIL (BROADWAY BLVD. TO 22ND ST.)
- 36TH (MISSION TO WEST CITY LIMIT)
The Broadway stretch ends in Ward Two, which is the jurisdiction of Councilman Paul Cunningham. He said that the areas where they're changing speed limits is based on a study by engineers and designed to fix two things:
“One, it’ll improve some traffic flow," he said. "It’ll help people time their light better so you don’t get red after red after red. The other piece to it, is that we’re hoping it’ll reduce some of the fatalities.”
The Tucson Police Department has recorded almost 2,000 motor vehicle crashes in the city so far in 2024.
Cunningham said that the council plans to have the new signs up within 90 days. The signs will be made by the city with no extra cost to taxpayers.
