Oregon Cities Could Gain Control Over Speed Limits

A new Oregon law could let cities set their own speed limits on some roads, bypassing the long and often unsuccessful process by which cities have had to apply for lower speed limits until now.

Kea Wilson of Streetsblog reports on the proposed law, which would allow cities to more quickly adjust speed limits on dangerous roads and respond to community concerns. The law would not apply to interstate freeways or state-controlled roads, and would require cities to prove they can provide meaningful recommendations for new speeds.

A parallel proposal would improve safety on state-controlled roads by changing the calculation for speed limits, which, in most U.S. cities, is dictated by the “85th percentile rule,” setting the speed limit at the average speed that 85 percent of drivers travel. “Now, many Oregon roads will be subject to a significantly safer 50th percentile rule, wherein the slowest half of drivers on the road will set the standard,” along with road conditions and adjacent businesses and developments.

According to Wilson, Portland is already engaged in an effort to reduce speed limits on many of its roads. “As part of a separate effort, the city already won the right to slow to 20 miles per hour in 2018, and it’s continuing to redesign its roads to reinforce those limits as fast as possible.”