San Antonio could lower speed limit to 25mph

San Antonio officials are exploring lowering speed limits on neighborhood streets from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour as part of their efforts to improve road safety, reports Diego Medel in San Antonio Report.

"Under Texas law, 30 mph is considered a reasonable speed for vehicles on urban residential streets unless otherwise posted. Cities can lower that limit, but only under specific conditions — either through engineering studies or by passing an ordinance that meets state requirements, including signage and annual reporting on enforcement and crashes."  Pedestrians struck by cars traveling at 30 mph are roughly 45% likely to die, compared to 5% for people struck at 20 mph. 

However, a study by the city showed that drivers are unlikely to slow down when posted speed limits are changed from 30 to 25. "Those findings mirror a similar city effort from 2015, when reduced speed limit signs were installed in nine neighborhoods and data was collected at more than 200 locations. About half of those areas saw slight decreases in speed, while the other half saw slight increases."

In response, San Antonio's Department of Public Works wants to "pursue a broader, multi-pronged strategy that includes engineering changes, enforcement and public outreach and education efforts" in addition to changing speed limits. "Beyond neighborhood streets, council members also pointed to challenges on larger, high-traffic corridors where traditional traffic calming measures like speed humps are not feasible." Public Works officials said these roads require other strategies such as redesigned intersections, narrower roadways, and other infrastructure changes.