Northeast 20th Avenue, one of six roads that received changes in speed limits following approval from Clark County Council March 19.
Clark County motorists should be aware of a few changes in speed limits as the county council approved new speeds for half a dozen roads last week.
The council unanimously approved changes during their March 19 meeting to six county roads, five of which are in North County.
Clark County Public Works Director Ahmad Qayoumi explained the changes were part of a regular process where the county re-evaluates the speed on roads based on a number of factors such as safety.
Traffic engineer Ejaz Khan provided the reasoning for the changes to the council, the first two of which were for roads northwest of Battle Ground.
The stretch of Manley Road between Northeast 259th Street and Northeast 239th Street was changed from being under the so-called “basic rule” for speed limits, where drivers could go as fast as 50 miles per hour, to 35 mph.
Khan explained that the road will see construction in 2020, which will feature curves that would merit a 35 mph speed limit. This was similar to the second change on Northeast 239th Street, from Northeast 92nd Avenue to the Battle Ground city limits. He explained that in the city the speed was 35 mph, so changing the section outside of city limits before 92nd Avenue would keep consistency.
Three of the six changes were in Salmon Creek on, or near, Highway 99. Of those changes, two had to do with a street realignment that took place 20 years ago, according to a staff report, which shifted traffic from a section of Highway 99 onto Northeast 20th Avenue.
The approved changes would increase the speed of the section of Northeast 20th Avenue between Highway 99 and Northeast 134th Street from the current limit of 25 mph to 40 mph to keep it more in line with the road’s function as an urban arterial road.
A fourth change was also related to the realignment effects. On Highway 99 from Northeast 20th Avenue to Northeast 134th Street the speed limit has dropped from 40 mph to 25 mph.
To the north of those changes, the council also approved setting a uniform speed on Northeast Tenney Road/Northeast 134th Street between Northeast 10th Avenue and Northeast Salmon Creek Avenue. That stretch of road changes between 30 and 35 mph, though the approved change would keep that stretch of road at 35 mph throughout.
The final change was on Northeast 47th Avenue between Northeast Minnehaha Street and Northeast 78th Street. Khan said the current 25 mph limit was set before improvements were made, as now its standards were higher, allowing for the approved speed limit of 35 mph.
Councilors voted unanimously to enact the speed limit changes. Following the approval of the changes Khan said drivers can expect to see the new speeds posted “within a few weeks.”
