Slow down, Flagler Beach: the City Commission on Thursday voted 4-1 to drop the citywide speed limit to 20, from a variety of higher speeds–30 along some streets, 25 along others. Speeds along State Road A1A and State Road 100 will remain at 25.
The 20 mph speed limit will apply only to city roads. State Road 100 and State Road A1A will remain at 25 or higher in the city, John Anderson Highway and Roberts Road, which have speeds of up to 45, will not be affected. By law, police may not ticket a driver who breaks the speed limit by 5 miles per hour or less, so the effective speed limit in the city will be 25.
The unanswered questions are twofold: whether, and to what extent, the Flagler Beach Police Department will be able to enforce what for many residents and visitors will be a significantly lower speed limit than they’re used to, and what sign that may send visitors who may end up with traffic tickets more expensive than a dinner at Next Door Bistro or The Anchor. And how much changing the signs will cost the city.
When Palm Coast considered lowering its speed limit from 30 to 25 on its 550 miles of streets, city staff estimated the cost in signage alone at $1.6 million. Sign-changing costs were never discussed during the Flagler Beach commission’s debates. (The city manager said a cost for changing 50 signs will be calculated by early next week.)
“You can change speed limit to two and a half miles an hour, and if as a city it’s not enforced, or not enforced to the degree it needs to be, changing the speed limit will not get us anywhere. And that’s the concern I have,” Commissioner Eric Cooley said.
The city commissioned a study from a consultant to determine what would be the best speed limit in town. The consultant put that number at 20. That, plus various safety concerns, the lack of sidewalks and agreement on the commission about the character of the city as a walkable, street-sharing city, swayed commissioners toward the same number, even though all agree that it’s a steep change. There’s a sense on the commission of wanting to take back some control over the city’s pace.
“When I’m out is the car, and this happens all the time, they are doing probably more than 40 when they’re they’re going by,” Cooley said. He did not say who “they” are. “I’ll be out walking the dog, work in the yard, just in the kitchen, looking out the window and somebody’s flying by. Now, obviously our police can’t be everywhere. However, the focus is on different things, bringing change in behavior. So the rationale behind the 20 is golf carts are ordinance-limited to 20. Bicycles, they tend to stay below 20. Pedestrians, certainly. But if we can get everybody closer to one uniform speed limit, the safer you’re going to be. I’m all about data, and if the study recommended 20, then I feel confident with going with that, even though there’s a lot of people that would rather have 25, and those people are probably the ones doing 40.”
Cooley thought changing the limit from 30 to 25 would just be a costly sign-change that would not make much difference on the streets. He said with the influx of visitors and the city being built up, it is no longer the city it was 30 years ago, warranting a change in pace.
Commissioner Rick Belhumeur, who opposed the 20 limit, preferring 25, said the focus should be on uniformity in speed limits. He’s had a golf cart less than a year. He’s logged 2,200 miles on it already. It goes no faster than 25. He goes at that speed, but slows down when he encounters people walking their dog or with a baby carriage, or simply walking along. “I think most of our locals do that,” he said. “But if you’re going to change it to 20 miles an hour, you’re going to have that same idiot” going at the faster speeds, “whereas I think it’s going to frustrate some of the locals, dropping the speed limit 10 miles an hour.” He said that would create a sense of frustration among locals.
Mayor Patti King favored the 20. She said 25 matches A1A, yielding no benefit to people changing their driving habits. To Commissioner James Sherman, the city is all about sharing the road, which should mean uniformity in speeds–and encouraging drivers who want to go a bit faster to take A1A.
Commission Chair Scott Spradley has been of two minds on the issue. He’s been asking those who attend his weekly town hall what they’d prefer. The 25 has tended to win. But Spradley gives weight to different ideas. His colleagues on the commission have swayed him to his conclusion. “Where I have finally landed on this is that differential, the safety aspect of it,” he said, “combined with giving a disincentive to jump off A1A onto the interior roads has me leaning towards 20, even though I know there’ll be some fresh frustration with that. But for me, the balance is a little frustration here versus safety overall.”
“well, now you killed it for me. I was going to agree with Eric,” Commissioner Jane Mealy said, laughing: the seemingly immutable rift valley between Cooley and Mealy has become one of the commission’s standards, though they do agree with each other more than they let on. “We did ask a professional to do a study,” she said, a study that scientifically measuring what the speed should be. Mealy lives on Lambert Avenue., where the consultant is proposing that additional measures be considered, such as speed bumps, because Lambert is a “different animal”–a street with no stop signs.
The few residents who spoke were supportive of going 20. “It’s what the data supports. It’s what would provide for the safest streets, which you said you want,” one resident said. “I agree with those of you who said it helps define who we are. We are fun, we are walkable, we are a place people want to be. And we’re going to be in good company when we do this, the Villages US military bases and the entire nation of the United Kingdom encourage 20 mile an hour speed limits.” (In fact, while that may be true of Wales, it is not true of the United Kingdom, where uniform street speed limits are 30 mph.)
Leann Koch, a Flagler Beach resident of 33 years, was also appreciative as “someone who our whole family bikes, walks, roller skates, everything on the back street,” she said. “We appreciate your consideration in lowering the speed limit, not to 25 but to 20. We’ve got cats, kids, dogs, coyotes in the neighborhood. We have employees speeding down the roads to get to the two restaurants in our neighborhood. And I clocked one. I was on A1A going 42 one day, and I noticed, boom, this vehicle was doing the same on the back street on North Central, going 42 miles an hour.”
The Villa Beach Walker says
Hurrah! On the north side of town motorists and bikers frequently use Central Ave rather than A1A. Even with stop signs these folks are doing 35-55 MPH with people walking or bicycling along the side of the road sometimes with a dog on a leash. We’ve had too many near misses, especially near the churches. I’m confident that FBPD can issue enough citations to enough motorists to correct bad behaviors. This will be a welcome change.
Linda R Morgan says
I agree that it will be frustrating, but safer in the long run. People are flying down the streets on the south side. We are also experiencing a lot more door to door solicitation and they are persistent. Yesterday I saw two men walk straight to the back yard of a neighbor who wasn’t home. I slowed down to talk and they said they were inspectors from Spectrum. One had a hanging badge and other did not. No uniform, or shirt with id, unmarked truck….I called spectrum and they had no tech’s scheduled for that address. Because I didn’t take pictures or get a tag number there was not much that could be done, but I am now going to be a little bit more aware of the surroundings.
The Sour Kraut says
So it will take 50% longer to get anywhere? Better off with speed tables (not speed bumps). The signs can be ignored.
Celia Pugliese says
FB can do it no problem and in Palm Coast Carl Cote runs allover the board all kinds of studies and approvals “required by the State”…what kinda charade is that? The street signs are manufactured in house as far as I was shown when I took my PC Citizens Academy over 20 years ago and that gouging cost of 1.5 millions cost to change the speed limits city signs, hard to swallow. FB is doing the right thing as last week we were seating at the Golden Lion enjoying great service and food plus a bit too loud band…this deranged criminal driving a mid size black late model, could be a Lexus, Toyota or one of those brands speeding south on A1A among people crossing, cars entering or parking and this demoniacal at the steering wheel speeding! No cops around! My heart stopped! People dogging the assassin. A1A needs cameras to take this untisocial drivers and fine the heck out of their pockets nd stop the hazard. Lay speed humps on A1A and who doesn’t like it go elsewhere.
PeachesMcGee says
Oh man, the northern transplants will hate this. Don’t like it? I95 is open 24/7 with NASCAR like speeds.
Slow down, take a breath of the most excellent beach air in Florida.
Laurel says
Sadly, Flagler Beach is going to shit. It’s not the same town it was 30 years ago? No, it’s not the same town it was five years ago. Are you serious? You had to pay a “consultant” to determine the limit should be dropped five miles per hour? For safety reasons? Just what data is that? Are your constituents really that…never mind. I’ll tell you for free that if you close off all streets to traffic, it’s even safer, right? Maybe we can walk faster than the cars, will that do?
So, how about instead of the police cars sitting at the bottom of the bridge, on the state road, catching cars that temporarily succumb to gravity, why not have them ticket the very few cars that are going over the allowed five mph limit on the town streets? Not enough ticket revenue for that?
By the way, your cats and dogs are supposed to be on a leash by Flagler County ordinance. Did you not know that, or is that to be ignored? Hopefully, you taught your kids not to be stupid on streets.
In my 72 years as a native Floridian, who has lived in various Florida towns, I have never seen such nonsense consistently happening as it is in Flagler County. The *consultants* must be laughing their asses off. What did they charge for this fiasco?
JimboXYZ says
The only reason the speed limit will remain 50 mph for at least now on SR-100 is because there will be that middle of the night with no traffic that makes no sense for slowing SR-100 to 35 mph. But let’s face it, the gridlock for peak traffic on SR-100, we’ll be fortunate to do 10-20 mph stopping at every red light on that road around Airport/FPCHS to Old King’s Road traffic lights.
Flagler Beach has reduced the speed limit to 25 mph on A1A already, only makes sense that a street over for residential be slower than A1A with the human pedestrian, bicycle & golf cart traffic on those streets. That happens when growth plans become realities. I don’t go over there enough to really care what the speed limit is there to get a citation for exceeding 20-25 mph, dependent upon what road one drives. And here will still be those that try to drive it faster than posted, Flagler Beach PD will be there for them when they do it, regardless of whether it’s 1 or more miles over the speed limit.
Kim says
Great! I hope this includes A1A through the entirety of the city. I have been passed on the double yellow southbound countless times where the speed limit changes to 45 mph near Oceanfront Grill. That is a residential area, and I’ve often wondered when a pedestrian is going to be hit in that circumstance. Also, motorcycles (and cars) regularly are at what appears to be over 60mph. No enforcement. I’ve never seen it. Not once.