How should speed limits be set? With this question in mind and an eye on the future, leadership teams for city and county engineering associations requested that MnDOT’s State Aid for Local Transportation (SALT) Division help facilitate a first-of-its-kind effort. The purpose was to develop a consistent and united statewide vision for setting speed limits supported by a diverse group of stakeholders, partners, and users.
For the project, State Aid partnered with consultant Bolton & Menk and set to work last year. The purpose of the project was not to provide guidance on existing state statutes or to provide tools for changing speed limits, but instead to dive deep into the topic through the collaborative engagement of a diverse group.
Across the nation, communities are currently evaluating—and some are modifying—their approach to setting speed limits to incorporate factors such as crash history, roadway context, and the presence of vulnerable road users. A growing number of cities have recently lowered their speed limits systemwide, including Minneapolis. In rural Minnesota, however, pressure grows to increase speed limits.
The project revealed that the engineering community and user groups in Minnesota agree on many aspects of how to set speed limits. The result is a vision for setting speed limits that offers a consistent and unified approach while honoring data-based methods, community environment, and all users. n
(Condensed from the SALT E-Scene, Feb. 2021.)
Learn more:
Project website with information about speed limits in Minnesota, answers to frequently asked questions, and links to useful resources: mnspeedlimitvision.org.
Speed limits: history highlights
1885 Incorporated villages or boroughs are authorized to regulate the rate of speed of engine-powered vehicles.
1911 The first speed limit law in Minnesota references reasonable and proper speeds on public highways, “so as not to endanger the life or limb, or injure the property of any person.”
1942 Governor’s order implements a wartime speed limit of 40 mph under orders from the USA Office of Defense Transportation, upon the advice of the Wartime National Rubber Director. Repeat offenders will lose their gas ration stamps.
1974 National Maximum Speed Limit 55 mph (NMSL55) on all roads imposed by USDOT for emergency energy conservation, prompted by foreign oil embargoes. USDOT requires substantial compliance to NMSL55 or else funding will be sanctioned.