LARGO, Fla. -- The city of Largo will soon reduce the speed limit in residential neighborhoods from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour city-wide on 2-lane streets with houses on both sides of the road.
This week, city commissioners gave the green light to the speed reduction proposal.
Since roads without signs are perceived to be 30 mph, the change means Largo will need to install as many as 1,058 new speed limit signs. The change would impact about 529 streets, according to Largo city engineers.
The city and the Largo Police Department studied nearly 80 residential streets to gauge whether a speed change was necessary. In the studies, they found most people drive between 30-37 miles per hour but some people were busted going 60 mph, double the posted speed limit.
Mayor Brown says it could take about three months for official change to happen. Brown says he has heard constant complaints from residents over the past 10 years about drivers speeding down their roads.
“I don’t think that this will solve all the problems, but I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Brown explained.
Brown also wants to look into the feasibility of placing signs at just the entrances of some neighborhoods that state all roads in the area have a 25 mph limit as a way to reduce costs.
Dunedin and Safety Harbor also reduced their residential speed limits to 25 mph, and St. Petersburg allows neighborhoods that qualify to be able to lower their speed limit to 25 miles per hour. 47 neighborhoods in St. Pete have chosen to implement the slower speed limit, according to the city's public works department.
