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6 <br /> Mr. Lynch said he found the presentation less informative. He said he does not <br />find it a credible argument that if you lower speed limits neighborhood cut-through traffic <br />will increase. He noted that for the most part speeds are close to the speed limits. He <br />said historically speed limit reductions are driven by neighborhood requests, and he <br />thinks we should extend this to the south side streets as has been done for streets on the <br />north side of the City. <br /> <br /> Ms. Hamilton said she heard in the report that drivers leave collector streets for <br />neighborhood streets to avoid congestion. She said she does not think the policy should <br />be if someone asks for speed limit reduction we just grant it. She said not enough of an <br />analysis has been done about why speed limits are being obeyed on streets such as Locust <br />Avenue and not on Old Lynchburg Road to come to a conclusion. <br /> <br /> Mr. Taliaferro said one problem with having one city-wide speed limit is that we <br />have enough difficulty now moving traffic and we do not know the impact having one <br />speed limit would have on that. He suggested that we take a look at what other cities <br />have done, and try the education aspect before doing anything else. <br /> <br /> Mr. Norris said it would be helpful for staff to identify streets were there really is <br />a problem before going to a blanket speed limit. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said he would like to see areas looked at where there is a lot of <br />pedestrian activity such as Cherry Avenue. He said we have not discussed the <br />enforcement end. He said he would like to look at education first, but would not want to <br />neglect the enforcement piece. <br /> <br /> Police Chief Longo said he would not want to create a false expectation that if we <br />set a 25 mph speed limit throughout the City we will have the operational capacity to <br />enforce it. He said he would encourage Council to follow the recommendations given in <br />the report, starting with education, and perhaps increase fines for speeding. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch asked about the amount of revenue generated by traffic enforcement, <br />but Chief Longo said he does not know the percentage that comes back to the City as <br />revenue. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown asked to what degree does enforcement on a particular street work, and <br />Chief Longo said it works while there is a presence on the street, but it can create a false <br />expectation. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Lynch about the advisability of publicizing <br />enforcement locations, Chief Longo said it is done for a deterrent effect, but speeding <br />tickets are still written in those locations. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch agreed that it is probably not a good idea to have a city-wide speed <br />limit of 25 mph, but he said there are some streets such as Cherry Avenue and Jefferson <br />Park Avenue that we need to look at closer. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown asked that staff bring back a report in writing about what we are doing <br />and what we can do regarding education, including what other communities have done. <br />In the meantime, he suggested that streets be looked at individually, especially in high <br />pedestrian areas. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch suggested getting data on Rugby Avenue since the speed limit on that <br />street was changed. <br /> <br />REPORT <br />: TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR <br />ROUTE CHANGES <br /> <br /> Mr. Bill Watterson, Transit Manager, said that the Transit Development Plan was <br />built off of the Transit Improvement Study that was done last year. He said there was <br />significant public input into the Plan. He said he is asking that Council approve the Plan <br /> <br />