By Jason Stuart
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
A request to lower the speed limit on a single one-way street in Glendive’s Southside may lead the city to examine lowering the speed limit on all the one-way streets in the neighborhood.
At its meeting on Nov. 9, the city Streets Committee was presented with a request by a resident to change the speed limit on East Benham Street from 25 mph to 15 mph.
Mayor Jerry Jimison brought forward the request on the resident’s behalf, noting their argument that the street is one-way, very narrow, and generally has lots of cars parked curbside on the street.
Councilwoman Avis Anderson, who lives on the Southside, representing Ward 2, agreed that the streets “are all very narrow on the Southside,” but the committee unanimously agreed it would be improper to change the speed limit on a single street there.
“It seems to me it would be hard to do just one of these streets this way,” said Councilman Gerald Reichert, noting that the city generally only creates 15 mph zones near schools and parks.
However, the committee also agreed that Benham and the other one-way streets in that area of the Southside – there are four of them in a row, East Bell, East Towne, East Benham and East Clement – are extremely narrow and crowded and so a lower speed limit may be warranted on all of them.
“They’re narrow, and I don’t know how you drive faster than 15 mph on that,” said Councilman Mike Dryden. “A lot of parked cars, and I don’t know how you see kids in that ... not a good thing.”
Asked his opinion, Glendive Police Chief Brad Mitchell said he thought lowering the speed limit on those one-way streets was “something we can definitely take a look at.”
Jimison suggested that Glendive Public Works get an estimate on new signage for all the one-way streets on the Southside in case the city decides to change the speed limits and the committee said they would continue to examine the issue and return to it later after Public Works and police have had time to study it and provide their measured opinion.
Councilman Rhett Coon did caution that changing the speed limit signs would only be as good as the police enforcement of it, so he said police needed to be certain they would be able to adequately patrol the area before any changes are made.
“On these streets, the signs don’t slow people down, it’s enforcement that slows them down, so I don’t know that it makes sense to change all these streets (unless there is enforcement),” Coon said.
Reach Jason Stuart at rrreporter@rangerreview.com.