Slow down, or maybe not | IN OUR OPINION

Published 12:00 pm Sunday, February 14, 2016

City officials will be considering reducing speed limits on streets and roads across the island, but the devil — or the delight — may be in the details.

We’re anxious to hear the details on the proposed changes, as well as clear evidence that supports the need to change speed limits on several of the streets under consideration.

A quick look at the traffic report prepared by Perteet, for example, suggests that the existing 35 mph limit on Eagle Harbor Drive NE be dropped to 30.

The report notes that four collisions were reported on Eagle Harbor Drive NE in 2011-2012.

The accidents cited, however, can all easily be attributed to the drivers themselves and not to the speed limit. The four accidents included a driver who hit a deer; another driver who went off the road; another driver who lost control after hitting ice; and a driver who backed out and hit a telephone pole.

A lower speed limit likely would not have prevented any of these accidents.

Elsewhere, recommendations for lower limits have been suggested due to perceived conflicts between bicyclists and motorists, or narrow roadways.

Biking and walking enthusiasts have long lobbied for lower speed limits on Bainbridge, as well as separated walkways and bike paths.

But those desires aren’t easily achieved when people place a high value on tree-lined roadways, or narrow streets that evoke a more rural character.

We’re also aware that many residents in neighborhoods along Highway 305 want speed limits lowered in an attempt to reduce the short-cutters who use those roadways when the highway is crammed with ferry traffic.

Lowered speed limits, however, are not a cure-all for those problems. Police reports show many of the injury accidents on Bainbridge involving bicyclists are due to the bikers themselves (going too fast down island hills, not watching out for gravel or other debris along the roadway, and so on). And lowering the speed limit on some shortcut routes, we fear, will only result in a long line of commuters, moving slower, of course, through island neighborhoods (25 mph on a shortcut route is still faster than going 5 mph during gridlock times on the 305).

We hope that city officials, if they do adjust speed limits, will take the needs of the motoring public into account when evaluating any changes.