Lee Town Road speed limit unchanged

A plea by Larry Miser to raise the speed limit on Lee Town Road gained no traction with the Pea Ridge City Council.

During the July 21 meeting, Miser asked aldermen to raise the speed limit from 25 mph to 35 mph on the stretch of road running east from the intersection with Arkansas Highway 72.

"I see hard-working citizens being stopped for 30 in a 25," Miser said. "I don't see the need in that."

He based the request on the fact that three other roads at the intersection are 35 mph limits.

"No need for it being 25," Miser said. "I've not seen an accident in that area in 40 years. Safety is an issue. But not a problem. There won't be a problem going 35."

Alderman Bob Cottingham noted that there was a fatality accident on that stretch of road a few years ago. Miser noted that the woman had a medical issue "and she would have died on any other (road). It had nothing to do with the speed zone."

Police Chief Ryan Walker doesn't see things the same way as Miser, saying, "I disagree we hammer hard-working citizens. We enforce guidelines and state laws. We don't force people to disobey those laws. That's their choice."

Walker presented an analysis of speeding tickets written on Lee Town Road. Walker noted that unless another circumstance is involved, officers will not write a ticket if the motorist is going significantly faster than the speed limit, typically 11 miles over.

Based on that criteria, in 2013 there were 102 tickets written; in 2014, 79; and in the first half of 2015, 75.

The police chief said that the 25 mph section is 1,885 feet long. He drove it and clocked the time difference between 25 mph and 35 mph is approximately 3 seconds. He noted that he used a stop watch and only did the test as a rough example of the time difference.

Walker also noted that the concern in the area is because there are businesses along the road, as well as a day care, people walking in the street because there are no sidewalks, and all the houses are close to the street.

Using an online program to measure from front door to the edge of the street, the average home is 50 feet from the street, while the average business is 55 feet, he said.

Comparing that to the same length of North and South Curtis (State Hwy. 72), the average house was 65 feet and the businesses were 75 to 100 feet, he said.

Mayor Jackie Crabtree asked Walker if there have been other complaints. Walker said that in the decade he's been with the city, there's been a handful each year.

"I can't say they were complaints, but there have definitely been people ask," Walker said. "Larry's probably the first person to really complain."

Aldermen agreed there is no reason to change the speed limit.

In other action, aldermen:

• Approved starting the process to place a lien on the Matthew Bedwell property that has been mowed by the city. The quarter-acre lot has been mowed twice this year. Bedwell has been notified by certified mail and by a warning published in this newspaper, but has not responded, city building official Tony Townsend said.

Slinkard noted that "There's a lot of effort coming about for not mowing your yard," when he noted that by not paying the $140 bill the owner now must pay for the city to clean it up.

• Approved a resolution authorizing architectural services of the firm of Lewis Elliot of Little Rock for designing the building that will serve as City Hall and school administration offices. The price of the work will be 3 percent of the project's total cost.

• Approved a resolution vacating an alley on North Curtis Avenue. The alley is being vacated because it only serves as a parking area for one house. The city will have to create a utility easement because services are buried in the alley.

• Discussed the Police Department receiving a 2008 Ford truck equipped for animal control. Police Chief Ryan Walker said that with the truck, officers will no longer transport stray dogs in the patrol cars. He plans to have policy changes ready for approval at the next council meeting.

Asked if he is going to have a person for the truck during the work day, Walker answered: "You pay for it and I'll put one in the truck."

He also noted that it would be good to have someone at the Police Department's front desk during business hours. He and Crabtree discussed combining this with an animal control officer's position.

General News on 07/29/2015