Well, that was fast. Councilmembers Muriel Bowser and Tommy Wells have tabled their proposal to reduce the residential street speed limit from 25 to 15 miles per hour. “My constituents asked me to take a step back and I listened. But, there still needs to be more done to advance pedestrian safety,” said Bowser in a statement.

Instead, there will be an eight-month study of speeding and pedestrian safety in Wards 4 and 6.

Full release after the jump.

Bowser and Wells table speed limit bill pending safety review

Today, Councilmembers Bowser and Wells withdrew their proposal to reduce residential speed limits to 15 miles per hour.

“My constituents asked me to take a step back and I listened. But, there still needs to be more done to advance pedestrian safety,” said Ms. Bowser.

The Pedestrian Safe Streets Speed Limit Amendment Act was introduced on November 1^st. Designed to reduce traffic speed and increase safety while promoting pedestrian and bicycle activities, the bill would have aligned many neighborhood streets with the speed limits in school zones.

Instead of moving forward with the measure, Councilmembers Bowser and Wells have negotiated an expanded pedestrian safety pilot program to include Wards 4 and 6. The Pilot will last for 8 months and will study speeding on targeted residential streets. The Department of Transportation will monitor road conditions, pedestrian activity, speeding, and determine how to best make our streets safer for everyone.

“The pilot study is a great first step to improving the safety of our streets,” said Bowser. If it turns out there is a need for legislation, we’ll revisit the bill at another time. The goal here is safety for pedestrians; one way or another.”

MPD is addressing speeding concerns on a major arterial as well with the deployment of a mobile speed camera on upper 16th street.

Image via Wikimedia Commons