HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. - Drivers on two Holts Summit roads will soon need to slow down - at least a little.
Following petitions from residents on Skyview Drive and Capitol View Drive, Callaway County commissioners agreed Friday to lower the speed limit on those roads from 35 mph to 25 mph.
"All county roads have a 35 mph speed limit unless otherwise marked," Commissioner Randy Kleindienst explained.
However, those two roads are dead-ends lined with houses, where children often play.
"I'm familiar with those roads and how many children play in those yards," Commissioner Roger Fischer said. "I don't think 35 mph is the proper limit there."
The motion to lower the limit passed unanimously.
As required by statute, the county will seek a court order to officially change the limit.
Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann said he understood merely changing the limit won't automatically stop speeders from zipping down the two roads. However, he said, it will empower law enforcement to enforce a safer speed.
Sidewalk improvements
In other county business, commissioners voted to approve sidewalk improvements on the section of 4th Street sidewalk that runs along the Callaway County Courthouse.
"It's pitted and it has ADA (Americans with Disability Act) issues," Jungermann said.
The improvements will be completed as part of the City of Fulton's wider sidewalk improvement project, which will help keep the cost down. Doing work on sidewalks along brick roads tends to be expensive, Jungermann said. The cost to the county for the project is estimated at $64,515.
"It needs to happen," Kleindienst said.
The commission plans on waiting until a stretch of above-freezing weather to begin the project. Jungermann hopes this will prevent the sidewalk from being impassible for days on end.
Fischer abstained from the vote, as he has family ties with the company contracted to carry out the sidewalk improvements.