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📸 Credit: Batavia MainStreet
During its meeting on Nov. 16, the Batavia City Council is expected to vote on lowering the speed limit to 20 MPH on downtown streets that aren’t already set at 20.
Staff note in city documents that creating a consistent 20 MPH speed limit downtown can help improve pedestrian safety and contribute to the pedestrian-oriented character of the area.
A bigger change could come after that. During the Nov. 10 Committee of the Whole meeting, several officials expressed support for reducing residential speed limits across the city from 30 MPH to 25 MPH.
Here’s what to know:
Downtown at 20 MPH: The ordinance would add a 20 MPH speed limit to North Avenue, N. Island Avenue, Shumway Avenue, Flinn Street, N. River Street, and part of State Street. Stretches of First, Water, and Houston streets are already 20 MPH. New signs will likely go up within a couple of weeks.
Residential streets possibly next: A new state law lets Illinois towns lower speed limits on residential streets they control without first doing a traffic study. Staff proposed 25 MPH on local streets and on smaller roads that mostly serve neighborhoods. Some officials want busier roads, like Pine and McKee, changed to 25 MPH as well.
The legal side: In a memo from the law firm Drendel & Jansons, attorneys wrote that while Batavia has the power to lower limits, doing so could open the city up to liability because previous traffic studies supported the current speed limits on many streets.
The price tag: Switching to a citywide speed limit would mean replacing more than 300 speed limit signs and adding several hundred more. A 2024 evaluation estimated that each replacement would cost $200 and each new sign would cost $300.
City documents note that Geneva has had a 25 MPH limit on most residential streets for decades and serves as a useful comparison.
Based on feedback from City Council, staff is expected to further investigate details and costs associated with the proposal to change to a 25 MPH residential speed limit and return with recommendations.
Read more about the proposed citywide speed limit speed limit reduction and the proposed downtown speed limit changes.
Watch the full meeting recording.
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