Town giving drivers time to get used to new speeds
Post your potholes in “Fall Fill-In”
By MIKE WILLIAMS
The Patriot
Drivers in the Town of Pulaski are getting used to new speed limits at the entrances to the town. They’ll get a little more time to do so before town police begin cracking down on speeders.
Town Manager Darlene Burcham told council Tuesday town staff has placed flags on some of the new speed limit signs on Route 99 and Route 11 in an effort to draw drivers’ attention to the new speeds.
Burcham told council the town will eventually start issuing speeding tickets to those who don’t abide by the new reduced speeds.
“We will advise people when that is going to happen,” Burcham said. “Right now, they (police) are issuing warnings, and we’ll probably go to warning tickets. Our goal is not to make money off this. Our goal is to have our people safe and drive safely.”
Burcham and members of council noted the number of comments received from the public on the new speeds, and how many of them have not been complimentary.
Mayor Shannon Collins passed along a comment on the reduced speed on Route 11 in the area of LewisGale Hospital Pulaski, and the idea of raising the speed in that area back to 45 mph.
Burcham said she had heard the same comments.
“But, I think we need to give time for people to get used to the 35 miles per hour,” Burcham said. “And I think once they get used to it they will see its value and I believe we will have fewer accidents in our town, and I think our town will be better received by the public. But we have to kind of bear with this initial reaction that everybody has to change.”
She mentioned that people are now saying they like the four-way stop at the intersection of Randolph Avenue and Main Street because they have gotten used to it.
“So, just everyone be patient for just a little bit longer and let us see if this doesn’t in the long run serve our community well,” Burcham asked.
On another issue, Burcham told council of an idea she had involving potholes – something else that usually brings in comments from citizens.
It’s being called the “Fall Fill-In,” and involves filling potholes around the town. Town citizens may, through Monday, Oct. 24, identify or “adopt” a pothole in the town by responding to the town’s website or its Facebook page.
On Oct. 25, crews will begin going out to fill the potholes.
Burcham said the work needs to be done soon before asphalt plants close in mid-November.
October 25, 2022 @ 3:29 pm
Apparently I and a lot more Pulaski County citizens have had our heads buried in the sand for quite a while now. I’m speaking about the new “Slam the brakes on” change in the town speed limits. What new industry or conditions have changed so drastically as to warrant the new drastic speed reductions within the town of Pulaski. Were the citizens creating a greater increase in accidents, was the posted limits insufficient for such a quickly growing retail / industrial presence, and what caused the person / persons to feel like such drastic reductions were needed especially since the prior limits seemed to be addressing the traffic sufficiently ?