OREM — On certain city roads, there is a need for speed — or at least higher speed limits, the Orem City Council decided Tuesday.

In August, the elected panel agreed to a nine-month trial of higher speed limits on several city roads, resolving that if speeds did not increase more than an average of 3 miles per hour, the limits would remain.

The last trial study concluded in June, and none of the average speeds on the streets increased more than 2.1 mph.

Opponents of the limit increases were mostly concerned that the higher limits would lead to much faster driving on the roads.

The studies seem to dispel that notion, however.

"The data shows that the highest increase was on 800 East, and that was 2.1 miles an hour," said Chris Tschirki, Orem's traffic engineer. "Everywhere else it was lower, and sometimes even a reduction in speed, so I wouldn't anticipate much opposition."

Tschirki said speed limits are typically established within 5 mph of the 85th percentile speed, or the speed at or below the rate 85 percent of drivers typically drive.

"When that's done, then the flow of traffic is consistent, and you don't have a long stream of cars backed up behind one individual vehicle," he said.

Tschirki said the impetus for changing the speed limits was safety.

"In the past, we've had some problems with drivers becoming impatient or irritable and as a result, making bad decisions — choosing to pass other drivers ahead of them because they were strictly obeying the posted speed limit," he said.

Many other cities rely solely on traffic engineers to set speed limits.

Tschirki said the approval process was at times frustrating but there was a silver lining — a better understanding at City Hall and in neighborhoods about how speed limits should be determined.

"We feel like we've gone through an extensive education process where the council and general public has become better acquainted with how speed limits should be established in a safe manner," he said.

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