S.L. approves 20 mph downtown limits

Motorists will be asked to slow down as Salt Lake City leaders' vision for downtown transportation moves forward.

The Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to adopt "Downtown in Motion," the city's downtown transportation master plan, noting support for reducing the speed limit in the heart of downtown from 30 mph to 20 mph.

"It's an issue of compatibility," said Councilman Soren Simonsen, who successfully lobbied for the 20 mph speed limit instead of 25 mph, as originally proposed in the plan.

Simonsen cited studies that show pedestrians hit by cars traveling 20 mph or slower usually survive without serious injury. He also pointed out the need for motorists to slow down for the city to achieve its goals of making downtown more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly and boosting economic development.

"If we're looking at creating a healthy, safe, attractive environment downtown, that additional drop in traffic speed ... is pretty significant," Simonsen said.

Tim Harpst, Salt Lake City's transportation director, suggested that the council stick with the plan's recommended 25 mph speed limit.

"I think 20 mph is going to seem intolerable to a lot of folks," Harpst said, adding that he expects backlash from the public.

The council's action Thursday allows city transportation officials to evaluate the reduced speed. If it's determined that the 20 mph limit causes problems, such as negatively impacting efforts to synchronize traffic signals, it could be boosted to 25 mph.

The 20 mph speed limit would apply only to the core of downtown, which city officials have defined as the area bordered by North Temple, 200 East, 400 South and 500 West.

Simonsen estimated it would take motorists only 10 seconds to 15 seconds longer to travel through the core of downtown at 20 mph instead of 25 mph.

That's insignificant, he said, when compared with the difference in the mortality rate in the event of an auto-pedestrian accident.

A 1999 study by the U.S. Department of Transportation found that only 5 percent of pedestrians hit by a vehicle going 20 mph resulted in a fatality. The number increased to 45 percent at 30 mph, 80 percent at 40 mph and 100 percent at 50 mph.

"That's a significant public safety issue," Simonsen said.