[ back ]
Burton Village tries again on lower speed limit
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - January 13, 2010)
Burton Village tries again on lower speed limit
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Burton Village is moving toward lowering the speed limit in its business district again.
Last month, Councilman Jeff Coleman called on Village Council to consider lowering the speed limit on North Cheshire Street between Ford Lane-Goodwin Avenue and Burton Square. He asked that the 35 mph zone there be reduced to 25 mph.
Mr. Coleman made the request in response to an accident that his son was involved in. He estimated that the vehicle that struck his son's car might have been going 60 mph, because, after the collision, it did not stop for another 250 feet.
About a dozen years ago, the village had a 25 mph speed limit on North Cheshire that extended from Burton Square to the Geauga County Fairgrounds to the north.
But that attempt to slow traffic was challenged in court after a speeding ticket was dismissed.
Steven Borawski, a Chardon Township trustee and street superintendent for the City of Chardon, challenged the ticket on behalf of his son, Steven Jr. Mr. Borawski said he couldn't be sure, but he believes the judge ordered the speed limit reinstated to 35 mph after his challenge.
He said his son, then 18, had been given a ticket for speeding, doing 41 mph in a 25 mph zone, on Sept. 6, 1997.
Mr. Borawski said he had just started working for the city at that time and was familiarizing himself with the state's Uniform Traffic Control Manual, which establishes the rules and regulations for the state's roadways.
He said he then drove to Burton to look at the area where his son got the ticket. There, he said, he saw a number of irregularities. A bolt was missing from one speed sign, causing it to blow back and forth with the wind, he said. He said there also seemed to be a problem with the spacing between the speed limit signs, which must be posted as certain distances, to be enforceable.
Mr. Borawski said a 25 mph speed limit sign was posted in the school zone there, which was another conflict with the state's manual. He said speed-limit signs are not supposed to be posted in school zones, because they may be confusing to drivers who have to slow to 20 mph during arrivals and departures from the school.
Mr. Borawski said he took all that information to Chardon Municipal Court for his son's appearance there. "They were not signed or maintained properly," he said. The judge, Craig Albert, agreed that the village failed to abide by the state's rules and tossed out the speeding ticket, he said.
"Believe me, we stayed out of Burton for awhile after that," Mr. Borawski said.
He said he believed that the judge may have ordered the village to restore the 35 mph zone after his son's case. But he said he couldn't be certain that it was that case that brought about the change in speed limits there.
Mr. Borawski said he still believes there is a lack of proper signs in the area. He said, when motorists leave the village, heading north, there is no sign, as there should be, telling motorists they are entering a 45 mph zone. He said state regulations require such a sign. He said he believes the sign intentionally is missing in an attempt to keep vehicles moving slower as they pass the Geauga County Fairgrounds.
In its latest attempt, Burton Village will be relying on Law Director Todd Hicks to handle the speed limit change and get it right.
[ back ]
