CITY RE-REESTABLISHES 290 SPEED LIMIT

  

The Brenham City Council has re-established the speed limit on Highway 290 through the city limits at 65 miles per hour.

At its last meeting the council set the limit at 60 miles per hour—despite recommendations from the Texas Department of Public Safety that the limit be higher from the eastern city limit to the cloverleaf at Business 290 West.

City engineer Grant Lishka told the board that a TxDOT speed study did not support a 60 mile per hour limit.

Lishka told the council that the study included TxDOT personnel timing the speed of nearly 150 vehicles during mid-week driving conditions.  That study showed an 85^th percentile speed of 69 miles per hour—meaning that the department would support a speed of 65 or 70 miles per hour.

The 69 mile per hour 85^th percentile reading caused council member Danny Goss to remark, “so what you’re saying is that that study is based law breakers.”

Lishka said if the council approved an ordinance of 60 miles per hour, then by state law, TxDOT could not replace the existing speed limit signs and people who received speeding tickets would most certainly win their case in court.

The move passed unanimously at the recommendation of city administrators.