Mason City is looking into purchasing some special new speed limit signs for residential neighborhoods where parents have raised concerns about people ignoring the posted speed limit. City Administrator Brent Trout is pitching the idea of specialized signs that are orange, and not only have the speed limit on them, but words that encourage motorists to think about their speed.
He says they are looking at purchasing a dozen new speed limit signs that also have words like “kid friendly” on them.
Residents of one neighborhood asked the council this week to place stop signs at an intersection in an attempt to solve the issue.
But, city engineer Mark Rahm says decades of study throughout the United States by a number of organizations shows that stop signs shouldn’t be used to slow down traffic. He says the stop signs don’t control speed, they are designed to get people to stop. The council unanimously turned down the stop sign request after a city study of the area showed there was no need for a stop sign to be placed at that intersection.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City