This legislative proposal would make it easier to change speed limits near Texas homes
A pair of bills from Texas lawmakers could potentially give cities the power to lower speed limits in residential areas without conducting traffic studies.
Senate Bill 1663 and House Bill 2224 have both been introduced and read at the 88th Texas Legislative Session. There hasn’t been a vote yet.
Both bills give local municipalities the power to lower speed limits without first conducting an engineering and traffic study. Here’s what we know:
SB 1663
This bill gives local city government the power to lower speed limits to 20 mph in a residential area, without having to perform a traffic study.
“The governing body of a municipality, for a highway or a part of a highway in the municipality that is not an officially designated or marked highway or road of the state highway system, may declare a lower speed limit of not less than 20 miles per hour, if the governing body determines that the prima facie speed limit on the highway is unreasonable or unsafe,” the bill reads.
Under the bill, local municipalities would not be required to perform an engineering or traffic investigation to declare a lower speed limit if it was located in a residential area.
HB 2224
The House bill is nearly identical to SB 1663, however, it states that cities can only lower the speed limit to 25 mph in residential areas.
“The governing body of a municipality, for a highway or a part of a highway in the municipality that is not an officially designated or marked highway or road of the state highway system, may declare a lower speed limit of not less than 25 miles per hour, if the governing body determines that the prima facie speed limit on the highway is unreasonable or unsafe,” the bill reads.
Again, under HB 2224, local municipalities would not be required to perform an engineering or traffic investigation to declare a lower speed limit if it was located in a residential area.
What does this mean for speed limit laws in Texas?
Under current Texas Transportation Code section 545.356, it’s a lengthy process to change a speed limit in a residential area.
Texas speed limits are set at 30 mph for residential areas, 15 mph for alleys, 70 mph on highways and 60 mph on spaces between residential areas and highways, according to Transportation Code section 545.352.
If city governments want to change a speed limit in a residential area they have to:
- Determine the speed limit for the residential area is unreasonable or unsafe.
- Undergo an engineering and traffic investigation on the area.
- Have the city council adopt the change.
- Post new speed limit signs in the area with the updated speed.
Under either SB 1663 or HB 2224, city governments would be able to skip the step of conducting an engineering and traffic investigation, which could take weeks or months to complete.
Once the city government determines the pseed limit in a residential area is unsafe, it would go to the city council for a vote.
Do reduced speed limits help keep pedestrians safe?
Tarrant County saw over 1,000 crashes in 2021 — 24 of them being fatal, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
A study by the American Automobile Association, estimated the risk of severe injury or death for pedestrians struck by a vehicle in the United States. The results show the average risk of a severe injury is:
- 10% at an impact of 16 mph.
- 25% at an impact of 23 mph.
- 50% at an impact of 31 mph.
- 75% at 39 mph.
- 90% at 46 mph.
The same study also looked at the average risk of death at:
- 10% at an impact of 23 mph.
- 25% at an impact of 32 mph.
- 50% at an impact of 42 mph.
- 75% at an impact of 50 mph.
- 90% at an impact of 58 mph.
