A speed limit lament

Dead-end Frances Lane gets 20 mph limit without going through proper process

Dead-end streets usually aren’t hotbeds for speeding traffic. There’s only so far one can go, and it’s typically nowhere fast. That last part became an issue recently on Frances Lane as the City of Kokomo lowered the speed limit on the street to 20 mph and placed a radar monitor to enforce the change.

A radar monitor sat on Frances Lane following the posting of a new 20 mph speed limit this past June.

According to Kokomo Common Councilman Greg Davis – a Frances Lane resident – the lower speed limit is a welcome adjustment, even if there are still a few motorists not complying with the new limit.

“I am the vice president of the Sun Valley HOA,” said Davis. “There are 57 residents on Frances Lane, and we had our annual meeting in June 2021. The residents complained about people going too fast up and down the road when the speed limit was 30 mph.

“The majority of the people who live here are older, retired folks. They walk on the street for exercise because we have no sidewalks. The conversation was we could look into asking for sidewalks, but the Barrett Law requires the residents to pay half the cost.

“We have folks who don’t have the ability to pay that, so we talked about changing the speed limit. There was a vote taken, and unanimously they wanted the speed limit lowered, so I took that to the traffic commission.”

Davis sat on the traffic commission in 2021. He introduced the ordinance, and it passed. But there is a problem. According to Jon Pyke, director of engineering services, the legislation never made it to his department.