Landis to discuss speed limits Monday

Published 12:00 am Sunday, November 6, 2016

By Rebecca Rider

rebecca.rider@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — On Monday, Landis residents will get a chance to have their say about two proposed ordinances which would affect speed and traffic in the town. The town will hold two public hearings as part of its monthly Board of Aldermen meeting. The two ordinances, one concerning speed limits on certain roads and the other concerning slow-moving vehicles, were first proposed at the board’s Oct. 3 meeting.

The first public hearing will be regarding a lower speed limit on South Main Street. In August, Landis made a request to lower the speed limit on several town roads from 45 mph to 35 mph in order to allow golf carts and other low-speed vehicles to travel within the city limits.

According to law, low-speed vehicles are not allowed to exceed speeds of more than 27 mph and may not travel on roads with a posted speed limit greater than 35 mph.

The board approved the changes and the ordinance at its Aug. 5 meeting, and the town took the changes to the Department of Transportation for approval. The Department of Transportation approved a repeal of the speed limits, necessary before a new speed limit could be set, on two roads — West Ryder Avenue between Mount Moriah Church Road and Bloom Street and on South Main Street.

Only one of the roads was in the original ordinance. The board did not take South Main Street into consideration in the issue, but the speed limit on the road is split by lane. Cars traveling northbound on South Main Street may travel up to 45 mph, while cars traveling south have a 35 mph speed limit as they leave Landis. The department’s repeal means that the town will have to tweak its pre-existing ordinance.

The Department of Transportation denied town requests to change the speed limits on Mount Moriah Church Road and Kimball Road.

The second ordinance up for a public hearing Monday was proposed during the same meeting. In October, Police Chief Bob Wood also proposed an ordinance that would require vehicles traveling slower than 10 miles below the posted speed limit to pull over at the first available spot and allow traffic to flow. The request for the ordinance comes after railway construction has shut down all but one of the town’s crossings and construction of an underpass has clogged town streets with heavy, slow-moving equipment.

The board will meet on Monday at 7 p.m. in Landis Town Hall, 312 S Main St., Landis.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.