The speed limit will be changing on two roads in St. Joseph Township.
Berrien County Road Department Traffic Safety Supervisor Michael Juengling tells us speed studies were done in 2019 on Miami Road from Napier Avenue to Woodward and May Street from the Benton Harbor city limit to Woodward. They found the current 25 mile per hour speed limit is too low.
“The current 25 miles per hour posting is not legal,” Juengling. “The speed limit law changed in 2006, and it changed the way that we can do speed limits. So, we have to do another study and set a proper speed limit.”
Juengling says the study found 85% of drivers on those two stretches of road go about 40 miles per hour.
The state law has an 85th percentile rule which says the speed limit should resemble the speed that drivers actually go. Therefore, Juengling says the current limit can’t remain in place.
A new speed study is being conducted now, and when it’s done, the road department will apply to the state for a new speed limit. It’s likely to be 40.
