Gunter Gal Column - Gunter's Speed Limits?

Dear Gunter Gal,

The speed limits in town changed unexpectedly recently. And the new speed limits don’t make any sense. The new school zone limit is higher than the previous one just down the road. Why were they changed and who came up with the new speed limits?

Signed,

Pushing the Limits

Dear Pushing,

I know what you mean……one morning I pulled out onto Hwy. 289 and was greeted by one of the new speed limit signs. I checked with Mayor Mark Millar to find out what had happened.

To answer the second part of your question first, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) determines the speed limit on Hwy. 289. So, the City of Gunter has no voice in the process.

According to Millar, the subject of speed limits came up quite some time ago when Gunter’s new Elementary School was about to open. Gunter ISD contacted the City to request that the school zone be moved from the old Elementary School to the new one. The City contacted TxDOT’s District Office who sent a traffic engineer to Gunter to perform a traffic study. They recorded traffic information along Hwy. 289 for approximately three days.

Millar said, “Texas state law requires TxDOT to set speed limits within no more than five mph based on the traffic study conducted. Gunter’s study determined that the speed limits should be higher in some sections and lower in others. “

School zone speed limits can not be less than 15 mph under that section of road’s regular speed limit. Thus, when TxDOT raised the speed limit of that section of Hwy. 289 to 50 mph, the school zone’s maximum speed became 35 mph. So the location of the new school versus the previous site doesn’t have any bearing on the new school zone speed limit.

By the way, kudos to the Gunter Police Department for monitoring that section of Hwy. 289 very closely to enforce the new school zone speed limits!

As I mentioned,TxDOT has the right to determine and post the new speed limit signs in Gunter. The City of Gunter does have the right to not adopt them, but if they don’t, then the City and its Police Department cannot enforce them. Thus, if the speed limits are not adopted by the City then Gunter would essentially have no speed limits whatsoever along Hwy. 289.

Do you have a burning question about Gunter or the surrounding area? ;-) Write me at GunterGal@GCECisp.com.