By Chris Spangler
The Fort Atkinson City Council has reduced the speed limit on Banker Road from 45 miles per hour to 35.
According to city officials, signs with the new speed limit have been placed, with the new limit officially taking effect Monday, Feb. 7.
During its regular meeting Feb. 1, the council amended the municipal code to lower the Banker Road speed limit to 35 mph. It calls for adding signage with the new posted speed limit near the road’s intersection with Hoard Road and the high school campus.
City engineer and Director of Public Works Andy Selle noted in a memo that said that city staff recommended the change due to the well-traveled nature of the road, which provides access to Fort Atkinson High School.
Further, Selle pointed out that Banker Road has a significant hill that potentially could limit a driver’s line of sight just north of the intersection with Campus Drive.
He reminded the council of a fatality at the intersection of Campus Drive and Banker Road in 2014.
Selle said that the recent annexation of Banker Road into the City of Fort Atkinson from Hoard Road to Campus Drive made it possible to move forward with a proposal to reduce the speed.
The city’s Transportation and Traffic Review Committee recommended that the council approve the ordinance.
The council held a first reading of the ordinance on Jan. 18. On Feb. 1, it held the second reading and waived the third, adopting the speed-limit change.
The graphic above shows placement of new speed limit signs placed along Banker Road. As of Monday, Feb. 7, the speed limit on the section of the road within the Fort Atkinson city limits is 35 miles per hour. Contributed graphic.
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Wish they would have done this eight years ago and maybe that fatality could have been avoided.