Will City Speed Limits be Capped at 30 mph?
![Village of Loxahatchee Speed Limit 30 Unless Otherwise Posted](../images/CitySpeed30.png)
However, there is a big "yeah but..." here. Reading further down, the statute contradicts itself and says that the city may make speed limits as low as 20 mph and as high as 60 mph if they can show after a speed study [2] that the speed limit change is reasonable and justified. The statute has undergone numerous revisions over the years.[3] It used to say the minimum and maximum city speed was 25 mph, now it says the maximum speed is 30, but the minimum can go down to 20 mph. Likewise, the highest speed used to be 55 mph and now its 60 mph.
The county is under similar rules. They have already done speed studies in our area and found that 40 mph is reasonable for most through streets. Whether the speed limits currently posted will be grandfathered in after a municipal takeover will likely be at the discretion of the city council. They are under no obligation to keep the current speed limits.
You might be familiar with the Okeechobee Blvd stretch that goes through Loxahatchee. Before Loxahatchee was a city, the county did speed studies on the road and set the speed to 45 mph. After Loxahatchee incorporated as a city, they reduced the speed limit to 35 mph.[4] That sort of thing can happen here as well.
Whether a 30 mph speed limit is a good thing or a bad thing depends on the individual. I have heard surprising opinions on both sides of the incorporation fence. Some say that a 25 mph limit would be safer, but others point out that to drive the entire length of The Acreage from North to South at 25 mph would take about half an hour. The latter being a detriment to people who need to be somewhere.
Written by your Neighbor, Dennis Hawkins.
References:
1. Florida Statutes & constitution. Retrieved February 5, 2023, from <url>
2. "Speed Zoning for Florida" FDOT, <url>.
3. Advisory Legal Opinion - Speed Limit Less than 25 on Local Streets & Highways, Attorney General Robert Butterworth, 1992, <url>.
4. FDOT. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2023, from <url>