Armed with the Sarasota City Commission approval to develop a citywide traffic calming plan as part of the fiscal year 2025 adopted budget, the city’s transportation planning staff has brought forth a plan to lower speed limits throughout the city.
A key component to the traffic calming plan is to set speed limits on local streets to 20 miles per hour. In some instances, that will mean raising speed limits from 15 mph to 20 in order to comply with Florida law, which restricts local jurisdictions from setting limits below that threshold. That needs to happen as soon as possible.
For county or state-maintained roads, staff recommends restricting speed limits to no faster than 35 mph, excluding interstate connectors and U.S. 301 between 17th Street and the northern city limit…