NDOT considering lower speed limit in Mound House

The Nevada Department of Transportation presented a plan to the Lyon County Commission during its June 20 meeting to reduce the speed limit along the U.S. 50 in Mound House from 45 mph to 35 mph.

The change would apply to 1.2 miles of U.S. 50 with a focus along the railroad bridge in Mound House to the Battle Born Dispensary, Jae Pullen, NDOT assistant director of operations, told commissioners.

A traffic study used LiDAR to track vehicle speed for cars moving more than 12 mph over the posted speed limit, pedestrian movements and conflicts within a corridor.

Pullen said in creating a speed management action plan, it takes tracking vehicles driving in a specific area, placing them in order of lowest to highest order of speed and finding the 85th percentile to determine a speed trap and examining speed harmonization. But ultimately determining the best speed limit for a roadway is more than just taking into account drivers’ average speed. Planners also look at road use, environments, bicycles and whether primary use matches intended use.

“We can’t make these decisions in a bubble,” Pullen said. “We get feedback from partners. … and we need to be consistent on how to identify troubled areas. We identify to those areas. Sometimes it’s mitigation, sometimes it’s education, sometimes it’s law enforcement support.”

The zone currently is posted at 45 mph and would be dropped so it would transition from 55 mph as a rural suburban community environment into a rural township into a 35 mph zone, he said.

But changes would be completed in multiple phases with speed limit sign replacement, portable message signs, enhanced lane markings, flashing LED signs and speed feedback signage, improved pedestrian crossings, lighting and drainage. Transverse striping will be added.

Increased law enforcement support will be necessary, he said.

“It’s not enough to throw down a sidewalk,” Pullen said. “We need to drop that speed. That’s why we are going to move forward with what we’re proposing today.”

Commissioner Scott Keller disagreed with the plan, saying lowering the limit would hurt the county’s economic growth and create more road rage by slowing traffic. The community itself also lacks certain elements such as a waterway, railway, airport and freeway to maintain certain solutions for boulevards to preserve the speed limit transitions safely, he said.

He asked if local economic authorities such as the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development and other communities had been consulted about the plan in the interest of maintaining access to commerce and thoroughfares through the county that would benefit families or employees.

“We’re looking for freeway standards, not a boulevard,” he said. “You’re going after a speed problem. The problem is access management. It’s not how people cross the road. This is going to impact the whole county. … You’re creating obstacles instead of creating solutions.”

Commissioner Wes Henderson said he thought the project should be shifted half a mile west to slow drivers to 35 mph in Carson City before they approach Mound House and team up with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office and Nevada Highway Patrol for enforcement.

“I don’t really think they need to get all the way out to the dispensary because once you get past Highlands, the residential housing goes away,” Henderson said. “You can put up all the signs you want. But good luck. We definitely need to do something out there. But the pedestrian crosswalk definitely needs to go away.”

Mound House Advisory Board Chairmember Melinda Cash during her report in Thursday’s meeting said the speed issue remains a top item of concern at monthly Citizen Advisory Board meetings. The more growth that occurs in Mound House and surrounding areas in Dayton or Carson City, the more it impacts daily traffic, she said. She requested for support from the commissioners on the speed management action plan to help keep traffic and pedestrian safety top priorities for anyone accessing the U.S. 50.

“All of our residents constantly complain on a constant basis how they can’t get out because there’s so much traffic and they’re traveling at such a high speed,” Cash said. “From Dayton to Carson City, it’s a racetrack. We have no stoplights, we have no way to slow that traffic down.”

During his presentation, Pullen said NDOT does plan to address the Mound House Advisory Board, which meets next on July 2, and other local groups.

NDOT continues collecting public input and safety data for the project in its decision to implement the speed limit reduction, according to NDOT officials.