Speed limits drop on two county roads

Speed limits were dropped on a pair of Whitman County roads Monday by county commissioners. Commissioners approved speed limit reductions on Hayward and Sunshine roads, both near Pullman, from 50 to 35 mph at the request of landowners along those roads.

The Hayward Road speed change was approved on a spilt vote, with Commissioner Pat O’Neill dissenting. He sided with the request by Cheryl Morgan, whose house is on Hayward Road, that the speed limit be lowered to 15 miles per hour.

Hayward Road is a dead end gravel road at the northwest edge of Pullman, near the city’s water treatment plant.

Morgan said fast-moving traffic presents a dangerous situation in the neighborhood with children and pets living in houses alongside the road.

Public Works Director Mark Storey said creating an especially low speed limit on one county road could open the flood gates on a string of similar requests from residents on similarly used roads.

That would hamper the flow of transportation, he said.

The speed limit on Sunshine Road was reduced because of the increasing number of residents who have moved into the area. A housing cluster has developed on Sunshine Road after the passage of the county’s cluster residential ordinance in 2004.

The Sunshine Road vote was unanimous.