A petition from residents in New Bern’s historic Riverside neighborhood has prompted the city to approve a speed limit change along National Avenue.
During their Feb. 14 meeting, the New Bern Board of Aldermen approved a request from the Historic Riverside Neighborhood Association to lower the speed limit along National Ave. between Neuse Ave. and Dunn Street from 35 mph to 25 mph.
The request was evaluated by the city’s public works department and police department, which determined that lowering the speed limit along the roadway would benefit public safety and have no negative impact on vehicular traffic movement.
A total of 89 residents signed the petition calling for the speed limit change. Among the reasons listed in the petition in favor of the change were:
– Closely spaced houses along National Ave. similar to the Ghent neighborhood and other 25 mph neighborhoods with lots of foot and car traffic.
– Family neighborhood with children playing in front yards. Lots of large trucks using the avenue can’t stop quickly if a child strays.
– 70% of houses on National Ave. do not have turn-around driveways which necessitates backing out into traffic. This hazard has produced several “close calls” as cars parked along the avenue and large trees obstruct the view of oncoming traffic. This also applies to cars entering from side streets. Slower oncoming traffic will make things much safer.
– It is a fairly narrow avenue (roughly 23 feet allotted for two-way traffic) bordered by trees very close to the road and parked cars on one side. Several accidents have resulted in parked cars being side-swiped.
– History of several automobile crashes on the avenue including overturned speeding cars.
– The City of New Bern has plans to create a bicycle trail between downtown and Martin Marietta Park along National Ave. Families with children on bicycles will appreciate the safety of slower moving cars.
Jeff Wood-Yesline, president of the Historic Riverside Neighborhood Association, told the board he found the 35 mph speed limit in the area “excessive” while noting the preponderance of children and pedestrian foot traffic along the roadway.
“The houses are very closely connected, there’s a lot of foot traffic and other neighborhoods in the city I think have a slower 25 mph speed limit,” Wood-Yesline said.
According to statistics from the NBPD, between January and September of 2022, the department recorded five auto wrecks, three of those involving injuries, as well as 23 traffic stops for excessive speeding and four hit and runs involving parked cars along the stretch of National Ave. cited in the petition.
The Riverside association also asked that speed limit and “Slow Speed Zone” signage be placed along National Ave. and that the NBPD “aggressively enforce this zone.”
By Todd Wetherington, Co-Editor. Send an email with questions or comments.