Drivers be forewarned: The speed limit on a busy Wilmington road is being reduced.
A portion of Wrightsville Avenue will see its speed limit lowered from 45 mph to 35 mph.
The Wilmington City Council on Sept. 1 adopted an ordinance to change the speed limit for a section of Wrightsville Avenue between Military Cutoff Road and Southerland Avenue. Both the first reading of the ordinance and a motion to waive a second reading passed, 7-0, at City Hall at Skyline Center.
The action was taken at the request of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Since the road is maintained by the Department of Transportation and within the city’s municipal limits, a concurring ordinance was required.
Bob Hammond, a Department of Transportation traffic engineering
technician, stated in a letter to the city that the 45 mph speed limit for a 0.511-mile stretch on the westerly end of Wrightsville Avenue needs to be repealed. “The 0.36-mile-long remainder of the road, to US 74/76 (Eastwood Road), has a statutory speed limit of 35 mph,” he wrote.
The City Council voted to reduce the speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph for that smaller part of Wrightsville Avenue on May 6, 2014.
The ordinance will be effective upon its adoption by the Department of Transportation and subject to the erection of the appropriate signs.
As a result of this action, the entirety of Wrightsville Avenue will have a 35 mph speed limit.
All streets in the city limits default to a speed limit of 35 mph unless otherwise posted.
The City Council on May 15, 2018, delegated many responsibilities in the traffic schedules to the city manager to adopt administratively, however, the council retained the responsibility for setting speed limits.
Bob Liepa is the city of Wilmington and public safety reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at RLiepa@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: This busy Wilmington road will see a lower speed limit
