Speed Limit raised in 86 Counties, lowered in 8

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a.. State lowers Houston's speed limit to 55 to clean up air

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Dec. 14, 2001, 12:56AM

Panel OKs 55 mph limit in area to reduce smog

By RAD SALLEE

Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN -- City life is supposedly fast-paced, but motorists in the

Houston area will soon have to slow down. Meanwhile, out in the jackrabbit flats

of South and West Texas, drivers will be stomping the pedal harder than ever

before.

The Texas Transportation Commission voted Thursday to adopt a

maximum speed limit of 55 mph throughout the eight-county Houston area.

The so-called environmental speed limit is intended to reduce

concentrations of ground-level ozone in the air. The pollutant is a chief cause

of smog, and Houston rivals Los Angeles as the nation's smog capital.

The measure was approved 2-0, with Commissioner Ric on

abstaining because he owns property on one of the affected roadways.

Ironically, the commission also voted 3-0 to make 86 of the state's

254 counties eligible for a 75-mph limit -- the fastest speed that Texans have

ever driven legally in their own state.

The current limit of 70 mph applies to many highways statewide,

including several in the Houston area. All 86 counties eligible for the higher

limit are sparsely populated, and none is near Houston.

The transportation commission, chaired by W. " ny "

of Houston, sets policy for the Texas Department of Transportation.

The 55-mph limit will apply to , Montgomery, Fort Bend,

Galveston, Brazoria, Liberty, Chambers and Waller counties.

It is one of several controversial measures scheduled for adoption

in Houston as part of the state's plan for meeting federal air quality standards

by a 2007 deadline.

The plan, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved in

October, also calls for a tougher program to test tailpipe emissions and a

drastic 90 percent reduction in industrial emissions of ozone-forming nitrogen

oxide.

Air quality models used by state pollution regulators show that at

speeds around 55 mph certain kinds of pollutants are at their lowest levels,

said , director of traffic operations for the transportation

department.

" When you drive faster, " said, " the amounts of those

pollutants increase, " even though one's destination may be reached more quickly.

But skeptics say the reduced speed limit will have little effect on

air quality in Houston, largely because much of the vehicular pollution comes

from stop-and-go, rush-hour traffic.

In recent years, Houston has rivaled Los Angeles as the metro area

with the nation's most severe ozone problem. A network of local monitoring

stations showed at least one site exceeded the ozone standards of the federal

Clean Air Act on 32 days this year.

These numbers peaked in 1988 at 71 days. The lowest figure was 28

days in violation, recorded in 1996.

Under Texas law, the new speed limit will take legal effect on a

given stretch of road as soon as the signs there are changed.

" Obey the signs you see " -- regardless of what one may have heard or

read, advised.

Changing the signs will be a big job, he said, because there are

more than 4,000 speed limit signs on 1,677 miles of state-maintained highway in

the Houston area. The estimated cost is about $1 million, he said.

" That's a lot of road and a lot of signs, " said commissioner

Nichols of ville.

Janelle Gbur, the department's Houston spokeswoman, said the work

will begin in late January and must be finished by a May 1 deadline under the

smog plan.

said the reduced speed limit will also apply to roads

maintained by cities and counties, which will change their own signs.

The department will coordinate the replacement so motorists won't

have to " hopscotch " from one speed limit to another along a route, said.

This will require careful planning because some Houston area roads

fall under several different maintenance supervisors in the transportation

department. Interstate 45, for example, passes through five of these zones, Gbur

said.

said the 75-mph limit, authorized this year in legislation

sponsored by state Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, will not be adopted on a given

road until the department has done traffic and engineering studies to show such

speeds would be safe there.

The higher limit will not apply to 18-wheelers or commercial

truckers, and the night speed limit will remain 65 mph.

Taking up another controversial issue, the commission authorized six

public meetings statewide, including one in Houston Jan. 18, to hear public

comment on a new policy against building frontage roads on freeways.

and Nichols said the issue has brought them more phone calls

and letters than any other in their time on the panel.

" There's a lot of concern and fear out there " about the policy's

economic effects, Nichols said. Although most states do not have frontage roads,

in Texas they are major centers of business activity lined with strip malls,

chain restaurants and sprawling car lots.

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[Guest guest]

Would anyone other than me like to write and discuss the EMS problems

in these same areas? These areas are where the EMS is in critical

condition if not collapsed (like Sierra Blanca/Hudspeth County).

Realize a major stretch of Texas HAZMAT INTERSTATE route from El Paso

to San falls under this new law. From experience I can tell

you that there aren't enough highway patrol to keep the truckers from

speeding through that. And that the number of accidents on the

interstate due to people falling asleep at the wheel will not

decrease just because they can go faster. Please everyone, this is

important..help me bring this issue into the forefront. AS long as it

is just me complaining to Petey Gallego (as he is not so

affectionately known as in W. Texas) he can ignore me and not respond

to the EMS (and fire in some areas) problems, but if we all write

/call..WE CAN MAKE AN IMPACT!

I have all the accident/fatality data for all texas counties from TX

DPS from 1990-1999 (2000 is not available yet) and a graph of the

counties I have worked with. It is easy to make a chart with this

information. Let me know what counties you need and the operating

system you have and I can a try to fix you up..barring that I can walk

you through making one. We can also do powerpoint (Word) or

presentations (Corel), shich I may try to start at lunch today.

Or you can e-mail TXDPS and request your own It comes via the mail so

you have to input the numbers. Let me know and I can send you an

address.

This appears to be a fine stage to make your presence felt. Ron, do

you know the commitee to approach (contact information) to be heard

and the deadline for discussion? I'll try to pull a sample letter

together soon and post it here for those who might benefit,

Raina Dodson LP, M.S.

> Ironically, the commission also voted 3-0 to make 86 of

the state's 254 counties eligible for a 75-mph limit -- the fastest

speed that Texans have ever driven legally in their own state.

>

> The current limit of 70 mph applies to many highways

statewide, including several in the Houston area. All 86 counties

eligible for the higher limit are sparsely populated, and none is near

Houston.

>

> The transportation commission, chaired by W.

" ny " of Houston, sets policy for the Texas Department of

Transportation.

>

>

> said the 75-mph limit, authorized this year in

legislation sponsored by state Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, will not

be adopted on a given road until the department has done traffic and

engineering studies to show such speeds would be safe there.

>

> The higher limit will not apply to 18-wheelers or

commercial truckers, and the night speed limit will remain 65 mph.

>

>