Albion lowers speed limit on McKinstry to 25 mph to increase pedestrian safety

Photo by Tom Rivers: McKinstry Street is a popular route for school kids in the mornings and afternoons.

ALBION – The Albion Village Board agreed on Wednesday to reduce the speed limit on McKinistry Street from 30 to 25 miles per hour. That limit will go on McKinstry from East Avenue to East State Street, and will be in effect the same time as the school zone, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on school days.

Trustee Greg Bennett led the effort to lower the speed limit. He said McKinstry is a popular route for students walking to school in the morning and at home in the afternoon.

He wanted the speed to drop to 20 miles per hour but village attorney John Gavenda advised against that, saying the state’s Vehicle and Traffic Law suggests keeping a village speed limit at no lower than 25 miles per hour. A school zone limit can be lower but a school zone needs to be right in front of a school building. McKinstry is a side street near the school.

Bennett said signs about the lower speed limit and enforcement should bring down the speeds and keep pedestrians safer.

Jay Pahura, the DPW superintendent for the village, said pedestrians often walk in the street with earbuds and don’t try to get out of the way of traffic, including village snow plow trucks.

“A lot of the kids don’t get out of the road,” Pahura said during the Village Board meeting.

Bennett said parents and the kids need to do their part with safety on the street. He said the village is doing right by reducing the speed limit.

“We’re trying to slow down the traffic on a busy road,” he said. “It sends a message as a village because there is a lot of foot traffic there.”