Reduced speed limits, new stops signs coming to Carmel on Monday or Tuesday

New stop signs and reduced speed limits are going to affect traffic on several Carmel streets.

Carmel City Councilman Joe Griffiths recommended that the speed limits on parts of River Road be lowered, and that a 20-mph limit be maintained in the Northwood Hills subdivision.

The council approved all the changes 7-0 Monday.

The posted speed limit in Northwood Hills is 20 mph, but Griffiths said there isn't an ordinance in place to support it. The engineering department and homeowner association studied the traffic, he said.

"They didn't want the speed limit to go up to the standard 25 mph," he said. "They would love to have it stay at 20 mph."

On River Road between 116th and 122nd streets, the limit is 35 mph. But "the average speed is 35 to 45," Griffiths said. "We want to change that to 30 mph. That's the recommendation by the engineering department."

From 122nd to 126th streets, the speed limit already is 30 mph, then it rises to 35 mph from 126th to Haverton Way, Griffiths explained in advocating that the 30-mph limit be used along both stretches for consistency.

Continuing north along River Road, from Haverton Way to 146th Street, the speed limit is 45 mph, though drivers travel at 40 to 50 mph, even with a school nearby, Griffiths said. He recommended the limit be lowered there to 40 mph.

Councilman Rick Sharp requested that four stop signs, used during construction on the west side of the city, be re-established for public safety, and the council also approved that proposal unanimously. The temporary signs were put for projects that included the construction of a roundabout at 136th Street and Spring Mill Road, said spokeswoman Nancy Heck.

Stop signs will be added to northbound and southbound lanes of Versailles and Shakamac drives where they intersect with Wyndotte Drive.

The stop signs and reduced speed limit signs likely will be set in place on Monday or Tuesday, Heck said.