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The speed limits around West Jefferson have been falling in
recent weeks. The trend was initiated by the
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Speed Limit Ordinance passed by the West Jefferson Board of
Alderman at their Aug. 7, 2008, meeting. Since the meeting,
the speed limits on several residential streets have been lowered
to 20 miles per hour (mph), while the speed limit on the stretch
of South Jefferson Avenue between the State Employee's Credit
Union and Highway 221 has been lowered from 45 mph to 35 mph.
The ordinance was conceived after the West Jefferson Police
Department sent out a survey and 75 percent of the returned
surveys "expressed a concern for more speed enforcement,"
according to Chief Brian Gorgan.
Grogan stated in a press release that "officers will be
in those and other areas using radar and issuing citations.
The fines for speeding range from $146 to $171 and could be
more, or there could be a mandatory court appearance under certain
circumstances. This is not including the increased expense that
can be on your auto insurance or even worse, such as injury
or death from a crash."
The department is currently participating in the No Need 2 Speed
program, a statewide campaign led by the North Carolina Highway
Safety Program.
"Greater attention will be put toward speed enforcement,"
said Grogan. He noted that the department appreciates those
citizens that voluntarily slow down accordingly, and that the
efforts are all for the safety of citizens.
-Joel Frady
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