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Ashland Street slows down Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli A pedestrian crosses busy Highway 66 at Normal Avenue in Ashland Thursday. Speed limits on the highway soon will be reduced from Normal Avenue past the intersection with Dead Indian Memorial Road. By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune ASHLAND - Speed limits will be reduced on a two-mile stretch of Highway 66 on which three pedestrian fatalities have occurred in the past decade. Most of the road is within city limits. Oregon's Transportation Commission approved the reductions on small portions of the road that are outside city limits at its meeting Wednesday in Ashland. The state traffic engineer exercised authority to change speeds on other parts that are within the city. Ashland's Traffic Safety Commission had proposed the reductions. Traffic on the highway from Normal Avenue past the intersection with Dead Indian Memorial Road will be limited to 35 mph, a 5 mph reduction. Traffic from the memorial road past Crowson Road will travel at 45 mph, a 10 mph reduction. Two of the fatalities and a 1999 pedestrian-vs.-car accident that sent a mother and her 7-month-old boy to the hospital occurred where westbound drivers come over the crest of a railroad overpass near Faith Avenue. "We partnered with Oregon Department of Transportation to put up flashing pedestrian signs at the site," said Jim Olson, city engineering services manager. The intersection of East Main Street, Oak Knoll Drive and Highway 66 falls within the new 35 mph limit. "We have more accidents there than any other area," said Olson. Pedestrians who cross the highway between the Tolman Creek Road and YMCA Way intersections with Highway 66 may benefit from the speed cut. Olson said residents from developments north of the highway have requested a crossing between the intersections. He said such marked crossings might give pedestrians a false sense of security. New speed limit signs will go up in about three weeks to a month, said Paul Davis, traffic investigation coordinator with ODOT. Davis said the agency was concerned about traffic accidents at the Dead Indian Memorial Road intersection. "We've established the 45 mph transition zone to slow drivers down before they get to the 35 zone," said Davis. ODOT studied accident records for a three-year period through 2000. It also monitored speeds on the highway and looked at roadside development to prepare its recommendation. Highway 66 is also called the Greensprings Highway. The portion from Siskiyou Boulevard to East Main Street is known as Ashland Street. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.