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Commit to the Limit July 30, 2018, 4:18 pmJulie Beck is one of those people. After complaining to the city council about the issue, she volunteered to chair a committee to do something about speeding. Beck met with the police chief, city manager and school district personnel. She also studied the issue extensively and shared her findings with the city council at its May 22 meeting. Beck said that if a pedestrian was hit at 20 mph, there was a 10 percent chance of fatality while if they were hit at 50 mph, there was a 90 percent chance of fatality. . At 20 mph, a driver has time to think and time to brake, she said. At just 32 mph, the stopping distance is 87 feet. "Motorist/pedestrian accidents are 100 percent avoidable," she said. To aid in this effort Beck has come up with a campaign called Commit to the Limit where local residents are being asked to sign a pledge committing to drive at or below posted speed limits within Alpine. Beck said the National Transportation Safety Board recommends three points for traffic calming: 1) a high level of citizen engagement which required a personal commitment and holding each other accountable; 2) enforcement with stops signs and citations, and 3) engineering solutions including signage, road painting, and stop signs. Police Chief Brian Gwilliam said he appreciated the effort Beck had put into this campaign to limit speeding in Alpine. The state legislature passed a bill earlier in the year that limited the number of citations that could be written so it would be helpful if people committed to driving the speed limit voluntarily, he said. That night Mayor Troy Stout, the members of the city council and numerous people in attendance at the meeting signed personal pledges. "You should expect to see additional police enforcement right away," Stout said in his June message. "We've discussed adding money to our budget for additional officers, only focused on Alpine speeders. It's hard to maintain the quiet, small-town feel of our community when so many drivers seem to be trying to reenact the pod races in "Star Wars" or the chase scenes in "Dukes of Hazard." Those interested in helping with this effort should email committothelimit@gmail.com. The community news source for Eagle Mountain Utah, Saratoga Springs Utah, Lehi Utah, American Fork Utah, Highland Utah, Alpine Utah, and The Cedar Valley, including Cedar Fort Utah and Fairfield Utah. Copyright 2024 The Crossroads Journal LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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