Town council approves speed limit reduction for downtown corridor
Top speed on South Ridgeway and Sutton Avenues moved from 25 to 20 miles per hour
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 12, 2025
The Black Mountain Town Council voted unanimously, Nov. 10, to reduce the speed limit along South Ridgeway and Sutton Avenues from 25 miles per hour to 20. Photo by Fred McCormick
Motorists traveling along South Ridgeway and Sutton Avenues will be limited to a top speed of 20 miles per hour, following the Nov. 10, regular monthly meeting of the Black Mountain Town Council.
The proposal to reduce the speed limit from 25 miles per hour, recommended last September by the town’s Active Mobility Commission, was passed, 4-0, by elected officials, with Councilmember Alice Berry absent.
The new business item was presented in response to a letter, submitted Sept. 18, by Janice Rausch, a member of the town’s Active Mobility Commission. The submission came following a discussion about the issue during the board’s monthly meeting.
“Reducing the speed limit in this area would be consistent with the majority of our other in-town speed limits and we collectively felt this is a low-cost modification to start improving the safety concerns on this corridor,” the letter stated.
The recommendation called for reducing the posted speed limit on South Ridgeway Avenue, south of U.S. 70., continuing west along the full length of Sutton Avenue. The area has been a topic of discussion for town officials since the spring of 2023, when the council was presented with a resolution to institute a one-way, southbound traffic pattern, east of South Richardson Boulevard. Staff presented a similar proposal last August, followed by a public input meeting last September.
The town council, on Sept. 9, voted, 4-1, to maintain a two-way traffic pattern, while directing staff to explore the feasibility of building a sidewalk on South Ridgeway Avenue and installing speed humps to enhance safety measures for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Town staff intends to provide an update on that directive next month, according to manager Josh Harrold.
“Since that meeting a couple of months ago, we’ve got some different options for speed humps, sidewalks and all that stuff,” he said. “We have looked at that and I want to bring that to you.”
The change will be made “as soon as possible,” the town manager told the board, based on the availability of new speed limit signs.
“Speed limits are only as helpful as they are enforced,” Councilmember Doug Hay said, before asking staff if there was a plan in place for increasing police presence in the area.
“We would do an education blitz, first, so we’re letting the community know about the change, and try to make sure the environments vary,” police chief Steve Parker said. “You want the signs to be environmentally changed, so people lower their speeds, like it’s not just a suggestion. Then we would enforce it, based off of that, after a while.”
The town council then considered an amendment to the ordinance governing traffic and vehicles, pertaining specifically to vehicles on sidewalks within the central business district. The proposal to amend the current text to make it unlawful for any person to ride scooters, hoverboards, skateboards, motorized vehicles, unicycles, one-wheels, etc. on sidewalks in the downtown district was tabled, following a brief discussion.
“Currently, your town code regulates bicycles and skates, so those are not allowed on the sidewalks in central business zoning…” Harrold said. “This is in addition to the bicycles and skates, and honestly, I don’t think half of these things existed when this ordinance was adopted years ago.”
Hay expressed concerns about the potential unintended impacts on young children under parental supervision while in the district.
“If this is not a hurry, I would prefer to push this to next month and let me check the language and look into other cities that have adopted ordinances, and go from there,” Parker said.