Letter: Questions Regarding New Proposed Speed Limits

I must admit, I was very glad to see the Montana Department of Transportation conducting speed studies on Highway 200 on the east side of town where the Sculpture Park and Ranger Station are, and I'm glad they are addressing concerns surrounding those destinations specifically.

One of the questions I have is whether or not is has ever been proposed, or a study conducted in order to put a stop sign in at the end of the Sculpture Park driveway as cars head onto Highway 200? I know the Ranger Station has one. I believe this might be a good step, and one that would work in conjunction with the new proposed reduced speed limits. On a number of occasions, I've witnessed cars exit the park and onto the highway without ever stopping, and almost causing accidents. I've even almost hit a car myself that never stopped and pulled out in front of me.

My second questions is this: who is going to enforce these new reduced speed limits in the area? We don't even have enough support from Montana Highway Patrol or Lewis & Clark County to enforce the reduced speed limits through town. This is not at all to disregard or downplay our local resident and non-resident deputies. They simply don't have the resources to stay in Lincoln while they are also required to cover large areas in the county. I understand their resources are limited, however it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to impose new speed limits when Lincoln can't effectively enforce the ones we already have in place. On any given day I see semi-trucks and cars alike flying through Lincoln at far greater than the posted speed limits through town.

I believe until we have more support from Montana Highway Patrol and deputies whose resources aren't spread so far between in the county, the new proposed speed limits will be merely suggestions without any real merit.

Tammy Jordan

Lincoln, MT