City Council Meeting Date: July 21, 2026
To: Mayor and Members of Council
City Administrator
From: David Bennett, Public Work Director/City Engineer
Title
Discuss City Wide Local Speed Limit Study
Body
Action Requested:
None, Discussion and Initial Council Input
Summary Report:
In August of 2019 the State legislature enacted a new law that allows City’s to set speed limits on roadways under their jurisdictional control, where previously all speed studies went through MnDOT to establish roadway speed limits.
Since the new law has been in place, there have been a handful of City’s that have implemented City Wide speed limits. There are typically two different approaches:
1. Uniform
a. One speed limit on all local streets
b. Inexpensive and quicker to implement
c. Consistent driver expectation
d. Typically, 25 mph with few exceptions (20 MPH Minneapolis/St. Paul)
2. Tiered System
a. Speed Limits established by roadway classification
i. Residential, collectors
b. Requires more signage and education
The City is kicking off the study and will be developing a speed limit guidance document on how the City will establish local speed limits. The City has hired Bolton-Menk to assist with the study, we will kickoff with public engagement in August/September to hear from the public about if the local roadway speed limits should change.
The goal is to have the study complete by the end of the year. Staff are looking for any initial input from City Council as the study kicks off.
City Plans & Policies Relevance:
2045 Comprehensive Plan
Alternative Options:
NA
Financial Impacts:
TBD
Tentative Timelines:
Study complete end of 2026