Safer Speeds in Rochester

The Rochester City Council is considering an ordinance assigning local authority to set speed limits on city streets. A recent change to state law permits this local control, whereas in the past a city like Rochester would have to petition the state to make changes. By adopting this ordinance and lowering speed limits on some streets the city will join many others nationwide lowering speed limits for enhanced safety, and also to encourage more non-motorized use.

AARP Minnesota supports policies and improvements that make communities more livable for people of all ages, including an increasing percentage of older adults. Livable communities are designed to promote physical independence, dignity, and opportunities for community engagement and choice. This work is consistent with that being undertaken by Olmsted County, which is a member of AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities through a partnership with citizens and the county committed to improving livability.

Specifically AARP supports:

• full implementation of Complete Streets policies with roadways designed for all users;
• the 2019 enactment of Minnesota Statutes 169.14, subdivision 5, paragraph (h), which allows cities to make speed limit changes “in a consistent and understandable manner… based on the city’s safety, engineering, and traffic analysis;” and
• the subsequent adoption of a city ordinance in Rochester “authorizing the city engineer to establish speed limits for city streets under the city’s jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions set forth at Minn. Stat. §169.14.

For more information on speed limits in the City of Rochester, click here.

According to AARP Livable Communities and the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute,
when vehicles traveling at 20 mph collide with pedestrians, fewer than 10 percent of those struck are killed ... at 40 mph, more than 80 percent of the pedestrians are killed and all are severely injured. For more information on traffic calming, click here.

For more information on speed limits in the City of Rochester, click here.

Rochester can have safer streets. Please complete this form if you would like to request a free "20 is Plenty" or "Slower is Safer" sign for your yard.