Heritage Lake speed limits may drop soon

The 35-mph speed limit on Heritage Lake roads, an on-again, off-again topic of discussion for the Putnam County Commissioners since spring, should officially be addressed soon.

The latest development on the topic came when the commissioners met on Monday and the topic was again inquired about.

While a speed study for Heritage Drive was discussed in the early stages of the discussion, County Attorney Jim Ensley has explained that he and County Highway Supervisor Mike Ricketts discovered that the solution is likely much simpler.

While reviewing state regulations regarding speed limits, Ensley and Ricketts discovered that from the simple matter of population density, Heritage Lake qualifies as an “urban district,” and should therefore have a speed limit no higher than 30 mph.

“Mike and I went out and counted houses, and we think it fits (as an urban district),” Ensley said.

Hearing of this designation, at least one area resident expressed his concern at exactly what the classification of urban district would mean to the community.

Ensley explained that the classification only has meaning for traffic purposes, and would have nothing to do with the organization of the community. The Heritage Lake area would remain a conservancy district, not on the road to incorporation.

Property Manager Ken Rozelle explained that the desire to drop the speed limit is purely a matter of safety. Rozelle is also a reserve deputy for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and oversees patrols of the area.

“I constantly see high speeds,” Rozelle said. “And we have no sidewalks. We’ve had a lot of close calls and if we’re not proactive about it, I think we’re a sniff away from somebody getting run over.”

The commissioners expressed a certain level of skepticism, asking if there is a marked difference between 30 and 35.

The difference, Rozelle and PCSD Capt. Tom Helmer explained, is the level at which officers are comfortable pulling over motorists. Law officers, particularly those who live in the community they patrol, don’t like getting reputations for pulling over motorists who are barely over the speed limit.

However, even going the speed limit can be cause for discomfort on some of the uphill and downhill curves of Heritage Drive as it winds its eight-mile path around the Floyd Township community.

Increase the speed to 40 mph, and some of the curves are white knuckle-inducing, if not impossible to navigate safely, which Rozelle demonstrated in an April interview with the Banner Graphic.

“I think the problem is that a lot of the curves out here, 35 is already too fast,” Rozelle told the Banner Graphic in an April interview. “Well, we all know that people don’t drive the speed limit. So when people are going 35, 40, they’re going way too fast. And then they have accidents.”

At the end of the day, Rozelle said he just wants to promote safety in his community. He’s worked countless wrecks in which mailboxes were destroyed, and he doesn’t want to see it escalate to something much more serious.

“It only takes one time,” Rozelle told the Banner Graphic. “One of those mailboxes is going to be a pedestrian. As a reserve deputy and the property manager, I would take it pretty personally if a kid got hit.”

The commissioners are set to consider the issue when they meet at 9 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 7.