Lower the Speed on Darling and Rovilla Roads

With warm weather coming, Darling Road will soon be buzzing with pedestrians, bikers, pet walkers, and children. We need to keep the traffic speed down so everyone will be safe.

As a resident with small children, I fully support this petition.

Totally agree! This is a beautiful, scenic road on which to ride bikes, and many children do this. It is also residential. Please keep the speed slower.

Please keep speed limits at 25mph.

Our family frequently travels these roads, biking, running, and walking for recreation and exercise. Increasing the speed limit will create a dangerous situation for our family and for all families traversing these roads.

I live at 2585 Darling Road and have lived here since 1987. Since the housing development of Weldon, the traffic has grown exponentially and the speed has been excessive. On two different occasions while snow blowing my driveway this season and last, drivers exceeding the speed limit have almost picked me off. I believe some drivers are unaware of the driveways past the cemetery headed South on Darling. Lowering the speed limit from 55 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour on Darling Road is not adequate. Under ODOT Chapter 4511 under the Ohio Revised Code and specifically Section 4511.21 Speed Limits, states that a Township has the authority to designate a speed limit that is safe. From my extensive firsthand experience living on Darling Road the speed limit should be maintained at 25 MPH. I would also suggest a sign should be erected at Ayers Cemetery facing south stating ‘SLOW DOWN HIDDEN DRIVEWAY’.

100% agree.

Due to the narrow road, two cars cannot even pass each other without one pulling over. There are also a high number of bicyclists and pedestrians on the roads. The road contains several homes and goes through a housing development. It definitely needs a 25 mph limit for cars.

My family lives at the southerly end of Darling Rd where the road is most likely at its narrowest, and our shared driveway lies between two blind hills. In many places it’s difficult on the south end of Darling to even find space to pull a vehicle over to let another car pass. The amount of traffic that Darling now has with the new Weldon development absolutely warrants a reevaluation of the Ohio state code for setting speed limits without truly factoring into account the width of the road in setting those speed limits. Local jurisdiction should be allowed to override a speed study in locations such as Darling Rd, Rovilla Rd, and others like them.

With no sidewalks, the edge of the road is used by pedestrians and bicyclists. Anything over 25 mph is dangerous.

100% agree

Please keep the currently posted speed limit of 25mph on Darling and Rovilla roads. The safety of our children, grandchildren, neighbors and friends is at risk.

I wonder why anybody who lives in the neighborhood would want to raise the speed limit... Let's keep it safe at 25 mph.

I was absolutely appalled when we received the letter from Jefferson Township stating that due to concerns about increased traffic and speeding vehicles, a speed study was conducted and it was determined that the speed limit signs would be replaced with ones that posted a HIGHER speed limit. Darling Rd south of Rovilla Rd is very narrow and has blind hills and hidden driveways, it then continues through a neighborhood (Weldon) which is heavy in pedestrian and bicycle traffic due to the nature of the neighborhood connecting to a walking/biking trail to Hannah Park. Weldon is populated by many young families and children who are out playing, as well as other residents who walk, run, and bike throughout the neighborhood and on Darling and Rovilla. At the north end of Darling Rd, the road makes a 90 degree turn directly in front of a residence, and the road continues west to Clark State Rd. Along this stretch of the road there are more residences and it is a very narrow road, most of the time requiring one of 2 cars traveling in opposite directions to pull at least partly off of the road in order to let another pass. Residents on this road have already seen a huge increase in traffic due to the addition of the housing development, and to add insult to injury, they have had to endure speeding vehicles along a once quiet, country road. With signs posted at 25 MPH residents are already concerned about the speeding vehicles along these roads. It makes no sense whatsoever to increase the already posted speed limit to 10 MPH higher. The letter mentions “prima facie” limits, in which speed limits are subject to change when information can be supplied that would justify a change. What type of information is required to make these changes? Increasing the posted speed limit is simply just asking for people to drive even faster and will most certainly end in a tragedy. Would that be the information that is required to make the appropriate changes? An ounce of preventi

We agree with all of the above comments. This is a very walkable neighborhood. A maximum speed of 25 mph only makes sense.

Folks, this one is really kind of obvious. Extremely narrow road, obstructed views, hidden driveways, 90 degree turn, right through a large residential community with lots of pedestrian activities, lots of kids, etc. If a person closes their eyes and walk across a busy street and somehow manages not to get hit by a vehicle, it didn’t make it a smart thing to do. It’s a similar situation here. Just because many people drive over 25 mph on Darling and Rovilla doesn’t mean it’s a smart or safe thing to do. Let’s please do the SAFE thing for everyone’s sake.

The speed limit needs to be lowered. There are kids in the area.

I watch speeding at unsafe speed rates all day long every single day. The speed limit needs to remain 25mph to keep those who live here safe. The sheriff’s department needs to do a better job of patrolling this road also. It’s rare that a deputy drives down this road.

We agree totally with the above statements . We also sent a personal email response to the letter we received and have not received a response or acknowledgement of it .

This needs to happen before someone gets hurt