The Winamac Park Board is reviewing the speed limit in the Town Park. It’s currently set at 10 miles per hour, and Town Attorney Justin Schramm says that may pose a problem. “Unfortunately, under the Indiana Code, it states that we cannot set it under 15 miles an hour, unless we have an independent study done which verifies that we need to lower it by a certain amount,” he says. “So as it currently stands, that 10 mile-per-hour limit is not legal, so to speak. And this was something that was brought to my attention by the prosecutor, just a ticket that had been written.”
However, during last week’s meeting, park board members felt that the current speed limit is necessary, and decided against making any changes until such a study can be completed.
Board member Chris Schramm noted that in addition to the posted limit, there are other statutes that give police authority to ticket drivers who may pose a risk to pedestrians. “I don’t want to give the indication that we’re raising speed limits down at the park,” he said. “If it costs us a little bit of money, that’s a lot better than having some kid being run over. Of course, you tell them 15, it’s going to be 20, 25. But I know there’s other statutes that can be used when an officer does write a ticket. Maybe they just weren’t familiar with it. I don’t want it to be 15. I’d rather have it stay 10, as long as it doesn’t cost us a lot of money for the study.”
The town plans to look into what the requirements are for a study of the park’s speed limit, and whether it may be completed as part of the town’s 5-year comprehensive plan for parks and recreation.
The issue came up during a discussion of Winamac’s park rules. With the parks now under the jurisdiction of the park board, members voted to keep the existing rules, with updates being made as necessary to reflect the new park board. Board members also decided to have the rules posted at the Town Park entrance.
