Waxhaw has asked the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to study lowering speed limits on two roads near schools, as first reported by WSOC-TV.
The town wants NCDOT to consider reducing the speed limit to 35 mph on a stretch of Kensington Drive from Millbridge Parkway to the state line. The road currently carries a 45 mph limit and runs past Kensington Elementary School and the MillBridge neighborhood.
Mayor Robert Murray told WSOC-TV the request is a proactive step to improve safety near all schools in the area.
"We do have a light coming to Kensington and Millbridge Parkway, and we think reducing the speed coming into that light will also enhance the safety in that intersection as well," Murray said.
Murray also told the station the town has engaged Wesley Chapel and Weddington to have NCDOT study Cuthbertson Road from Providence Road to New Town. That stretch passes near the middle school, high school and library, and speed limits change along the corridor. Waxhaw Board of Commissioners work session minutes from September may identify Union County, rather than Weddington, as a co-petitioner on the Cuthbertson Road request. Those minutes were not available for review.
NCDOT confirmed to WSOC-TV that it received Waxhaw's request and placed both roads on its list to investigate. The agency said neither road had been studied recently. Last year, an average of 12,000 cars traveled Cuthbertson Road daily, according to NCDOT. The agency did not have traffic counts for Kensington Drive.
Amy Oswald, a MillBridge resident who lives next to Kensington Elementary, told WSOC-TV she worries about her daughter, a new driver, pulling out of the neighborhood because of high speeds and blind spots at the intersection.
"I think a traffic light and lowering the speed limit would definitely help getting out the neighborhood safer and pulling into the neighborhood," Oswald said.
NCDOT has not announced a timeline for completing the speed studies. Residents can contact the Town of Waxhaw or NCDOT for updates.
