THATCHER — With more development coming to the Town of Thatcher, which could necessitate a new traffic light and a slight re-alignment of U.S. Highway 70 near First Avenue, the Town Council was asked to weigh in on the highway’s speed limit.
“There’s been some concern that the 45 (miles per hour) through all the new construction may be too fast now,” Town Manager Heath Brown said. “Both ADOT feels that way and I’ve also received a few calls from citizens (that) trying to pull out from Church Street is getting a little tough.”
Brown said he and town staff agreed with the local Arizona Department of Transportation engineer that a solution could be making the highway’s speed limit 40 mph throughout the entire town — from 20th Avenue to Reay Lane.
However, the Town Council said it would prefer a slower speed.
“I always envision people slowing down when they’re driving through Thatcher, to stop and take a look at what we have,” said Mayor Jenny Howard.
In addition, the council cited the dangers of drivers traveling 40 mph entering the school zone, where the speed immediately drops to 15 mph.
The council voted unanimously to recommend to ADOT to make all of Highway 70 through Thatcher 35 miles an hour, matching the speed of the highway through Safford.
The council also looked at the speed limit on First Avenue, where it is currently 35 miles an hour.
Brown explained First Avenue is one of three main arterial streets in the town — along with Reay Lane and 20th Avenue — and is expected to have a slightly faster speed limit than a typical residential street, in order to move a higher volume of traffic. He recommended 30 miles an hour.
But, again, the council cited children’s safety and voted unanimously to reduce the speed to 25 mph.
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