The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) has reduced the speed limit on Highway 49 through Brookland from 60 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour following an official traffic study.
The study was prompted by a request from Brookland Mayor Kenneth Jones, who relayed safety concerns from local residents, according to Ellen Coulter, ARDOT’s head of content and media.
“The mayor had reached out to us expressing some safety concerns from residents in the area. So that prompted us to go ahead and conduct a traffic study. We look at crash data, we look at typical speeds through that area,” Coulter explained.
Coulter said that, as a result of the findings, ARDOT decided to implement the lower speed limit, particularly because of the nearby schools and residential areas. Some existing speed limit signs, which showed speeds as high as 60 mph, have already been removed.
“There are some [signs]—it gets up to 60,” Coulter noted. “There are some 55 speed limit signs. Those are being removed, though. So, it’s going to go [down] from 60.”
The new signs will gradually reduce the speed limit as drivers approach and travel through the town of Brookland. ARDOT emphasized that the adjustment aims to enhance safety in the area for both drivers and pedestrians.
Not all residents are on board with the change. One local, who asked not to appear on camera, told reporters she strongly disagrees with the decision and feels it will unnecessarily slow traffic through the area.
Inquiries about the change were directed to ARDOT and the Brookland Police Department. Officials have not indicated if further traffic measures are planned at this time.