Foster City, CA decides to not lower speed limits for NEVs
The biggest challenge NEVs (neighborhood electric vehicles) face in most American cities is that people don't feel they are "real" cars (and, in a lot of ways, they are not). The biggest challenge that Foster City (CA) faces is politicians who are more than willing to discuss NEVs without there being a compelling reason to do so.
As we learn from the San Mateo Daily Journal, the Foster City city council voted last month to drop the speed limit from 40 mph to 35 mph on three main streets. The reason is that NEVs, with an imposed maximum speed of 25 mph, cannot drive on streets with speed limits above 35. By lowering the speed limits, drivers in NEVs will have easier access to major shopping centers.
This week, Councilwoman Linda Koelling changed her mind on the speed limit vote, and got the council to rescind last month's decision in favor of studying what the speed limit drop will mean for residents who don't have an NEV. This brings us to there surprise ending to this story: the only known NEV in Foster City is a Ford Th!nk owned by the Foster City Police Department that is used less than once a month for promotional events.
[Source: Dana Yates / Santa Meteo Daily Journal via EV World]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Robert 2:55PM (1/05/2007)
They don't need to lower speed limits. They need to lower MINIMUM speed limits. Right now, if I remember correctly, 10 MPH below the speed limit is legal in most places, unless specified otherwise. If they would change it to 20 MPH, the NEVs could travel on roads with 45 MPH traffic. With enough planning, that could get them almost anywhere they want to go. Of course, they might need to put one of those reflective orange triangles on their NEVs like the Amish do on their horse drawn carriages.
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Craig 3:42PM (1/05/2007)
Robert - the NEV class of vehicles is limited to 35 mph roads, not only because they can't go that fast, but because they aren't safety rated for collisions about 35 mph. So, lowering the minimum isn't enough. need to lower the max also.
C
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Ron Fischer 5:46PM (1/05/2007)
Odd point about there being only one NEV in Foster City. The point of the legislation is to, er, foster more NEVs. The way to do this right would be a two or three year trial period, during which NEVs would be made part of municipal fleets & offered to city residents. Funding for competing studies to analyze the results would top it off.
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Phil L. 7:31AM (1/08/2007)
I've looked at NEV's for my 4.5 mile commute.
The stumbling block is one critical local road whose speed limit is 35 - but average speed during rush hour is about 60. The idea of negotiating this road in a vehicle that can only do 25 is frightening.
How about extending the NEV concept to something more useful for local driving and commuting; say 35-45 mph? The whole idea of a vehicle that can travel on 35 mph roads - at only 25 mph - pretty much relegates NEVs to retirement communities and similar environments.
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