On Martha Road, lines seem to have worked

The lines appear to be working.

The city painted “traffic calming lines” on Martha Road July 21 and since then, speeds on the neighborhood road have dropped dramatically, city council learned Monday night.

The lines, which set up fog lines on both sides of the road and a center line down the middle, have the net effect of making the road look narrower than it is.

Police then did 50 additional radar patrols on the road both day and night, but did not pick up one traffic violation.

It then used a remote radar device and found that the average speed dropped about 3 mph. Of 175 cars, only eight were over 25 mph and the highest was 28 mph.

The average speed was far below that — about 15 mph.

From 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., there were no speeders, Columbia Falls Det. Gary Denham noted.

Denham wrote a lengthy report to the city, which drew on what other cities have done, to reduce speeds on their streets.

Prior to the lines, the city received multiple complaints about speeders on the street and residents implored the city to put in speed bumps.

But the city wanted to try this first, before putting in bumps, which can be dangerous to motorcycles.

The lines were less expensive by far. The paint cost about $1,200, while a single municipal quality speed bump costs about $7,200.

The city will continue to look to improve the road. It hopes to convince landowners to create a special improvement district, so sidewalks can be put in with a boulevard.

It will make for an overall safer street, as kids can ride their bikes and walk on the sidewalks, rather than the street.

The road primarily serves apartment buildings with multiple families.

The city also plans on employing the same lines on Sixth Avenue West near the high school, which was recently rebuilt. Like Martha Road, that is also a wide street.