HURRICANE, Utah — As cyclists and residents navigate State Route 9, a question looms: How fast should drivers actually be going on this road? Reports from visitors and locals indicate a growing concern over the speed of vehicles zipping past, particularly for those on two wheels.
James Olsen, a Colorado State student visiting southern Utah, expressed his unease while cycling. “It’s a little bit nerve-wracking when you’ve got guys zipping past you, especially when you don't have a lot of room on the shoulder," he said.
Hurricane residents share similar frustrations. One local, Russell Cote, noted, “Oh, every day. Every day. Just on my way here, to be honest with you."
State Route 9 serves as the primary access point off Interstate 15 for travelers heading to Zion National Park, cutting through the cities of Hurricane and LaVerkin. Many believe that the inconsistent speed limits along this stretch contribute to the confusion and safety concerns.
Kevin Kitchen from the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) addressed this issue. “We decided we should also set driver expectations so they're consistent along this corridor. So it’s not fast, slow, fast, slow,” he stated.
At the start of the month, UDOT implemented a uniform speed limit of 55 miles per hour from the Interstate 15 off-ramp to downtown Hurricane, consolidating the previously fluctuating limits of 65 to 50 miles per hour.
However, this change has not yet updated on platforms like Google Maps and other navigation systems, leaving drivers unaware of the new speed limit. Kitchen added, “We do feed data to some services out there, and a lot of times they'll copycat each other, and of course, they have their own algorithms.”
With safety on the mind, we spoke with Peggy Beruve, a 20-year resident of Hurricane. When asked if she felt safer with the new speed limit in place, her answer was clear: “No, it doesn’t. 55 on this road is too slow. It is way too slow for the traffic we have. 55 causes a lot of accidents.”
Kitchen explained that this seven-mile stretch of road has undergone extensive studies, and 55 miles per hour has been determined to be an ideal speed limit for balancing safety and traffic flow. "Typically, we're looking at that 85th percentile to see what people are driving, and it depends on the time of day that you're driving. Sometimes it gets hard to go much faster than that,” he remarked.
Despite the data, Beruve continues to advocate for a higher limit. “Yeah, it should be 60," she insisted.
As the debate continues, both residents and visitors hope for clarity and safety along this busy roadway.
