Littleton speed-limit proposal set for Sept. 1 hearing
The proposal would lower the residential default from 30 mph to 25 mph, set a 15-mph alley limit and retain posted speed limits.
Littleton City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and second reading Sept. 1 on a proposal to make 25 mph the default speed limit on city streets and set a 15-mph limit for alleys.
Ordinance 17-2026 was listed for first reading at the council’s Aug. 18 meeting. It would lower the current 30-mph maximum lawful speed in residence districts to 25 mph while retaining a 25-mph limit in business districts, the city’s meeting packet shows. The hearing and second reading are scheduled for 6:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the item is heard, at the Littleton Center.
The proposal would allow official traffic-control signs to set different speed limits, so streets with other posted limits would not automatically change. The materials do not include a street-by-street inventory, map, sign-installation plan or implementation schedule.
City staff said the change would require limited resources that could be handled within the existing budget. The packet does not provide a dollar estimate, funding line or staffing details, nor does it describe an enforcement plan, warning period, changes to citation practices or when enforcement would begin.
Staff is developing a broader citywide speed-limit review through the Transportation Master Plan. That work could support an additional reduction in the default speed limit in 2027, according to the packet. The available materials do not establish whether the council took action on first reading Aug. 18 or whether the ordinance will advance after the Sept. 1 hearing.
Written public comments included objections to the speed-limit proposal and related transportation changes. Mary Wilson, identified as a Heritage resident, argued that major corridors should remain at 30 mph or higher and raised concerns about traffic-calming devices, road conditions and emergency access. Raymond Young V. and Tim Egle, identified as Sterne Park and Ketring Park residents, respectively, opposed proposed Elati Street improvements and cited concerns about congestion, roundabouts, bike lanes, crosswalks, street obstacles and snow removal.
Those concerns are statements by public commenters, not city findings. The packet does not include an engineering analysis of crash trends, emergency-response effects, road conditions or the safety of the Elati Street improvements, nor does it provide crash totals, injury data or a quantitative estimate of how the proposed speed limit would affect collisions. The official agenda lists the ordinance as a first-reading item and the Sept. 1 hearing and second reading as the next scheduled step.