A speed limit reduction is set to take place on Ball State streets within the next two to three weeks after a joint decision was made by Muncie city officials and the university.
All the major campus roads, including McKinley Avenue, Neely Avenue, Riverside Avenue, University Avenue and Talley Avenue will have a new speed limit of 20 miles per hour, a drop from their current 30 miles per hour speed limit.
University officials said the decreased speed limits will help reduce accidents, but not all students are happy about the upcoming change.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Chloe Law, a sophomore nursing major said. “The speed limit is already so low, this is really going to sloe me down even more when trying to drive around campus.”
Law, who said she drives through campus daily, has already received one speeding ticket from university police since the beginning of the school year.
“I’ll be honest, I’m sure a lot of people are still going to speed, and so am I,” she said.
Other students said they were fine with the reduced speeds, however, citing that pedestrians are the most important people to keep in mind.
“This means less students can get hit by cars, I hope,” Maxwell Johnson, a junior business major said.
“I’m sure people will get used to it really fast, and it’ll just be overall a lot safer,” Brittany Brammer, a freshman nursing major said.
After the new speed limits are introduced, the city of Muncie will have a 90-day trial period before the city council makes its final decision on whether the new regulations are permanent or not.