It’s one of the only times drivers can go 45 in a 25 mph zone and not get a ticket.

But driving at or near the lower speed limit may help prevent bent rims and flat tires on cars traveling Elyria’s pothole-riddled state Route 57 bypass.

A few weeks ago, a series of small “25 mph” signs popped up in selected areas along Route 57 — the worst areas of the winter-ravaged road.  So should a driver go 50 mph, which is the posted limit; 48 mph, the speed at which the traffic lights are timed; or 25 mph, as the latest signs suggest?

To avoid a ticket, don’t go faster than 50 mph. After that, it’s up to you.

“They are advisory signs, meaning they are a suggested speed limit,” said Don Wimsatt, a traffic technician with the city engineer’s office, about the 25 mph signs. “They are not enforceable by the Police Department.”

Rather, the small signs are intended to get drivers to slow down while traveling over the roughest spots, he said.

The signs are something of a cosmic balance to the homemade skull-and-crossbones signs that were erected earlier this year — and promptly removed — by someone apparently peeved about having to dodge increasingly bigger, deeper and potentially more damaging potholes.

A number of residents have tried to get the city to pay for damage to their vehicles as a result of damage caused as a result of hitting potholes, but the city has denied the claims.

The road is scheduled to undergo a $20 million makeover beginning in June, with work expected to take 18 months.

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

 

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