BUCKHANNON – Slow down!

New 15 mph signs have been installed along Camden Avenue near the Child Development Center of Central West Virginia between Meade Street and Walk Trail Lane, or the Elizabeth J. “Binky” Poundstone Riverwalk Trail.

At city council’s Aug. 15 meeting, public works director Jerry Arnold said he wanted to ensure residents were aware of the change.

“Crews installed the 15 mph speed limit signs on Camden between Meade Street and Walk Trail Lane, so that has changed just to make everyone aware,” Arnold said.

Chuck Loudin, executive director of the Child Development Center, said lowering the speed limit from 25 mph to 15 mph surfaced as an idea from his daughter-in-law, Katie Loudin, who is the vice president of the Upshur County Board of Education.

“Katie said, ‘Why is this not 15 miles per hour like a school zone?’ so I wrote an email to the Department of Highways and was directed back to the city because it’s a city street and we got in contact with the proper people,” Loudin said Wednesday. “The main reason we wanted this change is that even though the signs had said 25 miles per hour, people go 40 mph down through there for some reason.”

“A young child who comes out of our building is unconcerned about traffic, so Katie’s remarks got the ball rolling,” Loudin added.

In addition, there are five school bus stops near the CDC, and the center houses a public pre-K collaborative, making the 15 mph speed limit signs all the more relevant, he said.

In other streets-related news, Arnold said one-way signs have been installed in Trader’s Alley from the parking lot of the Lascaux Micro-Theater and 3/4 Café to the alley’s intersection with Main Street.

“We will also be installing new [two-hour] parking signs on College Avenue, Barbour Street, Fayette Street and Pocahontas Street on those end blocks toward the college,” Arnold said. The two-hour parking signs are designed to free up parking spaces for residents who live on those streets.