Project Timeline
The 20 mph neighborhood speed limits are in line with national guidance toward lower urban speed limits to better support safety. Safe neighborhood speed limits are one part of the City’s comprehensive approach to travel safety and is an important strategy in Madison’s Vision Zero Action Plan. The plan calls for the launch of “20 is Plenty” in two neighborhoods before expanding citywide.
Preliminary Neighborhood Study
The 20 is Plenty program will be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 began in 2021 and consisted of speed limit reductions in two test areas within the City of Madison that were selected by the Transportation Commission.
The first area selected was in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood. This area is bordered by E Johnson Street, N Blair Street, E Washington Avenue, and the Yahara River.
The Tenney-Lapham neighborhood
The second area included in Phase 1 was the Theresa-Hammersley area. This area is bordered by Hammersley Rd, McKenna Blvd, Raymond Rd, and S Whitney Way.
The Theresa-Hammersley Neighborhood
Only streets within these areas had their speed limit reduced as part of Phase 1. The speed limits in the bordering the areas remained unchanged.
Phase 2 of 20 is Plenty works towards citywide implementation of the program across residential neighborhoods. Signage will be updated neighborhood by neighborhood starting on the east side and working west. Sign installation has begun but will pause over the winter due to the ground freezing. Installation will pick back up in early Spring 2025 with a goal to complete the signage conversion early in 2025.
Since neighborhoods do not often contain speed limit signage, with this speed limit change crews will install "Speed Limit 20" signage on the perimeter of neighborhoods where a vehicle is turning off a higher speed street and onto a street with the new speed limit of 20 mph.