VERO BEACH — At the request of downtown businesses in the area known as Vero’s “Main Street,” the Vero Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to reduce the speed limit on 14th Avenue from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour.
City Attorney Wayne Coment said Florida Statute gives the city manager the authority to regulate speed on city roads, but City Manager Jim O’Connor said, “I would need the Council to approve of this and I will do the paperwork to make it happen.”
Councilwoman Amelia Graves, who has been active in the Main Street organization, commented, “Absolutely there’s a lot of foot traffic in this area, the businesses and the parks.”
Streets in the downtown area are often closed off for major events like Downtown Friday, but for some pedestrian-friendly events and for regular evening and weekend foot traffic, roads are open. During busy times, parking is often a half-block or so away and requires crossing a street to get to a shop, office or restaurant.
“It’s the businesses that are asking for it,” O’Connor said.
Pilar Turner, who ended up being the lone dissenting vote, questioned whether or not the city had the legal leeway to make the change, as the section of the state law quoted only referred to reducing speeds in residential neighborhoods.
“For some reason the statute talks about residential but if you look at the overall statute,” Coment said, “the authority is there.”
