Sea Isle Lowers Speed Limit on Landis Ave.

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI The traffic signs say that the speed limit on Landis Avenue is 25 mph, but is that really true? In some cases, it’s not. Sea Isle City’s official speed limit for some sections of the busy Landis Avenue corridor is actually higher than 25 mph. Recognizing the inconsistency, city officials are lowering the official speed limit on Landis Avenue so that it matches the 25 mph signs. City Council introduced an ordinance at its Sept. 27 meeting to make the lower speed limit official. A public hearing and final vote on the ordinance are scheduled for the Oct. 25 Council meeting. Sea Isle shares jurisdiction of Landis Avenue with Cape May County. The county placed the 25 mph speed limit signs on Landis as part of a restriping project on the north end of the road in 2018 that created wider shoulders to improve safety for bikers and pedestrians, city officials said. However, the city’s official speed limit is currently 30 mph on Landis Avenue between First Street and 29th Street in the north end of town, City Solicitor Paul Baldini said. Under the new ordinance, the speed limit will officially drop to 25 mph between First Street and 29th Street from May 1 to Oct. 1 during the busy summer tourism season. During the quieter off-season months, the speed limit on the same stretch of Landis Avenue between First Street and 29th Street is currently 40 mph. The new ordinance will drop the speed limit to 35 mph between Oct. 2 and April 30, Baldini said. The official speed limit is already 25 mph on the rest of Landis Avenue, from 30th Street to 94th Street. It will remain 25 mph from 30th to 94th streets all year round under the new ordinance. A variable message sign is part of the city's efforts to get motorists to slow down on Landis Avenue. Baldini explained that not only does the city want to make the official speed limit consistent with the signs, but it also hopes to make Landis Avenue safer for pedestrians and bikers by slowing down the motor vehicle traffic. “That’s exactly what the whole goal is. We want to slow motorists down,” he said in an interview. “More people are coming down to Sea Isle than ever before for walking and biking. We want to slow things down.” Landis Avenue serves as Sea Isle’s primary artery. It is particularly crowded with cars, bicyclists and pedestrians during the summer vacation season. However, all of that activity squeezed into the roadway creates potential hazards. Hoping to keep bikers and pedestrians out of harm’s way, the county restriped the northern end of Landis Avenue in 2018 to create wider shoulders between them and the motor vehicle traffic. During the Sept. 13 Council meeting, Sea Isle resident Regina Lewallen complained about motorists routinely breaking the 25 mph speed limit on Landis Avenue from the base of the Townsends Inlet Bridge entering the south end of town all the way down to 63rd Street near the Acme shopping complex. In response, Mayor Leonard Desiderio assured Lewallen that Sea Isle police officers armed with radar have been ticketing speeders in the Townsends Inlet section. He promised that the speeding crackdown will continue. Echoing Desiderio’s comments, Police Chief Anthony Garreffi said speeders should expect to be pulled over and given tickets. “Summonses were issued and continue to be issued,” Garreffi said in an interview.