TOLLESON, AZ -- Some business owners in downtown Tolleson believe their business would speed up if the traffic on the streets would.
"It is too slow," said Moneer Najdawi, owner of Dave's Liquor near 91st Avenue & Van Buren. "People are afraid they'll be stopped and they don’t bother passing through."
The speed limit between 91st Avenue and 99th Avenue on Van Buren Street has been at 25 miles per hour for decades. The wide street used to be the main thoroughfare between Yuma and Phoenix.
That area is now a business district with two schools across from many of the shops.
"We have to make sure that the kids are safe," said City Manager Reyes Medrano. "If we lose even one life, it is too many."
Police Chief Larry Rodriguez says he thinks it should stay 25 miles per hour. He explains that there is a gradual slow down for drivers when coming through town on the West and that helps get drivers to the 15 mile per hour school zone speed without slamming on the brakes.
Still Najdawi and other business owners like Sal Gaxiola of Sal's Barber Shop hope to see it increased to 35 miles per hour. That says Gaxiola would keep drivers from choosing alternate routes like McDowell or Buckeye where the speeds are higher.
Medrano says that a business retention study is underway and the speed is one factor that is being considered. At this point there is nothing being put before city council that would raise the speed limits.
