Someone has set up a petition on change.org to increase the speed limit on PA 550 to 55 m.p.h. The petition states:
“The speed limit on PA route 550 south is too low and should be increased to 55mph. A large portion of motorists already consistently drive over 50mph on 550 daily and by increasing the speed limit the road would be made safer as the speed limit would more closely resemble the speed motorists actually travel on the road. This would also likely eliminate most tailgating and strings of traffic behind someone going ‘exactly 45 THE WHOLE WAY DOWN 550.’”
As of this posting, 22 people have signed the petition.
PA 550 is a rural highway that runs from Zion, PA to near Tyrone, PA. The petition does not state which section of the highway it is addressing, or mention that the current posted speed limits are not consistent along its length (35 m.p.h. in Stormstown, 25 m.p.h. in Bellefonte, and above 45 in Huntingdon County). Nor does it mention the no passing zones for much of its length, the limited sight distances, sharp curves, the presence of slow moving farm equipment, or wildlife crossing the highway.
The argument stated in the petition is a logical fallacy. Just because “everyone” is exceeding the speed limit is not a valid argument for increasing it. As stated above there are too many potential hazards to warrant an increase to 55 mph.
Stormstown Dispatch 
Thanks for sending both of the reports. The comments about the 55 mph speed limit sound very childlike: “But, Mom, everyone else is doing it.” If people, especially those who are unfamiliar with the area, are zooming along at 55 mph and they come to a sharp curve, it could easily cause an incident. I hope the speed limits will remain as they are.
We’ve had strange and annoying weather in Central NY in recent months. June and possibly early July brought several heat waves, with 90+ temperatures for a few days at a time. It rained and stormed frequently in July, turning chilly in recent days. It’s feeling very autumn-like these days. Definitely sweater weather. This coming week will be a mixture of warmer temperatures along with occasional rain and some storms. It’ll be interesting to see what August will bring. On Wednesday, a 55+ community group (where I am the secretary) will have local meteorologist, Jim Teske (ABC’s local affiliate, News Channel 9), as a guest speaker. It should be interesting. He’ll discuss the climate changes that we’re seeing in Central NY. If there’s a major storm that day (not predicted) the program will have to be postponed since he’d have to be at the studio.
Hope you and Marla and your pups, of course, are well. Marcia
On Sun, Aug 1, 2021 at 10:15 AM Stormstown Dispatch wrote:
> Bill posted: ” Someone has set up a petition on change.org to increase > the speed limit on PA 550 to 55 m.p.h. The petition states: “The speed > limit on PA route 550 south is too low and should be increased to 55mph. A > large portion of motorists already consistently d” >
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