EAGAN, Minn. — The Dakota County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to direct the county engineer to immediately establish a school zone speed limit for Diffley Road in Eagan between Lexington Ave and Dodd Road.
The County said in a press release that it will pay for the school zone speed limit project with existing transportation funds.
The call for action comes after 13-year-old Patric Vitek was struck and killed earlier this month while riding his bicycle to Dakota Hills Middle School.
Many within the community demanded action to make that stretch of road safer, and on Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners took another step in accomplishing that.
According to the release, Dakota County can put the school zone speed limit in place immediately following the completion of the required engineering investigation. The investigation will explore a School Route Plan developed by the school district, engineering findings, public education efforts and traffic enforcement to make Diffley Road as safe as possible. The city of Eagan, county and Independent School District 196 are working together in this investigation and will determine the school zone speed limit.
Under state law, a reduced school zone speed limit takes effect when children are present, during school opening and closing hours, and in school recess periods.
Additional safety improvement ideas are expected to be available for public review at an open house on Dec. 11 at the Eagan Community Center. Preferred longer-term safety improvements are expected to be selected by March 1, according to the release.
