Wind Event
The high wind event sweeping along the coast caused limited power interruption for the area. Central Lincoln PUD is showing no significant outages in the Florence area and less than 50 outages in the Lincoln County area. Drivers should be alert for debris on the roadways as there have been some branches and tree limbs reported on streets. The National Weather service reported steady winds of 23 mph overnight with higher gusts in some areas. Wind throughout the day today could still be significant with 28 mph gusts forecast and steady 11-16 mph winds. The high wind watch has expired for the coast.
Coos Bay Woman Killed
A Coos Bay woman was killed when her Mazda Protégé’ sedan was hit by a suspected drunk driver. The accident occurred in Eugene on Coburg Road late Monday evening. 53 year old Cerina Anne McPherson died when a ford F-150 traveling southbound crossed into the northbound lane and struck the vehicle. Another passenger in the car was treated for non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the Ford pick up fled the scene on foot but was later apprehended according to Sgt. Tom Speldrich of the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. He was identified as 27 year old Marco Itehua Sanchez of Eugene.
Setting Speed Limits
According to a new law going into effect in Oregon the right to set speed limits will pass from the Oregon Department of Transportation to cities. The new law came into effect as ODOT is experiencing a limited work force. According to information from Don Hamilton of ODOT there is only one investigator for each of its 5 regions making the speed limit setting process lengthy. This will not change statutory limits such as school zones or residential districts but could, if the city deemed it necessary, change speeds on the 101 corridor that the city has jurisdiction over. The change would still have to go through an engineering study to determine the appropriate speed for each section of roadway. Cities that wish to designate their own limits would send staff for training in state speed zone practices, state rules and laws and would have to produce a quality control plan to the state.
