Georgetown City Council gave preliminary approval this week to a sweeping set of speed-limit changes across the city's fast-growing northwest corridor, including a drop on Ronald Reagan Boulevard from 65 mph to 55 mph between Somerset Hills Drive and Above and Beyond Way. The vote also sets in motion an extension of the 45 mph zone on Westinghouse Road and a relocation of two school zones, one on Highway 195 and another on Woodlake Drive.
City staff recommended the Ronald Reagan Boulevard reduction after finding that crash rates along that segment run higher than normal for Texas roadways, according to Community Impact. Lua Saluone, who presented the proposal to council, said the segment's crash history factored directly into the recommendation. The corridor has become one of the busiest in northwest Georgetown as master-planned communities like Parmer Ranch, Nolina, and a proposed 1,900-home quarry conversion pour thousands of new commuters onto what was once a rural arterial route.
Why the Corridor Got So Dangerous
Under Section 545.356 of the Texas Transportation Code, cities have the legal authority to lower posted speed limits on municipal streets and state highways as low as 25 mph, but only after an engineering and traffic investigation supports the change, according to FindLaw. Texas Department of Transportation guidance generally directs engineers to set regulatory speed zones near the 85th percentile speed, the point at which 85 percent of vehicles travel under free-flow conditions, per the City of San Marcos, though planners can adjust that baseline for crash history, sight distance, and roadside driveways.
The Ronald Reagan Boulevard reduction arrives just weeks after a new right-lane exit ramp opened connecting northbound Highway 195 directly to the boulevard, eliminating a hazardous left-turn maneuver across oncoming traffic at Rattlesnake Road. Williamson County says the ramp, funded through 2019 voter-approved bond money, was built specifically to improve safety at that interchange. The connector's construction was covered in an earlier groundbreaking ceremony report.
Westinghouse Road Extension and School Zone Moves
City staff also proposed extending the 45 mph speed limit on Westinghouse Road, which previously ran from I-35 to FM 1460, eastward to Glenn's Passage if council gives final approval. The extension follows a $21 million widening of Westinghouse Road and County Road 110, funded through 2019 Williamson County and 2021 Georgetown transportation bonds, which eliminated sharp 90-degree turns near Gateway College Prep School before wrapping up in early 2024, according to Community Impact.
Georgetown officials also plan to adopt a 35 mph school-zone speed limit on Highway 195 between Chi Chi Drive and Shell Road, a zone already established by the Texas Department of Transportation near Grace Academy of Georgetown. The private classical Christian school enrolls 360 students in grades K-12 at 225 Grace Boulevard, per Community Impact. Separately, the city is relocating the Woodlake Drive school zone farther south and west because of driveway construction, and moving the area's flashing warning sign to match the new zone boundaries, Saluone said.
Signals, Speed Bumps, and Regional Comparisons
The speed-limit changes are part of a broader menu of tools Georgetown is using to manage traffic growth. Installing a single traffic signal in the city costs between $600,000 and more than $1 million, and multiple signal projects are already underway along Ronald Reagan Boulevard at CR 245 and FM 3405, according to KVUE. City transportation staff evaluated physical speed-calming devices like speed cushions last October, finding they can slow vehicles by 15 to 20 mph but risk delaying emergency vehicles and generating noise complaints, per Community Impact's reporting at the time; Georgetown leaders have generally favored posted speed-limit changes and digital radar signs over speed bumps.
Georgetown isn't alone in confronting this problem. Cedar Park's city council approved speed-limit reductions across multiple major arterial corridors in October 2024 following its own 85th percentile speed studies and rising suburban infill, reflecting a pattern playing out across Williamson County as commuter traffic swells. The stakes of unchecked speed were underscored earlier this year when a 33-year-old driver was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter for driving 94 mph in a 45 mph I-35 construction zone in Georgetown, killing a pedestrian, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of the sentencing.
The speed-limit adjustments approved this week still need final adoption before taking effect. Georgetown City Council's next meeting is scheduled for September 8, 2026, when members are expected to cast the final vote that would formally lower speeds on Ronald Reagan Boulevard, extend the Westinghouse Road zone, and shift the two school zones into place.
