Shane W Potter

SLIPPERY ROCK — What do a polar bear, a hippo and commuters in the Slippery Rock borough have in common?

Depending on an upcoming council vote, a max speed of 25 mph.

Borough supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday, April 2 to advertise the potential adoption of an ordinance that will change all speed limits to 25 mph throughout the borough, with the exception of Boller Drive, which remain at 15 mph.

Because the speed limit is already 25 mph on all other streets, the new ordinance would only affect West Water Street, which currently has a max of 35 mph.

The idea to change the borough’s ordinance came when borough manager Christian Laskey discovered the boroughs original ordnance had only listed six streets with posted speed limits and has not been updated since 1997.

“So what I did was drafted every single borough street … and listed them just like PennDOT,” Laskey said. “The entire borough will be 25, that’s what recommended, with the exception of Boller Drive, that will be 15.”

According to Laskey, the council may vote on the adoption of the ordinance during the May 21 meeting.

Mayor Jondavid Longo said he hoped the limited speed would increase safety around the community but also encouraged public engagement regarding the safety of the area.

“If there is one place in particular that you really feel strongly about, then we would really appreciate hearing it,” Longo said during the meeting. “So we can address that if it’s within our legal limits to do so.”

Longo acknowledged state law limits what the borough could do to regulate speed limits.