MASON COUNTY — The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is warning people of a new speed limit change in the village of Custer.
Starting Monday, Sheriff Kim Cole said the speed limit will be reduced three times a day from 50 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour on US 10 in the area of Mason County Eastern schools.
The reductions to the speed limit will coincide with the times that kids are coming or leaving school.
The times are 7:45-8:15 a.m., 11:50 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. and 3:15-3:45 pm.
Sixteen-year-old Sammi Jo Bateson, a junior, was killed back in February right near the school.
Cole said plans were already in the works for the new speed limit before that fatal crash, but it did help move things along faster.
“I think that probably accelerated the process, but we had been looking at the speed limit sign with MDOT or the speed zone with M-DOT for the last couple of years,” Cole said. “There were some permitting issues. There were some issues related to running power to the flashing yellow lights. And that was on MDOT side of the equation.”
New speed limit signs were installed by the Michigan Department of Transportation, last Friday, in anticipation of the change.
Sheriff Cole said there will be increased patrols in the area to enforce the new change and so far, Monday, they have pulled over five people.