The speed limit on a portion of south Annie Glidden Road will be reduced in response to complaints from many residents along the corridor.

On Tuesday night, the DeKalb City Council voted 5-1 in favor of reducing the speed limit from the railroad overpass over Annie Glidden to Taylor Street from 45 to 40 mph.

City engineers conducted a speed study last month on the stretch of road and initially said the proposed changes did not conform to state recommendations regarding speed limit changes.

Fourth Ward Ald. Mike Knowlton expressed concern about the speed studies that indicated changing the speed limit would hurt traffic flow on the road.

“I said during the ordinance’s initial first reading that I have a major problem going against the engineering study by passing this amendment,” Knowlton said.

There was some confusion about the proposed changes that resulted from the ordinance’s first reading, when portions further south on Annie Glidden from Ashley Drive to Bellevue Drive also were to be changed.

Problems resulted because the proposal called for speed limits on the less than two-mile stretch from Lincoln Highway to Fairview Drive to go from 35 to 40 mph, then up to 45, then back down to 40, then up to 45 and finally up to 55 mph.

Originally, the changes addressed neighborhood complaints led by Tom Spect, and several aldermen wanted to slow down traffic on the road. The aldermen ran into problems when they discovered speed limits on portions of the stretch were controlled by the township, rather than the city.

As a result, the city proposed to lower the speed limits on areas of south Annie Glidden Road that they could and leave those areas they could not as they were previously. The attempt met resistance from several aldermen.

Knowlton initially referred to the struggle as a roller coaster ride before the proposal was changed.

After the first reading passage, the proposed changes were amended to leave the speed limit from Ashley Drive to Bellevue Drive as it is, and only lower the speed limit on the portion of the corridor from the railroad to Taylor Street. The changes in speed from Lincoln Highway to Fairview Drive will be from 35 to 40 mph, then up to 45 and finally up to 55 mph, effective 10 days from today.

The only vote against the amendments came from 2nd Ward Ald. Kris Povlsen, with 5th Ward Ald. Patrick Conboy absent from the meeting.