Annie Glidden Road recently has experienced many beneficial improvements. City officials placed a stoplight at the Stadium Drive intersection so students have a safer time crossing the street. However, the rabid concern for safety along the mini-highway gained momentum at the Tuesday night DeKalb City Council meeting.

The 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, completely disregarding a speed study made by city engineers.

The changes were made to address the concerns of neighborhood residents who complained that speed demons were hastily accelerating their vehicles to quicksilver speeds. Perhaps these concerned residents will return before the council in the future when they realize that the change in the speed limit hinders the traffic flow on the road, as they and the council should have learned after the engineering study concluded last month.

In a struggling local economy, it isn’t the wisest move to pump tax dollars into a project that bears no weight among those making the decisions.

Slower traffic on Annie Glidden may seem like a quick remedy for those concerned about safety, but efficiency also must be taken into consideration. The majority of traffic making its way through the area moves at a conservatively steady speed, and if someone feels so inclined as to drive ludicrously, he or she will.

With safety measures that seem somewhat unnecessary being tacked on to the road, draining residents’ wallets meanwhile, Annie Glidden might become the next Hillcrest Drive, filled with frustrating speed tables and poles that slow down ambulances, snow plows and damage cars.

We can’t handle anymore speed inventions in DeKalb.