Several roads throughout Des Moines are being looked at for speed limit changes, including at the marina.

From a list of ten roads being looked at for speed limit changes, four were chosen by the Des City Council for further consideration.

The speed limits were decided upon because they meet what is called the 85 percentile.

The assumption is 85 percent of drivers want to get to their destination in the safest and shortest amount time possible. Most speed limits are based around this number.

Among the proposed changes is lowering the speed limit at 16th Avenue South and South 272nd Street to Pacific Highway South from 40 to 35 miles-per-hour, so that it matches the rest of 16th Avenue.

Also being considered was changing the speed at the marina from 15 mph to 20. The current speed of 15 mph is not enforceable, council members were told.

The lowest maximum speed set by the state is 20 mph.

That prompted the discussion of whether the roadway at the marina-- referred to as Dock Street-- is a city street, or part of the park.

The issue that was not resolved at the meeting.

Councilman Scott Thomasson said he was surprised when he rode past a 15 mph sign at the marina on his bike. He jokingly added he was sure he was only going 14 mph.

Councilman Dave Kaplan, who is on the Public Safety and Transportation Committee, said committee members could live either way with the marina speed limit being changed.

"If we change the speed to 20 miles an hour, we don't think many people will be able to achieve 20 miles along that stretch," Kaplan said.

Kaplan asked how many tickets had been written for speeding at the marina, surmising the number is lower than a dozen.

Councilwoman Carmen Scott expressed concern about raising the speed limit in areas with many children.

Kaplan said the speed was already controlled with speed bumps, and tight turns and the raise in the speed limit wouldn't mean people would be going that fast.