In August 1915, Klamath Falls Mayor J.B. Mason warned motorists to slow down or be arrested and fined.
The mayor wrote in the Evening Herald, “Someone is liable to be either crippled or killed one of these days if we do not slow down.” He added, “Gentlemen, it is up to you. Don't blame the police. They should treat everybody alike.”
The speed limit at the time was 10 mph.
The mayor told drivers if they thought the speed limit was too slow, they should propose changes to the City Council. An ordinance to that effect was introduced on Nov. 8.
The Evening Herald reacted the next day by warning that if the ordinance passed “our streets will be much the same as San Francisco’s Market street, where the speed with which autos flash by is a marvel to the beholder, and a terror to the ruralite attempting to cross the thoroughfare.” The proposed ordinance increased the maximum speed to 15 mph for vehicles on any city street or road.
One hundred years later traffic is much heavier in the downtown business district, but the speed limit has increased to 20 mph.
Sources: "Autoists Should Use More Care." The Evening Herald 27 Aug. 1915 [Klamath Falls, Ore.] : 1. Print; “New Ordinance Allows More Speed.” Ibid 9 Nov. 1915: 1. Print.
