Drivers on a couple of McHenry County roads will need to slow down in the near future.

The McHenry County Board recently voted to approve two speed limit reductions.

But three additional proposed speed limit decreases were voted down by the board. The county’s transportation committee earlier in January approved the two that passed the full board and also voted down the three that did not.

Under current County Board rules, all speed limit reductions, even ones that do not get approved by the transportation committee, are forwarded to the full County Board for a vote. Previously, a “no” vote at the transportation committee level was the end of the road for a speed limit reduction.

One of the approved speed limit reductions, Lincoln Road between Margaret Court and Cassandra Lane near Lakemoor, will see the speed limit drop to 40 mph from 45 mph.

A couple of Lincoln Road neighbors spoke to the committee about the safety of the road and wanted to see a 30- to 35-mph limit. The neighbors expressed safety concerns with the road being close to subdivisions and schools, and they said they’ve witnessed cars traveling 60 to 70 mph.

A proposal to lower the speed limit further failed at the transportation committee. The county only can reduce speed limits 10 mph at a time, Assistant County Engineer Darrell Kuntz told the committee.

The County Board briefly discussed the reductions before the vote, and no members of the public spoke.

The full reductions up for a vote included:

• Chapel Hill Road between Bay Road and Charnbrook Drive in Johnsburg. The County Board by an 11-6 vote rejected a proposal to lower the limit from 45 to 40 mph. The transportation committee also voted it down.
• Lincoln Road between Margaret Court and Cassandra Lane in the Lakemoor area. The speed limit will be 40 mph, down from 45 mph. The board approved it 15-2, and the committee also approved it.
• Hickory Nut Grove Road between South Rawson Bridge Road and Tuxedo Lane near Cary. The speed limit will be 40 mph, down from 45 mph. The board passed it 13-4, and the committee approved the reduction.
• Mason Hill Road between Valley Hill Road to just west of Cherry Valley Road in the Bull Valley area. The speed limit will remain at 45 mph after the lower 40 mph speed limit was rejected. The board voted it down, 12-5, and the committee also voted down the reduction.
• South Union Road between Ackman and Ernesti roads near Huntley. If the speed limit was approved, it would have been 50 mph. But it will stay at 55 mph after the board voted it down 14-3.

County staff said at the committee that speed studies had been performed on other roads throughout the county, but speed limit reductions were not suggested based on those results.