Matthews Reduces Speed Limits Following Growth and Safety Concerns

The Matthews Police Department and the North Carolina Department of Transportation have approved speed reductions on McKee Road, Weddington Road, and Pleasant Plains Road. Drivers will soon encounter lower limits on these three corridors as town leaders respond to mounting safety worries and population jumps.

State data shows the town gained 1,300 new residents between 2020 and 2024. Surrounding communities — Stallings, Indian Trail, and Monroe — added more than 11,000 during the same stretch.

Many of those newcomers commute through the area each day. This puts extra strain on secondary roads. The three corridors have witnessed substantial upticks in traffic over recent years.

Mike Aliyev lives near the intersection of Weddington Road and Pleasant Plains Road. He watched NCDOT crews replace the speed limit sign outside his house with a new 35-mph marker, down from 45. The sign went up sooner than expected because the old one got destroyed.

"This sign was actually hit at five in the morning," Aliyev said, according to WSOC-TV. "I heard something and came out, and the sign was flattened."

Speeding remains an ongoing problem. It gets worse during rush hour. Aliyev hopes the lower limits will help protect families in the area.

"There are some people who tend to speed and go crazy on this road sometimes. There's kids playing, there's a park right down the street," Aliyev said.

The department shared traffic data with town engineers and NCDOT before recommending the change. Officer Tim Aycock said the decision wasn't made lightly.

"We have to look at all that data and the analytical side of it and see how we can get people to slow down," said Aycock.

The town's growth, combined with the surge in morning and evening commuter traffic, has made it necessary to rethink safety on secondary roads. "There is such an influx of people coming in and out that we have to worry about our secondary roads as well," Aycock said.

NCDOT has already replaced some speed limit signs. Crews will continue updating the remaining ones over the next few weeks.

The department said its immediate focus is educating drivers about the new limits before shifting to enforcement. Last month, neighbors on Sadie Drive told Channel 9 they were witnessing drivers cut through their street to avoid congestion on John Street.

Town leaders are considering speed cushions or raised intersections to slow traffic there as well. Officials say more traffic-calming measures may be coming as the town continues to grow.