Some owners of property abutting a private road may ask the Texas Transportation Commission to extend speed restrictions, and the commission may or must act on the petition depending on the findings and hearing process.
Sec. 542.006. SPEED RESTRICTIONS ON PRIVATE ROADS. (a) The owners of a majority of the parcels of real property abutting a private road may petition the Texas Transportation Commission to extend the speed restrictions of this subtitle to the portion of the road in a subdivision or across adjacent subdivisions if: (1) the road is not in a municipality; (2) the total number of residents in the subdivision and subdivisions adjacent to the subdivision is at least 400; and (3) a plat for the subdivision and each adjacent subdivision included to determine the number of residents under Subdivision (2) has been filed in the deed records of the county. (b) After the commission receives a petition and verifies the property ownership of its signers, the commission may issue an order extending the speed restrictions to the private road if the commission finds the order is in the interests of the area residents and the public generally. (c) If the commission rejects the petition, the commission shall hold a public hearing on the advisability of making the speed restrictions applicable. The hearing must be held in the county in which the portion of the road that is the subject of the petition is located. The commission shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in that county at least 10 days before the date of the hearing. (d) At the hearing, if the commission finds that it would be in the interests of the area residents and the public generally, the commission shall issue an order extending the speed restrictions to the private road. (e) After the commission issues an order under this section, the private road is a public highway for purposes of setting and enforcing speed restrictions under this subtitle, and the commission shall post speed limit signs on property abutting the private road with the consent of the owner of the property on which a sign is placed. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 308, Sec. 1, eff. May 29, 1999.