The City of Auburn will lower the speed limits on several key arterials to keep drivers safe, they say, from the fallout of aging, deteriorating street surfaces.

City Council members on Monday agreed to lower the speed limit on selected corridors as follows:

• 37th Street Northeast-Northwest, from 40 to 30 mph;

• From the south city limits to the intersection of Lakeland Hills Way and East Valley Highway, to 30 mph; and from that point north to 37th Street to 35 mph, for consistency within both segments.

The City will also increase the number of 35-mph speed limit signs along Lake Tapps Parkway.

Reductions already in the pipeline are as follows:

• West Main Street between West Valley Highway and the Interurban Trail — from 45 to 35 mph;

• West Valley Highway between 15th Street Northwest and West Main Street — from 40 to 35 mph;

• 37th Northeast and Northwest, between Auburn Way North and West Valley Highway— from 40 to 30 mph.

“This is for safety reasons,” City Engineer Dennis Selle told a recent meeting of the Public Works Committee.

“Speed is not going to change the deterioration of the pavement,” Selle added. “The amount of the trucks and the loading of the trucks is by far the overwhelming factor in the deterioration of the pavement.”

The City is also talking about setting the weight limit for trucks to 15 tons and allowing only local deliveries inside the City. The goal there, City leaders say, would be to preserve deteriorating roads as long as possible from wear and tear caused by the large trucks.

Trucks found to be overweight would be in violation of City ordinance.

If there is a question about the truck’s weight the usual procedure would be for the City to have the State Patrol bring in a scale to weigh the truck.

The recent defeat of the $59 million road reconstruction and maintenance bond was not mentioned during the meeting, although Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis has previously cited the City’s lack of funds to address problems on its aging arterials as a reason for lowering speed limits and setting new limits on truck weight.