Complaints from residents along State Route 305 have prompted the Department of Transportation to lower the speed limit between Poulsbo and High School Road on Bainbridge.

The speed limit will be dropped from 55 mph to 50 mph between Poulsbo city limits and Agate Pass Bridge, and between the bridge and High School Road on Bainbridge. New signs will be posted next week.

Transportation spokeswoman Kelly Stowe said the agency received many complaints about traffic collisions and speeding vehicles from residents along State Route 305 on Bainbridge. Very few complaints were heard from residents in the Suquamish, Stowe said.

The collision rate on the two stretches of highway is considered high, though the number of wrecks has declined over the last three years.

Thirty collisions occurred on the 5.5 miles of highway between High School Road and the bridge in 2009, down from 49 in 2008 and 56 in 2007.

On the three miles of highway between Agate Pass and Poulsbo, 22 collisions were recorded in 2009, compared to 27 in 2008 and 36 in 2007.

Stowe said Transportation engineers studied the two stretches of highway and determined more than 80 percent of vehicles were already traveling at 50 mph or below. That study helped decide the new speed limit.

“It’s really matching it to what most people are already doing,” Stowe said.

Stowe said no other speed limit changes are in the works for highways in Kitsap.

View New speed limits on SR-305 in a larger map