The city of Langley will participate in two much-anticipated studies involving hot topics — speeding on Sixth Street and affordability of utility rates.

Langley Police Chief Don Lauer announced during the most recent city council meeting that the city’s police and public works departments will be cooperating together to perform a traffic study with an emphasis on Sandy Point Road and Sixth Street.

The study will assess how many cars cross a trip line on the streets over a three-month period, starting Aug. 1. Police officers will tally speeds above 5 miles per hour over the speed limit, keeping track of how many times per day and what times of the day that the speeding occurs.

Results of the study will be presented to the council upon completion.

Council members expressed excitement over the upcoming study. Peter Morton pointed out that the study was responsive to citizens’ comments about the issue.

Others agreed.

“I’ve been talking about this issue for my entire term on the council, as everyone knows,” Councilmember Craig Cyr said. “I cannot wait to see the data from Sixth Street.”

“I’m glad we’re finally doing something, after 32 years of complaining myself,” Councilmember Thomas Gill said.

In addition, Interim Public Works Director Randi Perry told the council that the University of North Carolina will be working with previously gathered city utility rates data to complete a study, at no significant cost to Langley.

The university’s Environmental Finance Center has received a grant from the EPA to complete the study, which will utilize data Perry has gathered for Langley’s utility rate usage for water and sewer. The data will be plugged into a modeling concept. Perry will be trained on how to use the software tool, which can be used in the future.

The study will also involve an affordability assessment, including researching options for payment plan assistance.