Transportation Commission Recommends Increasing Speed Limits, Noise and Danger
Updated: Sep 27, 2005
At the Transportation Commission meeting on September 14, the Public Works Staff and the Santa Cruz Police Department recommended that the City increase posted speed limits. The Transportation Commission gave their approval and now it goes to the City Council on September 27.
The streets affected would be:
- High
- increase to 30 mph from Laurent to Bay and to 35 mph from Bay to city limits
- Western Dr.
- increase to 30 mph
- Delaware Ave.
- increase to 30 mph
- Fair Ave.
- increase to 30 mph
- Bay from West Cliff to California
- increase to 30 mph
- Water from River to North Branciforte
- increase to 30 mph
- North Branciforte from Water to Fairmont
- increase to 30 mph
- Broadway from Pine to Frederick
- increase to 30 mph
- Coral from Evergreen to Harvey West Blvd
- increase to 30 mph
- Carbonera Dr. and Isbel Dr. to Bartlett Way
- increase to 30 mph
- LaFonda Ave. between Oak Way and Soquel Ave.
- increase to 30 mph
- Meder between Bay and Western
- increase to 30 mph
- Morrissey Blvd. from Prospect Heights to Pacheco
- increase to 30 mph
- Graham Hill Rd., Ocean Street Extension and Ocean from city limits to Water
- increase to 30 mph
Additionally, Morrissey Blvd. from Fairmont to Water and Bay Dr. up to High, previously posted at 30 mph as a test would remain at 30 mph.
The reason for the staff recommendation is to preserve the police department's ability to use radar for speed enforcement. (State law prevents the police from using radar if most people are going more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit.) Because of this dangerous state law, the posted speeds on Morrissey and Bay were changed to 30 mph to permit radar enforcement. This was a test to see if radar enforcement would lower the 85th percentile speed enough to use radar at the previously posted 25 mph. The staff report explains that this experiment failed.
So why are they recommending a strategy that doesn't work? A better strategy is to put our energy and resources into altering the streets so that speeders voluntarily slow down.
The City's traditional posting of 25 mph on all City streets is not based on a desire for enforcement, but rather on a desire for safety and quality of life. What is our vision for Santa Cruz neighborhoods? Do we want a community that emphasizes quality of life and safety, or do we want to accomodate speeders in our neighborhoods? Should we work to preserve the use of radar, or should we work to slow down speeders who endanger our children and pets, who generate excess noise, and who decrease our quality of life?
Additional Facts
- The noise generated by a vehicle at 35 mph is DOUBLE the noise generated at 25 mph.
- The chance of a pedestrian dying when struck by a car is 3 TIMES GREATER if the car is going 30 mph rather than 20 mph. When struck by a car going 40 mph, 85% of pedestrians will die.
- At 25 mph a car will be able to brake soon enough to avoid hitting a person 150 feet ahead. At 38 mph, the driver will not be able to stop in time and will hit the person at 36 mph.
Update: Sep 27, 2005
People Power and the cyclists and pedestrians of Santa Cruz helped defeat the measure to raise the speed limits on a number of streets in Santa Cruz. Hundreds of signatures from concerned riders and walkers convinced the city council not to go through with this plan. It was not, however, a complete win, as the city council did agree to consider, in the future, a proposal to raise the speed limits on several (less than six) streets that are more commercial than residential.