No Decision Made on Raising Speed Limits

Claremont’s City Council on Tuesday postponed making a decision on whether or not to raise the speed limits on 10 city streets in favor of looking for way to keep speeding traffic in check, according to city staff.

The council discussed a proposal by staff to raise the speed limit along section of 10 streets following a speed survey mandated by the California Vehicle Code. The surveys help establish local speed limits.

But several council members expressed hesitance to raise the speed limits on any of the streets and instead “directed staff to evaluate the installation and financial impact of traffic calming measures on these sections,” said City Manager Tony Ramos.

Ramos said the staff intends to do the following:

• Pursue the process of reclassifying Scottsbluff Drive, Scripps Avenue and Radcliffe Drive from minor arterial roadways to local roadways, allowing for the establishment of a 25-mph prima facie speed zone. The speed limit would remain unchanged during the reclassification process.
• Explore options and financial impacts for installing additional driver feedback signs (signs that display a drivers’ speed as the vehicle approaches) and warning devices on critical streets where the speed limit is being raised. Bring back options to the Traffic and Transportation Commission in the next six months.
• Continue to work with the Claremont Unified School District to promote outreach to parents concerning the need for safe driving practices, particularly adjacent to school sites.
• Post the appropriate 25-mph school speed zone signage on Mountain Avenue adjacent to Scripps Avenue, near Condit Elementary School, and on San Jose Avenue, adjacent to College Avenue near San Antonio High School.
• Post a Playground/Park zone, with a 25-mph speed limit in effect when children are present, at Radcliffe Drive, adjacent to Chaparral Park; and Scripps Drive, adjacent to Cahuilla Park.
• Conduct a study to pursue the option of posting an extended 25-mph school zone on College Avenue north of Green Street, Radcliffe Drive, Scripps Avenue and San Jose Avenue.

All cities are required by the California Vehicle Code to conduct a traffic and engineering survey. The surveys establish proper speeds and allow the use of radar speed enforcement on local streets.

Without a valid survey to justify a posted speed limit, the Claremont Police cannot effectively cite speeders. A list of the streets and proposed speed limits is available on a previous Claremont-La Verne Patch report.