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Speed limit for Lynn Road in T.O. may go down
State law might allow city to lower maximum to 45 mph
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More from Conejo ValleyA new radar traffic survey has been completed on Lynn Road, where Thousand Oaks traffic engineers hope a pending change in state traffic laws will allow them to drop the speed limit back to 45 mph on the entire roadway.
The curving, hilly road on the city's west side is the subject of a yearslong effort by Thousand Oaks officials to slow down traffic. There is anecdotal evidence that the $530,000 project is working, officials say.
"Residents are telling me there has been a noticeable reduction in speeds on that road," said City Councilman Dennis Gillette, a retired Thousand Oaks police chief who lives just a few doors off Lynn Road.
City wants 45 mph limit
The apparent reduction in vehicle speeds, coupled with a change in state policies — partly prompted by concerns about Lynn Road — should assist the city in its efforts to drop the speed limit from 50 to 45 mph, Gillette said.
Several years ago, the speed limit was raised to 50 mph on several stretches of Lynn Road near California Lutheran University after traffic studies showed at least 85 percent of the vehicles there were traveling 48 mph or faster.
California law requires authorities to conduct regular speed surveys if police are to be allowed to use radar for speed enforcement. That policy was championed by state legislators as a way to prevent "speed traps" by ensuring that local jurisdictions set realistic speed limits.
The law forces cities and counties to measure the 85th-percentile average speed, meaning the speed at which 15 percent of the traffic is going faster. That figure would then be rounded up to the next number divisible by five to set a radar-enforceable speed limit. Lower speed limits are allowed, but only if radar is banned as an enforcement tool.
Over the years, that process has caused some speed limits to creep upward as drivers found higher limits, drove faster, and then new surveys required yet another increase.
"We're quite concerned that we might have had to go to 55 on Lynn if something wasn't done," said Mark Watkins, director of public works for Thousand Oaks.
Speed limits on some major streets, such as parts of Rice and Victoria avenues in Oxnard, have been set at 55 mph.
$530,000 spent on road
That's a big concern to residents and city officials along Lynn Road, where the city has spent more than $530,000 on traffic-calming measures. The city has completed six pullouts — parking spots for Sheriff's Department motorcycles to clock drivers — and may build more.
Also, pedestrian countdown clocks have been installed at key intersections, and radar feedback signs have been installed to tell absentminded drivers their actual speed.
Officials are looking forward to changes to the state's Manual for Uniform Traffic Control that will allow cities to round down from the 85th percentile to set a speed limit, Watkins said.
"The state committee that decides this came to Thousand Oaks and voted to let cities statewide round downward," Watkins said. Sacramento officials are expected to sign off on the policy change later this month.
"We've got the surveys done, but we're waiting for the law to change before we crunch the data and submit it to the state," he said. "We're hopeful we can go down to 45 on all of Lynn."
Posted by Comments on February 16, 2008 at 9:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's about time. I hope that Simi Valley will follow suit and reduce the speed limit on Madera. It's WAY too fast for this heavily residential area.
Posted by ckilbane on February 16, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Does Councilman Gillette really mean all of Lynn Rd or just the area he lives near? Living on the west side of Lynn Rd (towards Dos Vientos) the speed limit is still 50. By no means has the city tried to "calm" the speed of traffic on this stretch of road. How about adding police turnouts and speed indicators to this stretch? Councilman Gillette should focus on the entire city, not just the safety around where he lives.
Posted by Sub_Zero on February 16, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well now that the third lane is open on the 23 Northbound, I spend half as much time on Lynn. When the Southbound lane opens up the Lynn road locals will be very happy at the reduction in traffic.
Posted by heregoes on February 16, 2008 at 4:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They should do they same thing on Santa Rosa Road in Camarillo - lots of traffic cutting through at dangerous speeds and there is a school right off that road. Traffic does not even slow down when the school is getting out and busses are letting kids off on this road!
I hope people choose to go around like sub-zero when they finish the 23.
Posted by onapproach on February 16, 2008 at 9:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That's awful. People already go way to slow on the roads in this county. I'm glad they put the radar speed sign on Ventura Road in Oxnard so that people can see their speed. They typically go 10 to 15 mph under the speed limit on clear days with no accidents, damage or debris on the road surface. It's awful that the city of Ventura continues to lower its speed limits. They're just making congestion worse and worse and giving people an excuse to Sunday drive.
Posted by onapproach on February 16, 2008 at 9:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That's awful. People already go way too slow on the roads in this county. I'm glad they put the radar speed sign on Ventura Road in Oxnard so that people can see their speed. They typically go 10 to 15 mph under the speed limit on clear days with no accidents, damage or debris on the road surface. It's awful that the city of Ventura continues to lower its speed limits. They're just making congestion worse and worse and giving people an excuse to Sunday drive.
Posted by hercules360 on February 18, 2008 at 2:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What a joke, most people round here in Westlake wouldn't know how to drive the speed limit if they tried. People just drive fast regardless of the speedlimit, it is something no one pays attention to anylonger, may as well let them all drive as fast as like, there isn't enough police out there to stop the idiots anyway.
Posted by kelley.t.m on February 20, 2008 at 7:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As a couple of people have mentioned, the completion of the 23 widening project will provide the most benefit for the Lynn Road area. However, I believe the city traffic engineers could do a far better job on ALL major streets by synchronizing the traffic signals. Trying to move on Moorpark Road or Rancho Conejo/Borchard, to cite two examples, is maddeningly frustrating; as soon as one light turns green, the next turns red. Combine that with what seems to be the perverse nature of Caltrans engineers to go exactly opposite the natural flow of traffic at the freeway interchanges (again, Rancho Conejo/Borchard), and its no wonder so many motorists think the only solution is "faster, faster."
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