True or false: If the speed limit on a road is raised, people
will drive faster on that road?
Hollister – True or false: If the speed limit on a road is raised, people will drive faster on that road?
Actually, the answer is false according to traffic studies that show people typically drive as fast as they want regardless of posted speed limits. It’s why the City of Hollister reviews speed limits in town every five years like they did at Monday’s Hollister City Council meeting, ensuring they conform to the speed that 85 percent of drivers on the road travel, according to Matt Atteberry, an assistant engineer with the City of Hollister.
The Council members voted unanimously to adjust several speed limits throughout town based on Atteberry’s recommendations.
The city is required to review speed limits every five years if it wants to use radar enforcement in the police department, he said.
“It’s been five years since staff has reviewed the speed limits. Our population has grown, and we have more streets,” Atteberry said.
The traffic studies, which usually examine a single road for a 24-hour period, also consider physical characteristics of the road and the nature of accidents that have occurred on it, Atteberry said. So it would be unusual to see a 30 mph zone changed to 60 mph, he said, although it could happen if 85 percent of drivers went 60 mph and the road didn’t have any dangerous physical conditions.
While the vote to approve all of the engineering department’s recommendations was unanimous Monday, Councilman Robert Scattini said Thursday he had been hesitant to raise the limits on two stretches of road.
“I kind of agree and disagree on the speed limits,” Scattini said. “I don’t think we should be upping any speed limits, because if you put it at forty, they’re going to go fifty. I know because I worked on the highway patrol. But I voted along with it because that’s what the traffic engineers came up with. That’s their job and they know what they’re doing.”
Councilman Brad Pike, who started the Stay Alive On 25 highway safety campaign before being elected to the council in November, said he supported the speed limit changes, but wouldn’t hesitate to try to change them in the next few years if safety issues arise.
“Anything around the schools, I definitely am a huge fan of the 25 mph. I’m talking the neighborhoods that are adjacent to it and the schools themselves. And I know speed bumps are kind of taboo, but unless you’ve been there and you have seen a kid who’s been hit by a car, you have no idea,” said Pike, a Saratoga firefighter. Under the new speed limits, the area directly in front of Calaveras school will be 25 mph, but the road on either side of it will be 30 mph.
As for the more heavily used roads, Pike said the city needs to do what it can to keep traffic flowing.
“With the thoroughfares (Santa Ana and Meridian) the problem is they’re thoroughfares but they’re also near schools. I think in those areas the speed limit increases are warranted. But I’d like to see the flashing speed limit signs by all the schools that tell you how fast you’re going. I think that would be a visual enhancement to say, ‘Oh yeah, I need to slow down.’ But we do need to make sure we have the right arteries to get people through and around the city,” Pike said.
Atteberry said the council could ask the engineering department to review the speed limits again at any time if the council members felt further changes were needed.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
