Majority Rules When It Comes to Setting ‘Safe’ Speeds

Dear Street Smart:

The speed limit on Country Club Drive in Wood Ranch in Simi Valley is 45 m.p.h. Unfortunately, the majority of cars travel at least 50 to 60 m.p.h. on this street.

When pulling out of my condominium complex, there is limited visibility due to a blind corner. This creates a serious danger because there is little time for a driver going 55 m.p.h. to react.

Additionally, because there are rarely any police patrolling this street, there have been instances of drag racing. There are lots of kids in the area and it is only a matter of time before tragedy strikes.

What can be done to lower the speed limit or have the speed limit strictly enforced?

Dennis Croteau, Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

Guess what? The drivers are indirectly setting their own limits by traveling at what they determine to be safe speeds. And most drivers along Country Club Drive are not slowing down.

State law requires that speed limits be reviewed on all major streets every five years, a big job for traffic engineers armed with radar guns aimed at off-peak-hour drivers.

Then, the limits are adjusted to the speed at which 85% of the drivers are traveling or slower, rounded down to the nearest five, Simi Valley traffic engineer Bill Golubics said.

In other words, the posted speed limit is the speed that 15% of drivers exceed.

“Otherwise,” Golubics said, “it’s considered a speed trap, and the ticket that’s issued is considered not valid.”

Simi Valley Police Sgt. Bob Gardner said his department tickets as many drivers as it can in Wood Ranch.

“But we obviously have limited resources,” he said. “We can’t strictly enforce the speed limits everywhere at the same time.”

By the way, the speed limit changes along the loop known as Country Club Drive. The eastside limit is 45 m.p.h. and the west side now allows drivers to go up to 50 m.p.h.

The latest survey, conducted two years ago, recommended raising the westside speed limit five miles an hour, Golubics said.

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Dear Street Smart:

We travel the road from Ventura to Carpinteria quite often. I notice along the ocean there are “No Parking” signs stenciled on the highway and pictures of bicyclists indicating a bike lane.

Just opposite La Conchita and the banana plantation, we see all kinds of cars parked, sometimes on top of the “No Parking” signs stenciled on the highway.

What gives? There are lots of potential illegal parking fines going down the drain here.

Louise R. Kelly, Port Hueneme

Dear Reader:

The California Highway Patrol is responsible for monitoring illegal parking along that stretch of the Ventura Freeway.

Officer Dave Cockrill said that if motorists park along the shoulder of the highway in violation of posted signs, they are subject to a hefty fine.

“It’s a parking ticket,” he said, noting that any penalties are set by a judge. “If they’re parking on the shoulder of the 101, that’s our jurisdiction.”

Illegal parking is enforced when patrol officers have the time, Cockrill said. As for the lost revenue, the CHP doesn’t get a dime from the tickets its officers write. “That money goes to the county,” Cockrill said.

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Dear Street Smart:

Reporting abandoned vehicles or vehicles just plain stored on the street is an exercise in futility in Simi Valley.

A camper has been parked on Emeric Avenue near my property since the early part of the year. The owner doesn’t live on this part of the block. In fact, we don’t know who he is.

The local law enforcement people claim they are too busy to come by and ticket or otherwise document the situation. According to their phone people, the problem is increasing.

According to street maintenance, they just work around the problem unless some work is needed under the vehicle.

We need action on citing and towing this and at least one other car on Emeric Avenue. Perhaps a solid week of, “Get your vehicles off the street,” would be appropriate.

Glenn Williamson, Simi Valley

Dear Reader:

Unfortunately, there is little police officers can do.

City law allows for the parking of any vehicle on public streets, including Emeric Avenue, as long as the owner keeps it registered and moves it every three days, Sgt. Bob Gardner said.

“The intent of the law is to keep people from storing abandoned cars on the street,” Gardner said. “There’s nothing that says you can’t park there, but the law says it has to be moved every 72 hours.”

What’s more, officers responded last month to complaints about the camper you describe. “To say that we never came out is inaccurate,” Gardner said. “We’ve got it in our logs that we have addressed the complaint.”

Since the camper has not yet been towed, the owner is apparently complying with all laws, he said.

Traffic enforcement officers patrol the city on a regular basis, and “tag” vehicles that appear to be abandoned, Gardner said. After three days they return and can tow the vehicle away, he said.