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m do v~t~ any ~e p~s. ~t appe~s t~0~t t~e s~s ~ere il~stal[ed as the roadway w~ ~rad~d[y built far~her and farther to the east. Mr. Brozosky asked Mr. Roush if he would feel comfortable if Council kept the speed east of Santa Rita and add to the record the reasons of the neighborhood park, u-tums and a private school in the area and see if the judge will accept it. Mr. Roush said this was the kind of information the judge would want to see. Until it was done, a citation issued, and the judge reviews it, we won't know the results. The Mayor opened the matter for public comments. John Ponton, 3722 Old Santa Rita Road, said raising the speed limit to cause the law breaking motorists to not break the speed limit does not make sense. He concurred with Captain Fraser's comment about the police not enfoming the speed limits on the streets. Old Santa Rita Road has speeding drivers and he has seen the police not stop the motorists. He felt the judges should uphold the laws the City sets. Old Santa Rita Road is a very small stretch of road, with Valley Care Hospital at one intersection and car dealerships at the other intersection. In this small stretch of road there are several apartment complexes and small businesses. The road has three lanes, with the middle lane being used for tow truck drivers to unload vehicles and temporary parking for freight deliveries and the unloading of cars for the dealerships in the area. This causes blind spots and navigational problems for vehicles and pedestrians alike. He asked that the Council rethink the speed limit change for this area saving a few seconds of time to travel on Old Santa Rita Road and to think of the safety of residents and business customers using the street. The speed limit is posted at 25 mph and the majority of drivers drive well in excess of 30 mph. If the limit is raised the chivers will then drive another 5 mph over what they are now driving. What is needed is to enforce the speed limit that is now there and provide safer conditions for children and pedestrians crossing the road, for the hospital, and for delivery drivers having to make deliveries from their trucks. He felt that if the City sets the speed limit, then the City should be able to enforce it. Mr. Knowles responded by saying the California Vehicle Code allows cities to set speed limit laws locally. The Code also indicates what a speed limit is - it must meet both the traffic survey and a posted sign matching that survey. To protect motorists from unreasonable speed limits the speed trap law includes a provision where it is prohibited from measuring distances for purposes of enforcing speed limits. Although people may be driving faster than the posted limit, they may in fact be reasonable drivers. In focusing on traffic safety the most decisive evidence of conditions not apparent to the motorist surface in accident rates. Part of the process the City examined was the two year collision history for ail of the streets in the City and based on the type of roadway, the City established what the collision rate was for the roads and then compared each segment of examined road to the average. It in effect becomes a motorist report card. The premise of the law is that drivers are not law breakers. Ms. Hosterman asked if the speed limit was increased on Old Santa Rita Road and was posted as such, could the police department cite speeders on the road and have the citation hold up in court. Pleasanton City Council 10 01/07/03 Minutes