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The roll call vote was as follows: <br />AYES: Coun¢ilmembers Ayala, Brozosky, Campbell, Hosterman and Mayor Pico <br />NOES: None <br />ABSTAIN: None <br />ABSENT: None <br /> <br />Item 4e <br /> Revise Various Speed Limits on City of Pleasanton Streets as part of the 2002 Speed <br />Limit Review and Update of Engineering and Traffic Surveys. (SR 03:005) <br /> <br /> Mr. Roush gave background information to the staff report by saying that in order for the <br />police to use radar, the State law provides that a city has to do an engineering and traffic study <br />every five to seven years if a city is going to establish a speed limit other than the primafacia <br />limits, which essentially are either 25 mph or 65 mph. Obviously, the city does not want either <br />of those limits on city streets in many areas. Accordingly, because the police department does <br />intend to and does use rads, from time to time people who are given speeding tickets will <br />request to see the information that was relied upon to establish the posted speed limit. Normally, <br />the speed limit is set at the 85th percentile, the speed at which 85 percent or fewer of the vehicles <br />are traveling. In certain instances, the court was fmdin~that there were certain speed limits that <br />had been set more than 10 miles per hour below the 85 percentile and that the engineering and <br />other traffic analysis that went along with that did not support reducing that speed by that much. <br />Accordingly, under case law, the court felt that it had no choice but to throw that citation out. <br />When that happened two or three times, the police department contacted Mr. Knowles and <br />myself, saying that the City needed to go out and take a city-wide look, update some surveys to <br />make sure our traffic information is accurate so that the police department can use radar <br />effectively and the citations that are issued could be used in court. As a result of that, the <br />Engineering Department has conducted a traffic survey on a number of streets. <br /> <br />Mr. Knowles presented the staff report. <br /> <br /> Mr. Brozosky stated that some residents had some concerns about the Stoneridge Road <br />area east of Santa Rita Road with the limits being increased from 35 mph to 40 mph and <br />specifically, Stoneridge Drive next to Neilson Park, which is an unfenced park, with children <br />playing. Also, many of the apartments on the north side of Stonefidge can only be accessed by <br />making a u-turn at Kamp Drive. Making a u-turn with cars moving at 40 mph at an unprotected <br />intersection is not safe. He inquired about not changing the speed limits on that segment until <br />the East Side Study is complete which would let us know the future of Stoneridge Drive. <br /> <br /> Mr. Knowles responded saying the report is for the existing conditions only. Eighty <br />percent of the drivers are currently violating the 35 mph signs. So what value does the current <br />sign have? The traffic committee's feeling is that speeds will not increase by raising those <br />limits. If it were the ease that speeds automatically go up based on the speed sign we would be <br />talking about adjusting 115 speed limits and not just 15. Most of traffic signs are closer to the <br />critical speed than on the roads listed in the report. The concern is the ability to establish a <br /> <br />Pleasanton City Council 5 01/07/03 <br />Minutes <br /> <br /> <br />