Letter: Speed Signs

Editor, The Friday Flyer

Railroad Canyon Rd. is a speed trap (CVC Section 40802). Railroad Canyon Rd. was a four-lane road with a legal speed limit of 45 MPH. When the road opened as a six-lane road in 2012, the city never had an Engineering and Traffic Study. Prior to the road opening in 2012, the city averaged 804 citations a year. Since the opening from 2013 to 2018 the City has averaged 30 citations a year and in 2017 there were only 15 citations. Less than 5 were for speeding. In fact, the city cannot issue a speeding citation if radar is used.

The city knows they can’t enforce the speed laws. Their answer is to get $28,000 from the county to put speed signs, that are not valid, and radar signs that give your speed. There is no enforcement capability. The signs are a waste of county money. The city is merely implementing the strategy of hope and change; hope that the signs make drivers change and drive slower. There are real solutions which will require research and thoughtful consideration as to what is best for our city. Isn’t this what we expect of our public officials?

Public safety is the cities primary responsibility. We approved the Utility User Tax to give the city more money for emergency services; once the tax was approved the city closed the fire station. The city has been getting $1,000,000 a year in the Utility User Tax but has refused to fund vital services. The city was forced by the county to fully staff Station 60 in July.

The city council, instead of allowing law enforcement to do their job regarding speeders on Railroad Canyon Rd, are opting for smoke and mirrors instead of addressing the problem and providing a legitimate solution to this issue.

John Zaitz