Does driving at 40 mph down Ortega Highway seem slow when the street is wide open?
You may soon be able to floor it … to 45 mph, that is.
The City Council is looking at adjusting the speed limits on several city streets.
State law requires that every seven years, cities take a look at the speed limits around town and make adjustments, especially on streets where police officers are likely to use radar, according to a staff report to the City Council.
A city consultant examined 71 roadway segments and recommends no changes for 68 of them. The ones that should see changes are:
- Ortega Highway between La Novia Avenue and Via Cordova, increase from 40 mph to 45 mph
- Junipera Serra Road between Camino Capistrano and Rancho Viejo Road, decrease from 40 mph to 35 mph
- Ortega Highway between the I-5 Freeway and Rancho Viejo Road, decrease from 40 mph to 35 mph.
The City Council will consider the recommendations at its Tuesday meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto in San Juan Capistrano.
I cannot help but wonder how many posting here realize that we have experienced more than 3,800 of the severest storms, floods, and droughts in our nations history over the past three decades, or, that these events have cost us more than 30,000 untimely deaths of our loved ones and more than $1 trillion in financial losses. The question facing us now is “Can we muster the political will to actually address climate change?” Our children and grand children are depending on us to make the right choices in the weeks ahead. We have few choices. If we chose to stay in the fast lane, driving gas guzzling SUVs, what will we tell our grand children when they are dying because of our collective stupidity. We must get off the fossil fuel standard and embrace renewable energy if our children are to have a future. It is up to each of us to do our part and take action - NOW! Instead of raising the speed limits on San Juan Capistrano streets, we should be lowering them to 35 mph or less. That would allow us to operate neighborhood electric vehicles (much cheaper than a Chevy VOLT, Toyota RAV4EV, or a Nisson Leaf). Lincoln and Rocklin, California have shown us the way. We should follow their lead.