Editor's note: In our print edition of this article we
incorrectly credited the information from the county to Michael
Long, project manager of the VC Road project. The person being
quoted is correctly identified in this Web version.
People who think they know what the speed limit is on Valley
Center Road may have it wrong.
You may think that the speed limit for Valley Center Road
since its completion as a four-lane road is 45 mph or even
55 mph, since it is unmarked.
At the November Planning Group meeting Chairman Oliver Smith
told the group that the speed limit is actually 65 mph. "It
is my understanding that Valley Center Road is rated right
now for 65 mph, because it is an unmarked undivided highway,"
he said.
But according to Michael Drake, Public Affairs Officer for
the county Dept. of Public Works, that is not correct.
For one thing, the road isn't finished yet. "The project
is still ongoing and power pole removal is currently underway
and that landscaping and trails need to be done separately.
None of these conditions are met on this project," Drake
told The Roadrunner on Tuesday.
As to Smith's statement that the road is rated at 65 mph because
it is an unmarked undivided highway: "This would only
be true if all construction activities were complete, roadway
traffic conditions had returned to normal operations and,
if the County had no intentions of conducting a formal speed
study and posting a formal speed limit," said Drake.
He added, "Based on the roadway classification in the
County's General plan and based on the prevailing County Public
Road Standards, the underlying design speed for roadway geometry
was 55 mph."
Drake also contradicted Smith's statement at the Nov. 9 meeting
that the Dept. of Public Works wasn't planning to do a study
to determine the correct speed.
"This is not true," said Drake. "The Dept.
of Public Works always had a plan to reestablish formal speed
limits.
"Generally, staff waits till a construction project is
formally accepted by the County Engineer before initiating
a speed study. However, in anticipation of minimum impacts
of the remaining construction activities on motorists' speeds,
the department has initiated a study to collect pertinent
data for review and documentation and, has scheduled it on
the Traffic Advisory Committee's December 11, 2009 agenda.
This item will be heard by the Board of Supervisors on February
24, 2010 at which time a final determination will be made
regarding formal speed limits," said Drake.
