Supervisors approve Flowerwood Lane 25 mph speed limit, side street stop signs

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a 25 mph speed limit for Flowerwood Lane, along with certification of that speed limit for radar enforcement and making the stop signs on four side streets official.

The supervisors' 5-0 vote Jan. 6 approved the first reading and adoptions of the ordinances for the radar-enforced speed limit and stop controls. A second reading and adoption is scheduled for Jan. 27 and the passage of that would make the ordinances effective Feb. 26.

"Flowerwood Lane is a newly-accepted subdivision road where we needed to establish a safe and enforceable speed limit," said Supervisor Bill Horn. "Due to high levels of pedestrian and golf traffic, we felt that 25 miles per hour was an appropriate speed limit."

In 2015, the county's Department of Public Works accepted Flowerwood Lane and several side streets created by the Sycamore Ranch development into the public road system. The acceptance of the roads as public was a condition of a previously-approved subdivision map, so no Board of Supervisors action was necessary for the road acceptance although board action is required for a speed limit on the 1.17-mile segment of Flowerwood Lane between State Route 76 and Knottwood Drive and to make enforceable the stop signs on side streets which were installed by the developer's contractor. The stop signs are at Staghorn Court, Limber Pine Road, Brushwood Lane, and Mendenaro Court where those streets end at Flowerwood Lane.

"In all of these decisions, public safety is the most important consideration," Horn said.

In order for a speed limit to be enforceable by radar, a speed

survey must show that the speed limit is within an adjacent 5 mph increment to the 85th percentile speed. The speed limit may be rounded either up or down from the 85th percentile speed. The speed limit may also be rounded down an additional 5 mph if findings are made that the road has conditions which would not be apparent to a motorist unfamiliar with the road.

The county's Traffic Advisory Committee reviewed the area Oct. 23 and recommended the 25 mph radar-enforced speed limit and an ordinance to make the stop signs enforceable. The TAC made findings of residential density, pedestrian traffic, and three golf cart crossings to allow a 25 mph speed limit to be enforced by radar.

Flowerwood Lane is 40 feet wide, and although it connects State Route 76 with Knottwood Drive it is not classified in the mobility element network of the county's general plan. In August 2015 a traffic survey taken in the 3800 block of Flowerwood Lane revealed a two-way average daily traffic volume of 460 vehicles.

On Sept. 2, 2015, National Data and Surveying Services conducted a speed survey between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. 800 feet north of Limber Pine Road. The speed survey of the 83 vehicles which crossed that portion of the road during those two hours determined an 85th percentile of 32 mph with 87 percent of drivers traveling within a 10 mph pace of 23-32 mph.

Only 20 of those 83 drivers crossed the speed survey point at 25 mph or slower. The fastest drivers in the speed survey were one at 37 mph, three apiece at 36 mph and 35 mph, one at 34 mph, and two at 33 mph. The most common speed was 26 mph with 11 motorists, and nine drivers apiece crossed the survey point at 27 mph and 29 mph. The slowest vehicles were one at 22 mph and four at 23 mph.

Although law enforcement officers may cite a driver for traveling one mile per hour above the speed limit, citations for exceeding the speed limit by less than 5 mph are rarely issued. During the TAC meeting county traffic engineer Zoubir Ouadah noted that most citations would likely be issued for a driver at 40

mph rather than one traveling between 26 mph and 29 mph.

The requirements for a residential district which carries an automatic 25 mph speed limit enforceable by radar include at least 13 houses on one side or 16 houses on both sides within a quarter of a mile, but Flowerwood Lane did not meet the frontage requirements for a residential district.

Periodic recertification, including a supporting speed survey, will be required for continued radar enforcement. The Department of Public Works typically conducts speed surveys every seven years.

Board of Supervisors action would not be necessary to provide edge striping along Flowerwood Lane; the TAC discussed the possibility of edge striping Oct. 23 and did not make a recommendation on that option but noted that edge striping may be considered if the traffic volume increases on Flowerwood Lane.