Drivers may soon notice that the speed limit has changed on various roads across San Luis Obispo County. The speed limit will increase only in a single location in the rural California Valley, while speed limits will go down in eight areas of the county. [KSBY]
In line with regulatory requirements, SLO County officials recently conducted a traffic engineering survey and reevaluated speed limits, as they must do every seven years, said Dave Flynn, deputy director of SLO County Public Works. The nine speed limit changes that are set to take effect as a result of the study are not a response to any specific collision patterns. In some areas of the county, development and population growth are the causes for mandating that drivers travel slower.
Near the San Luis Obispo airport, the speed limit will decrease from 55 mph to 50 mph at Buckley Road and Vachell Lane, where the Avila Ranch development will be built. In downtown Templeton, the speed limit on Main Street will go down from 45 mph to 40 mph. The Templeton change is likewise due to concerns over growth.
In Los Osos, the traffic study found that some drivers may have been driving too fast because they did not know they were in 25 mph zones in the areas of El Morro, Paso Robles and Santa Ynez avenues. County workers will place more signs in the area to address the problem.
The speed limit increase in the California Valley will affect traffic on Soda Lake Road. The county will increase the speed limit on Soda Lake Road from 35 mph to 50 mph after the traffic study found few drivers abide by the limit in the remote location.
New speed limit signs are expected to go up in the next two weeks.
I definitely find good in changing these speed limits, but there are a lot more roads in SLO county that need to have a marked speed limit, Templeton specifically. I can name five roads that should have better signage or that aren’t marked. For example, Main Street used to have multiple signs in both directions in downtown which mark the speed limit 30, but now they only have one sign facing southbound traffic as you enter town. Now I think people drive way too fast on Main Street, especially after seeing a driver run into a biker right in front of me, so they really need to reinstall those signs and maybe even install some of those radar speed signs so drivers are aware of their speed. Also, Old County Road only has 30 mph signs facing northbound traffic. Bethel Road north of Las Tablas has no signage at all and should probably be posted at 45 mph, and Florence Street should probably be posted as either 30 or 35 mph. Last, all the country roads east of Templeton i.e. El Pomar, Neal Springs, and River Road should either get a 50 or 55 mph speed limit.
“The county will increase the speed limit on Soda Lake Road from 35 mph to 50 mph after the traffic study found few drivers abide by the limit in the remote location.”
By this logic, large swaths of 101 should be 85+ mph… Still, requiring 35mph out in the middle of nowhere is rough.
Actually, 101 already had its speed limit raise like years ago, the speed limit was raised from 55 to 65. I do think raising the speed limit to 70 on rural freeways throughout California that already aren’t, 101 specifically, wouldn’t be such a bad idea though.