ENCINITAS – Tired of speeding traffic in their neighborhoods, residents competed last night to be the first to install speed busters.
The City Council discussed which community was most at risk from speeders but had not chosen one by press time.
City engineers have recommended traffic-slowing measures because motorists are increasingly using residential streets as shortcuts or forgetting they need to slow down, said Rob Blough, Encinitas' traffic engineer.
“Sometimes people drive 35 to 40 mph because the road is straight and wide and long,” Blough said. “They can't help but accidentally do that, but people living in the neighborhood say, 'Wow, that's too fast for my kid playing just 10 feet away.'
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Over the past two years, residents on 58 streets have requested traffic-slowing devices, Blough said. City engineers recommended a pilot project at Rubenstein and Summit avenues and Westminster Drive in Cardiff.
Blough cautioned council members that whichever neighborhood they choose, they should pick one where residents seem unanimous in their support for speed-slowing devices. Otherwise, residents who don't like them are likely to complain about the inconvenience later, he said.
Traffic-slowing measures might include widening parts of a street to make it curve and installing roundabouts, which force motorists to slow as they circle around.
Not every resident welcomed traffic-slowing devices.
“Put this in another district,” said Peter Stern, a resident on Rubenstein Avenue in Cardiff. “They will totally destroy the rural, natural feeling of Cardiff.”
Another resident on Rubenstein, Billy Stern, who isn't related to Peter Stern, said 140 families have petitioned for the devices. He urged the council to pick his neighborhood for the test.
Others competing for the traffic-slowing measures argued that speeders endanger them and their children.
“Most of the neighbors are just asking for speed bumps and stop signs,” said Sherri Azimi, a resident on Melba Drive.
A resident on Devonshire Drive pleaded for a speed-slowing device.
“We are bombarded by Scripps (Hospital) traffic,” said Diane Bond. “Is it going to take a lawsuit to get (traffic-slowing devices)?”
Blough said other streets that are most in need of traffic-slowing devices, and where neighborhood residents support the idea, are:
Third Street.
Fortuna Ranch Road.
Balour and Crest drives and Melba Road.
Woodlake Drive.
Village Run East, West and North.
Cerro Street and Willowspring Drive.
Blough said that once a pilot neighborhood is chosen, city staff members will hold workshops to introduce residents to various speed-slowing measures and let them decide what they want.
The costs of such measures range from $6,000 to $9,000 to expand the corner of a street to narrow the road, which slows drivers, to $120,000 to $180,000 for a roundabout.
Angela Lau: (760) 476-8240; angela.lau@uniontrib.com
