BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1669|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1669
Author: Wagner (R), et al.
Amended: 6/17/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 9-1, 6/24/14
AYES: Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso, Lara, Pavley,
Roth, Wyland
NOES: DeSaulnier
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/7/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Speed limits: Orange Park Acres
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows Orange County, when setting speed
limits within the unincorporated community of Orange Park Acres,
to consider equestrian safety.
ANALYSIS : Speed limits are generally - in California and
elsewhere - set in accordance with engineering and traffic
surveys, which measure prevailing vehicular speeds and establish
the limit at or near the 85th percentile (i.e., the speed that
15% of motorists exceed). California law uses the 85th
percentile to set speed limits, except in cases where:
The limit is set in state law, such as the 65 miles per hour
(mph) limit on divided highways, 55 mph on an undivided
CONTINUED
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highway, 25 mph in residence districts, and 25 mph in school
zones.
An engineering and traffic survey shows that other
safety-related factors suggest a lower speed limit to be
appropriate. These safety-related factors are accident data;
highway, traffic, and roadway conditions not readily apparent
to the driver; residential density; and pedestrian and
bicyclist safety. Based on these safety-related factors,
Caltrans regulations permit a local jurisdiction to reduce a
speed limit by 5 mph from the 85th percentile.
In cases where the 85th percentile speed is not an increment of
5 mph, a jurisdiction rounds to the nearest 5 mph increment.
Thus, if the survey shows an 85th percentile speed of 34 mph,
the jurisdiction sets the speed limit at 35 mph. The
jurisdiction may lower that speed limit by 5 mph (i.e., to 30
mph), if it identifies and documents a safety-related factor.
The jurisdiction cannot, however, lower the speed limit by more
than 5 mph, regardless of additional safety factors.
Alternatively, the jurisdiction can round down rather than to
the nearest 5 mph increment (i.e., to 30 mph), but then cannot
also apply a safety-related factor to lower that speed limit
further.
Finally, existing law permits the City of Norco to use
equestrian safety as a safety-related factor in engineering and
traffic studies.
This bill allows Orange County, when setting speed limits on the
public streets within the common-interest development of Orange
Park Acres, to use equestrian safety as a safety-related factor
in order to decrease posted speed limits by 5 mph from the 85th
percentile speed.
Comments
Orange Park Acres is an unincorporated community in Orange
County that has an extensive network of equestrian trails.
Residents frequently travel through the community by horse,
often traversing the same roads as vehicles. The community
would like the county to consider the safety of equestrian users
in determining speed limits on public roads within the
community, but the county is currently limited to considering
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only the safety-related factors listed in statute. This bill
allows Orange County to consider equestrian safety when posting
speed limits in Orange County Acres.
The 85th percentile . Establishing speed limits at the 85th
percentile is based on the assumption that the majority of
motorists drive at a speed that is reasonable and prudent for
roadway and vehicular conditions. The 85th percentile
represents one standard deviation above the average speed and
establishes an upper limit on what is considered reasonable and
prudent. Furthermore, speed limits depend on voluntary
compliance by the majority of drivers. Speed limits that are
set arbitrarily low would make violators out of the majority of
drivers and may cause drivers to disregard the limit altogether.
Who's speeding in Orange Park Acres ? Orange County traffic
engineering staff report that surveys show that 90% of traffic
on Orange Park Boulevard, the main thoroughfare in the
community, is made up of Orange Park Acres residents. Rather
than lowering speed limits by 5 mph on this road and other roads
in Orange Park Acres, as this bill may allow, the county and
community organization may wish to explore educational and
engineering options that could better serve the desire of
residents to lower speeds on the roads. Options include:
Creating a physical barrier such as a fence or guard rail
where horse trails are particularly close to a roadway with
high vehicle speeds.
Slowing traffic near horse trails and their crossings with
physical changes to the road, such as "rumble strips," Botts'
dots, or bulb-outs to narrow the traffic lanes.
Stopping traffic at equestrian crossings either with stop
signs, yield signs, or equestrian-activated stop lights.
Re-routing horse trails away from the roads.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/24/14)
Association of California Cities - Orange County
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Orange Park Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/7/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bloom, Conway, Donnelly, Eggman, Lowenthal,
Vacancy
JA:e 6/26/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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