TAC recommends retention of Stage Coach Lane speed limits

The county’s Traffic Advisory Committee recommended that the speed limits on Stage Coach Lane between Reche Road and South Mission Road be retained and recertified for radar enforcement.

The Dec. 14 TAC recommendation included retaining and recertifying the 45 miles per hour speed limit on Stage Coach Lane for the 1.2 miles from Reche Road to 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road and the 40 miles per hour speed limit on Stage Coach Lane for the 0.76-mile segment between 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road and South Mission Road.

“CHP Oceanside was very comfortable with the current postings,” TAC secretary Kenton Jones said.

The Traffic Advisory Committee includes representatives from the California Highway Patrol’s Oceanside, El Cajon and Border stations and also includes representatives from the California Department of Transportation, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, the county’s Department of Public Works, the San Diego County Regional Fire Authority, the San Diego County Office of Education, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, the San Diego Safety Council, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of San Diego, a public member representing the Second Supervisorial District and a public member representing the 3rd District and 5th District. All TAC recommendations must be ratified by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors; the county supervisors are scheduled to consider the retention and recertification of the Stage Coach Lane speed limits Feb. 27.

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 miles per hour increment to the 85th percentile speed. Periodic recertification, including a supporting speed survey, is required for continued radar enforcement and the Department of Public Works or a DPW contractor typically conducts speed surveys every seven years. 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 miles per hour if findings are made that the road has conditions which would not be apparent to a motorist unfamiliar with the road. The 40 miles per hour speed limit between South Mission Road and 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road was last recertified by the board of supervisors in May 2011 following a March 2011 TAC recommendation, and the 45 miles per hour speed limit between Reche Road and 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road was approved for radar enforcement by the county supervisors in February 2012 after the TAC recommended the use of radar in December 2011. The 45 miles per hour speed limit on that segment was first posted in 1985, and the CHP’s Oceanside office recommended radar enforcement in 2011 due to community complaints about speeding drivers.

Both segments of Stage Coach Lane are striped two-lane through highways, and the road is classified as a light collector in the mobility element of the county’s general plan. The road ranges in width from 26 to 40 feet. Edge striping is on both sides of the roadway between South Mission Road and 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road.

The traffic survey for the segment between Reche Road and 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road was taken 680 feet south of Calavo Road. The April 24 traffic survey produced a two-way average daily volume of 6,182 vehicles, consisting of 3,120 northbound and 3,062 southbound motorists. Fallbrook High School is on Stage Coach Lane while Potter Junior High School and Live Oak Elementary School are on Reche Road, so the greatest volumes of traffic were during the hours of school dropoff and pickup rather than after businesses close at 5 p.m. The highest traffic count during any hour was 819 vehicles between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and the next-highest hourly volume was 589 vehicles between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. The November 2011 traffic survey at that location produced an average daily volume of 6,300 vehicles.

Traffic surveys for that segment of Stage Coach Lane were previously taken at Brooke Road and indicated average daily volumes of 7,110 motorists in October 2008, 7,710 vehicles in November 2004 and 2,920 drivers in April 1991. Traffic surveys are also taken to determine whether an intersection should be placed on the county’s Traffic Signal Priority List, and the intersection of Stage Coach Lane with Brooke Road and Calavo Road was placed on the list by a February 2011 board of supervisors’ action.

During the 60-month period from Aug. 1, 2013, to July 31, 2018, 17 collisions were reported along Stage Coach Lane between Reche Road and 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road. Five of those collisions involved injury. The reported collisions equate to an accident rate of 1.26 per million vehicle miles. The statewide rate for similar suburban conventional two-lane roads with speed limits between 45 miles per hour and 55 miles per hour is 1.19 collisions per million vehicle miles.

Speed surveys were taken 2,690 feet south of Reche Road and 680 feet south of Calavo Road. The first speed survey taken 2,690 feet south of Reche Road occurred in 1998 when the 85th percentile speed was 52.7 miles per hour with 64 percent of the 214 vehicles traveling within a 10 miles per hour pace of 44 to 53 miles per hour. The July 2011 speed survey at that location measured 237 vehicles, which had an 85th percentile speed of 47.5 miles per hour with 75.5 percent of drivers within a 39-48 miles per hour pace.

The most recent speed survey conducted 2,690 feet south of Reche Road observed 206 vehicles April 10, between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The 85th percentile speed was 50.8 miles per hour with 76.0 percent of the motorists traveling within a 43-52 miles per hour pace. The most common speeds were 47 miles per hour with 23 drivers, 46 miles per hour with 22 vehicles and 45 miles per hour with 18 motorists. A vehicle which crossed the survey point at 60 miles per hour was the fastest while the slowest speed was 28 miles per hour.

Two speed surveys 680 feet south of Calavo Road were conducted in 2011. The July 2011 survey produced an 85th percentile of 43.4 miles per hour with 83.3 percent of the 222 drivers traveling within a 36-45 miles per hour pace. The November 2011 survey of 127 vehicles had an 85th percentile of 47.9 miles per hour and 69.2 percent of the drivers were within a 38-47 miles per hour pace. The speed survey conducted April 10, measured the speeds of the 359 vehicles which crossed the survey point between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. The 85th percentile was 47.1 miles per hour and 70.0 percent of the drivers were within a 37-46 miles per hour pace. Two motorists at 27 miles per hour were the slowest, and the fastest driver was traveling 62 miles per hour. The most frequent speeds were 42 miles per hour with 36 drivers, 44 miles per hour with 32 drivers and 40 miles per hour with 29 drivers.

The combined 565 drivers at the two locations crossed the survey point at an 85th percentile of 48.9 miles per hour in the 2018 speed survey with 73.0 percent of the drivers within a 40-49 miles per hour pace. The 85th percentile of the combined area led to a recommendation to maintain the uniform 45 miles per hour speed limit rather than to have a short segment with a 50 miles per hour speed limit.

The traffic survey for the portion from 1,580 feet south of Calavo Lane to South Mission Road was taken 150 feet east of Rujean Lane Oct. 10. The 3,351 westbound motorists and 3,273 eastbound motorists produced an average daily volume of 6,624 vehicles. The heaviest hours were 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. with 747 motorists, noon to 1 p.m. with 635 drivers, and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. with 556 vehicles.

The 2018 traffic survey east of Rujean Lane was the first at that location. An October 2008 survey west of Calavo Road indicated a volume of 6,720 vehicles. Surveys east of South Mission Road had average daily volumes of 9,770 motorists in November 2003 and 6,490 drivers in September 1996.

The collision rate is based on the 60-month period from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2018. The 16 reported collisions, including eight in which injury occurred, produced a rate of 1.56 collisions per million vehicle miles. The statewide average for similar suburban conventional two-lane roads with speed limits less than 45 miles per hour is 1.8 per million vehicle miles.

Speed surveys were taken 200 feet east of Knollwood Avenue and 900 feet east of South Mission Road. The 2004 speed survey east of Knollwood Avenue had an 85th percentile of 44.1 miles per hour for the 316 drivers with 96.5 percent of those traveling within a pace of 38-47 miles per hour, and that year’s survey east of South Mission Road measured 368 drivers whose 85th percentile speed was 42.7 miles per hour with 94.0 percent within a pace of 36-45 miles per hour. The 2011 speed survey east of Knollwood Avenue had an 85th percentile of 42.0 miles per hour for the 214 drivers with 74.8 percent of those being within a pace of 33-42 miles per hour, and that year the 219 motorists measured east of South Mission Road had an 85th percentile speed of 38.0 miles per hour with 62.6 percent within a 26-35 miles per hour pace.

The 2018 speed surveys were conducted April 9. The survey 200 feet east of Knollwood Avenue was taken between 9:20 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. and measured 152 vehicles whose 85th percentile speed was 43.7 miles per hour with 72.0 percent of the drivers within a pace of 35-44 miles per hour. The most common speeds were 39 miles per hour with 16 vehicles and 44 miles per hour with 14 vehicles while 12 drivers apiece crossed the survey point at 36 miles per hour, 41 miles per hour and 42 miles per hour. The fastest driver traveled 52 miles per hour while the slowest was at 25 miles per hour. The speed survey 900 feet east of South Mission Road covered 190 vehicles between 11:55 a.m. and 1:55 p.m. The 85th percentile speed at that location was 42.3 miles per hour with 64.0 percent of the drivers in a 33-42 miles per hour pace. The fastest driver had a speed of 53 miles per hour, a vehicle traveling 20 miles per hour was the slowest, and the most common speeds were 36 miles per hour with 18 drivers and 41 miles per hour with 14 drivers. The combined 342 drivers at the two locations had an 85th percentile speed of 43.0 miles per hour with 68.0 percent within a 34-43 miles per hour pace.