Supervisors recertify Stage Coach Lane speed limits for radar

The speed limits on Stage Coach Lane between Reche Road and South Mission Road were recertified for radar enforcement.

A 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote Feb. 27, recertified the 45 mph 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 mph speed limit on Stage Coach Lane for the 0.76-mile segment between 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road and South Mission Road.

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. Periodic recertification, including a supporting speed survey, is required for continued radar enforcement and the county’s 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 mph if findings are made that the road has conditions which would not be apparent to a motorist unfamiliar with the road. The 40 mph speed limit between South Mission Road and 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road had last been recertified by the board of supervisors in May 2011 and the 45 mph speed limit between Reche Road and 1,580 feet south of Calavo Road was initially approved for radar enforcement by the county supervisors in February 2012. The 45 mph speed limit on that segment was first posted in 1985, and the California Highway Patrol’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, 2018, 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 mph and 55 mph 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 mph with 64 percent of the 214 vehicles traveling within a 10 mph pace of 44 to 53 mph. The July 2011 speed survey at that location measured 237 vehicles which had an 85th percentile speed of 47.5 mph with 75.5 percent of drivers within a 39-48 mph pace.

The most recent speed survey conducted 2,690 feet south of Reche Road observed 206 vehicles April 10, 2018, between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The 85th percentile speed was 50.8 mph with 76.0 percent of the motorists traveling within a 43-52 mph pace. The most common speeds were 47 mph with 23 drivers, 46 mph with 22 vehicles, and 45 mph with 18 motorists. A vehicle which crossed the survey point at 60 mph was the fastest while the slowest speed was 28 mph.

Two speed surveys 680 feet south of Calavo Road were conducted in 2011. The July 2011 survey produced an 85th percentile of 43.4 mph with 83.3 percent of the 222 drivers traveling within a 36-45 mph pace. The November 2011 survey of 127 vehicles had an 85th percentile of 47.9 mph and 69.2 percent of the drivers were within a 38-47 mph pace. The speed survey conducted April 10, 2018, 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 mph and 70.0 percent of the drivers were within a 37-46 mph pace. Two motorists at 27 mph were the slowest and the fastest driver was traveling 62 mph. The most frequent speeds were 42 mph with 36 drivers, 44 mph with 32 drivers and 40 mph with 29 drivers.

The combined 565 drivers at the two locations crossed the survey point at an 85th percentile of 48.9 mph in the 2018 speed survey with 73.0 percent of the drivers within a 40-49 mph pace. The 85th percentile of the combined area led to a recommendation to maintain the uniform 45 mph speed limit rather than to have a short segment with a 50 mph 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, 2018. The 3,351 westbound 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 mph 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 mph for the 316 drivers with 96.5 percent of those traveling within a pace of 38-47 mph, and that year’s survey east of South Mission Road measured 368 drivers whose 85th percentile speed was 42.7 mph with 94.0 percent within a pace of 36-45 mph. The 2011 speed survey east of Knollwood Avenue had an 85th percentile of 42.0 mph for the 214 drivers with 74.8 percent of those being within a pace of 33-42 mph, and that year the 219 motorists measured east of South Mission Road had an 85th percentile speed of 38.0 mph with 62.6 percent within a 26-35 mph 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 mph with 72.0 percent of the drivers within a pace of 35-44 mph. The most common speeds were 39 mph with 16 vehicles and 44 mph with 14 vehicles while 12 drivers apiece crossed the survey point at 36 mph, 41 mph and 42 mph. The fastest driver traveled 52 mph, while the slowest was at 25 mph. 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 mph with 64.0 percent of the drivers in a 33-42 mph pace. The fastest driver had a speed of 53 mph, a vehicle traveling 20 mph was the slowest and the most common speeds were 36 mph with 18 drivers and 41 mph with 14 drivers. The combined 342 drivers at the two locations had an 85th percentile speed of 43.0 mph with 68.0 percent within a 34-43 mph pace.

The county’s Traffic Advisory Committee recommended that the speed limits on Reche Road be retained and recertified for radar enforcement Dec. 14.