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TAC makes findings to retain Gopher Canyon Road, Live Oak Park Road speed limits

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

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. 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. On Sept. 10, the county's Traffic Advisory Committee made findings of collision rates higher than the statewide average to recommend recertifying the existing Gopher Canyon Road and Live Oak Park Road speed limits for radar enforcement.

The TAC recommended retention and recertification of the 45 mph speed limit on Gopher Canyon Road from Spa Havens Way to East Vista Way, the 40 mph speed limit on Live Oak Park Road between East Mission Road and Gum Tree Lane, and the 35 mph speed limit on Live Oak Park Road from Gum Tree Lane to Reche Road. The 50 mph speed limit on Gopher Canyon Road between Old Highway 395 and Spa Havens Way is currently not certified for radar enforcement, and the TAC also recommended certification of the 50 mph speed limit on that segment. All four votes were unanimous.

If speed surveys are taken at more than one location along a reviewed segment a "speed zone" for the entirety of the speed surveys can be used. Periodic recertification, including a supporting speed survey, is required for continued radar enforcement. The TAC recommendations must be ratified by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, who are expected to address the speed limits and radar certification on Jan. 12, 2022.

Gopher Canyon Road is classified as a Major Road on the mobility element of the county's general plan. The striped two-lane roadway has a travel width ranging from 24 to 48 feet and a road bed width ranging from 28 to 82 feet. The road includes a double solid yellow centerline to prohibit passing and white edge striping. A seven-ton weight limit restricts through travel for heavier vehicles. The street also has an intersection, slow trucks, slide area, and grade advisory warning signs.

Gopher Canyon Road between Old Highway 395 and Spa Havens Way is 2.94 miles. A May 27, 2021, traffic survey 80 feet west of Margale Lane indicated an average daily volume of 15,935 vehicles. The traffic consisted of 8,105 eastbound and 7,820 westbound motorists.

Gopher Canyon Road between Old Highway 395 and Spa Havens Way had 42 reported collisions in the 36-month period from March 1, 2018, to Feb. 28, 2021, for a collision rate of 0.82 per million vehicle miles. The statewide average for similar rolling rural conventional two-lane roads with speed limits of 55 mph or less is 1.19 per million vehicle miles.

The distance along Gopher Canyon Road from Spa Havens Way to East Vista Way is 1.85 miles. "You do transition into more curvature," said TAC secretary Kenton Jones.

The May 27, 2021, traffic survey taken 500 feet west of Little Gopher Canyon Road had an average daily volume of 15,835 motorists with 8,087 of those traveling eastbound and 7,748 driving westbound. The May 2013 traffic survey at that location indicated an average daily volume of 14,990 vehicles.

The 43 reported collisions on Gopher Canyon Road between Spa Havens Way and East Vista Way between March 1, 2018, and Feb. 28, 2021, included 19 with injuries. The 1.34 collisions per million vehicle miles is in excess of the statewide average of 1.19 per million vehicle miles for similar roads.

"We do have that condition not readily apparent," Jones said.

The collisions included 19 either at the intersection of Gopher Canyon Road and Little Gopher Canyon Road or along the curve west of Little Gopher Canyon Road. That area accounted for nine of the injury collisions. The county's Department of Public Works has looked at road improvements to improve the safety of the curve segment but has not identified the necessary funding.

"It would be a capital improvement project that would require funding from the Board of Supervisors," said DPW engineering technician Ben Baker.

Unsafe speed was identified as the cause of 13 of the collisions along the curve, including six of the injury collisions. Four of the collisions, including two with an injury, were due to improper turning. Driving on the wrong side of the road caused the other two collisions, including one with an injury.

(Driving under the influence was the cause of six of the collisions along the segment, including two with one injury and one with three injuries, but none of those were along the sharper portions of the curve.)

Because retaining the existing 45 mph speed limit required findings, the collisions cannot be addressed by lowering the speed limit even further. "I don't know if we can do any better than that," said Jim Custeau, who is the TAC public member for the Second Supervisorial District.

Live Oak Park Road is a striped two-lane roadway which is not classified on the mobility element. Both the travel width and the road bed width are 24 feet. The roadway has centerline striping which prohibits passing. Height, school bus stop, slide area, and turn advisory warning signs abut the road.

Live Oak Park Road measures 1.42 miles between East Mission Road and Gum Tree Lane. The traffic survey was taken 100 feet north of Ridge Drive. The May 27, 2021, survey counted 1,029 northbound and 938 southbound vehicles for a total of 1,967. The previous survey at that location in December 2012 counted 2,590 motorists.

Live Oak Park Road from East Mission Road to Gum Tree Lane had 10 reported collisions between March 1, 2018, and Feb. 28, 2021, including three which involved injury. The collision rate of 3.28 per million vehicle miles is more than double the statewide average of 1.60 collisions per million vehicle miles for similar suburban conventional two-lane roads with speed limits under 45 mph. Two of the three injury collisions were caused by driving under the influence, and both of those injury collisions were in February 2021 and occurred between midnight and 3:15 a.m.

The Live Oak Park Road distance from Gum Tree Lane to Reche Road is 1.16 miles. The May 27, 2021, traffic count of 1,959 vehicles 860 feet south of Los Cerritos Lane reflects 983 southbound and 976 northbound motorists. The December 2012 traffic survey at that location produced an average daily volume of 1,900 vehicles.

The only speed survey for Live Oak Park Road between Gum Tree Lane and Reche Road was taken 860 feet south of Los Cerritos Lane. The 2012 survey had an 85th percentile of 39.0 mph with 68.3% of drivers in a 28-37 mph pace. The May 27, 2021, survey counted 240 vehicles with an 85th percentile of 40.8 mph and 77% in a 32-41 mph pace.

Eight reported collisions, including three involving injury, produced a rate of 3.22 per million vehicles compared to the statewide average of 1.60 for similar roads.

 

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