LAKEPORT, Calif. – In response to an increase in the speed limit and concerns about safety and speeding from area residents, the Lakeport Police Department reported that increased traffic enforcement on 20th Street will begin in December.

Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said city officials in a number of departments are beginning to create an enforcement plan in the area.

On Nov. 1, the Lakeport City Council held a public hearing prior to approving an ordinance that included recommended speed zone changes on various streets in the City of Lakeport, as Lake County News has reported.

One of the areas impacted is the segment of 20th Street between Hartley Street and Alden Avenue, where, according to parameters set in state law, the speed needed to be raised from 25 to 30 miles per hour.

The full speed zone survey that was the basis of that speed limit change can be found at http://www.cityoflakeport.com/hot-details.aspx?id=200 .

While the area in question currently has a posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour, the traffic speed zone survey found that 85 percent of vehicles traveling through the area were traveling at an average speed of 36 miles per hour.

With 36 miles per hour being determined as the 85th percentile, traffic engineer Phil Dow analyzed the data from the survey then evaluated other factors such as number of reported accidents, roadway size, and the condition and type of area the roadway travels through.

Speed zone determinations are a highly regulated process, governed under the California Vehicle Code, which provides very limited discretion to the traffic engineer in making a recommendation where the speed limit should be set. 

Due to state restrictions, Dow only had the discretion to recommend a speed limit within 6 miles per hour of the 85th percentile speed of 36 miles per hour, which would be 30 or 40 miles per hour. Because the area is residential, Dow's recommendation was 30 miles per hour.

State law further requires that if a jurisdiction wants to enforce speed limits by use of electronic device, such as radar, the only practical and effective way for police to enforce speed in the city of Lakeport, it must conduct speed zone surveys every five years and set the limits based on the results of the survey. 

In the 20th Street area the roadway condition is good, wider than other residential areas and has a large tract of undeveloped land, Rasmussen said.

Residents of 20th Street told the council during the Nov. 1 public hearing about their serious concerns of speeding in the area now, and that the change in the speed limit might lead to increased safety concerns.

Rasmussen said that it was clear at the council meeting that many residents in the area were very concerned about the speed limit being reset from 25 to 30 miles per hour.

After hearing all testimony, the Lakeport City Council was faced with a decision of keeping the existing 25-mile-per-hour signage but forfeiting the ability of enforcing speeding violations or raising the speed limit to 30 miles per hour.

Although the city council and staff were not comfortable with the 30-mile-per-hour speed limit, it was accepted so that enforcement can continue. 

Rasmussen said the police department is immediately beginning its work with other city departments including Community Development, Engineering, Public Works and with the neighborhood to develop an enforcement and education plan.

He said that plan's goal is to reduce the 85th percentile speed of 36 miles per hour down to 30 miles per hour or below over the next several months and allow for a new speed zone study for this segment of roadway. 

City departments also will be looking at traffic calming measures which could be used in the area, Rasmussen said.

“We believe that if everyone works together we can be successful in getting survey results that will lower the enforceable speed limit back down to 25 miles per hour,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said residents of the 20th Street area and all other citizens driving in the area should consider this fair warning that starting around Dec. 1 Lakeport Police officers will be aggressively enforcing all speeding violations. 

“Exceeding 30 miles per hour by any number will be strictly enforced,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said he'll provide additional information regarding other zones in a future update.