On May 11, 2015 an elderly Coronado resident was struck and killed while trying to cross Fourth Street at A Avenue. At 30 mph the risk of death is 45 percent and of injury 95 percent. As noted by the AAA risks vary greatly by age, the “average risk of severe injury or death for a 70-year old pedestrian struck by a car traveling at 25 mph is similar to the risk for a 30-year-old pedestrian struck at 35 mph.”
At the June 2 meeting of the City Council, Caltrans will add insult to actual injuries and to the recent death of a pedestrian on Fourth Street, when it reports on the results of its recently completed Engineering and Traffic Surveys of State Highways 75 and 282 in Coronado. Quoting from the city staff’s report that is part of the City Council’s agenda for the meeting, “The survey recommends a five-mph increase in the speed limit of SR75 east of Orange Avenue.” All other segments of the state highways in Coronado are recommended to remain the same.
Initially, the results of surveys indicated that a five-mph increase on Third and Fourth Streets west of Orange Avenue, and a 10-mph increase on Third and Fourth Streets east of Orange Avenue would be warranted. After consultation with City staff, Caltrans agreed that it was appropriate to apply a five-mph reduction along Third and Fourth Streets as allowed due to accident rates and residential density factors. The result is no change in the current speed limit of 25 mph for the sections of Third and Fourth Streets west of Orange Avenue and a five-mph increase to 30 mph for the sections of Third and Fourth Streets east of Orange Avenue.
As reported in the Article, “Are Increased Speed Limits Coming to Third and Fourth Streets,” published on October 19, 2014, if the 85th percentile speed is 33 mph, it could result in raising the speed limit to 30 mph. The measurements taken by Caltrans in its most recent survey of Third and Fourth Streets between the bridge and Orange Avenue all indicate that the 85th percentile speed of the traffic is greater than 33 mph. At the intersection of Glorietta Place and Pomona Avenue on Third Street, the 85th percentile speed is 34 mph. Only three of the 75 cars included in the sample were traveling at the posted speed limit of 25 mph. All 72 of the others were exceeding the speed limit with 11 traveling at 35 mph or greater. The situation was similar at the intersection of Fourth Street and B Avenue, where the 85th percentile speed was measured at 35 mph. At this location only two of the cars included in the sample of 75 were traveling at the speed limit of 25 mph, the remaining 73 were exceeding the speed limit. Thirteen vehicles were exceeding the limit by at least 10 mph.
Prior to 2005 the posted speed limit on the majority of Third and Fourth Streets was 30 mph and 35 mph on Fourth Street between Orange Avenue and the bridge. These speed limits were reduced to 25 mph for the entirety of Third and Fourth Streets after a speed survey performed by Caltrans in 2005.
Despite the changes in the posted speed limits in Third and Fourth Streets, the actual speed of the traffic has not changed remarkably. East of Orange Avenue the 85th percentile speed of the traffic on Fourth Street was 36 mph in 2006, in both 2011 and 2012 it was also 36 mph, and in Caltrans most recent survey it was 35 mph. The situation west of Orange Avenue on both Third and Fourth Streets is essentially the same. On Third Street in 2001 the 85th percentile speed was 34 mph, in 2013 it was unchanged, and in Caltrans most recent survey it was slightly lower at 31 or 32 mph, depending on the location where it was measured. On Fourth Street the 85th percentile speed was 35 mph in 2001, 33 mph in 2013, and in Caltrans most recent survey it was 32 mph. While the speed of the traffic west of Orange Avenue has decreased slightly from previous surveys, it should be kept in mind that on Third Street only 46 of the 300 vehicles included in the survey, or 15 percent, were traveling at or below the posted speed limit. On Fourth Street the result was almost identical with only 44 of the 300 vehicles surveyed traveling at or below the posted speed limit of 25 mph.
One reason why drivers ignore the posted speed limit is stated in the California Manual for Setting Speed Limits, “Regardless of the posted speed limit, the majority of drives will continue to drive at speeds at which they feel comfortable.” The issue with Third and Fourth Streets is that outside the morning and afternoon rush hours these roads have more capacity than what is required by the traffic on them. Further, they are straight, unobstructed, and aside from the traffic signals at Orange Avenue, they are devoid of measures that would reduce the speed of the traffic. As a result of the majority of the traffic exceeds the posted speed limits.
One of the stated goals of the City’s Transportation Commission is to reduce the actual speed of the majority of the traffic on Third and Fourth Streets to 25 mph. This goal is reflected in the measures, including synchronized traffic signals, recommended in the recently completed study conducted by the traffic engineer firm Fehr and Peers. The recommendations contained in the study are presently being evaluated by the Transportation Commission.
As the speed of traffic increases it becomes rapidly more lethal to pedestrians. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety report, Impact of Speed and a Pedestrian’s Risk of Severe Injury or Death, September 2001 reports that the risk that a pedestrian will be killed increases from 10 percent, when the car is traveling at 23 mph, to 25 percent when the car’s speed is 32 mph. Other data indicates an even greater increase in the likelihood of death as the speed of the vehicle increases. At 20 mph the likelihood that a pedestrian will be killed is five percent but it rises to 45 percent when the car’s speed increases to 30 mph. At 40 mph 85 percent of pedestrians struck would be killed. At the intersection of Glorietta Place and Pomona Avenue, one of the vehicles listed in Caltrans speed survey was traveling at 41 mph.
The potential for injury also increases dramatically as the speed of the vehicles increases. According to the AAA study, the likelihood of injury increases from 25 percent when the vehicle is going 23 mph to 50 percent when the vehicle is traveling at 31 mph, and 75 percent of pedestrians would be injured if they were struck by a car traveling 39 mph. The AAA study states, “These results could be used to inform efforts to improve pedestrian safety, for example, by limiting traffic speeds to levels that are unlikely to result in sever injury or death.”
There is also a relationship between road noise and the speed of the traffic. The United Kingdom Noise Association (UKNA) reports, “There is a measurable link between traffic noise and speed. In urban areas with speeds between 20 and 35 mph, reducing speeds by 6 mph would cut noise levels by up to 40%.” While road noise is influenced by the mix of vehicles that makes up the traffic, the extent of acceleration and deceleration of the traffic, and other factors, data indicates that as traffic speed increases from 25 mph to 35 mph the road noise can increase by almost 100 percent.
Whether the increase in the speed limit that is supported by the results of Caltrans recent speed survey will be implemented is unclear. Assistant City Manager Tom Ritter has stated, “If the recommendation from Caltrans will be to increase the posted speed limits then I’m sure the city will request that a public hearing be held to give the public the opportunity to provide input to Caltrans before their decision is finalized.” City Councilman Richard Bailey has stated, “Although findings are yet to be made official and there will still be opportunities for Coronado to make a case for maintaining the speed limit at 25 mph, it appears increasingly likely that Caltrans will pursue increasing the speed limit to 30 mph. In my opinion, increasing the speed limit in a residential area is not in the best interest of residents.” Councilman Bailey also posted on May 29 a short survey on eCoronado to gather public input on the potential increase in the speed limit. Readers can take the survey and attend the City Council meeting on June 2 to express their opinions about increasing the speed limit on Third and Fourth Streets between the bridge and Orange Avenue. However, as noted above, absent the introduction of physical measures to reduce the speed of the traffic, changes in the posted speed limit will have very little, if any, influence on the actual speed of the traffic on Third and Fourth Streets.
John Tato
Staff Writer
