May 6, 2025
TO: City Council
REQUESTED BY: Stuart McKibbin, City Engineer
APPROVED BY: Robert A. Johnson, City Manager
SUBJECT: Establish Speed Zones Citywide
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council take the following actions:
1. Determine that Ordinance No. 25-03 is statutorily exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15060(c)(2) and Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, because the Ordinance will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and is not a “project,” as that term is defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; and
2. Introduce Ordinance No. 25-03 into the San Jacinto Municipal Code, declaring speed limits on certain City streets:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JACINTO, CALIFORNIA ADDING CHAPTER 10.32 TO TITLE 10 OF THE SAN JACINTO
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO MAXIMUM SPEED LIMITS ON
SPECIFIED STREETS
BACKGROUND:
This work is exempt from CEQA requirements under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2) and Section 15060(c)(3).
The California Vehicle Code (CVC), together with the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD), provides direction to local and state agencies on establishing posted speed limits for a variety of roadways in the State. Generally, unless a prima facie speed limit has been identified in the CVC, agencies are required to conduct an Engineering and Traffic Survey (E&TS) to justify the posted speed limit. For example, the CVC provides for a prima facie speed limit of 25 MPH on local streets, and when approaching or passing school zones (up to 500 feet from the school grounds) without need for an E&TS.
Speed limits are primarily established to protect the traveling public from reckless behavior of dangerous drivers. Speed Limits provide law enforcement with a clear method to identify and enforce speed violations of California Vehicle Code 22350, the basic speed law. CVC 22350 states no person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent, having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property. State law generally requires that local speed limits be set based on the 85th percentile speed of the vehicles driving through the road segment, rounded to the nearest 5 MPH increment to be legally enforceable.
CVC Section 40802 states that at least once every five (5), seven (7), or fourteen (14) years, states and local agencies should re-evaluate non-statutory speed limits on segments of their roadways. Assembly Bill No. 43 (AB43) was approved by the Governor of California on October 8, 2021, and became effective on January 1, 2022. AB43 is an act to amend and add sections to the CVC. The bill authorizes:
• Local authorities to consider the safety of vulnerable pedestrian groups. • Prima facie speed limit of 25 MPH to be established on state highways located in any business or residence district.
• A lowered speed limit on a section of highway contiguous to a business activity district. • Caltrans and local authorities to declare speed limits of 20 or 15 MPH. • The period that a speed limit is justified by a traffic and engineering survey has changed from 10 years to 14 years.
CVC section 22357 authorizes a local authority to adopt by ordinance an increase in local speed limits when the local authority determines, on the basis of an Engineering and Traffic Survey (E&TS), that a speed greater than 25 miles per hour would facilitate the orderly movement of vehicular traffic and would be reasonable and safe.
CVC section 22358 authorizes a local authority to adopt by ordinance a decrease in local speed limits when the local authority determines, on the basis of an E&TS, that a speed less than 65 miles per hour would facilitate the orderly movement of vehicular traffic and would be reasonable and safe.
CVC section 22358.7 authorizes a local authority, by ordinance, to designate a portion of highway as a “safety corridor”, as defined under the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, to further reduce speed limits when the lowered speed limit, pursuant to CVC sections 22357 and 22358.6, is still more than is reasonable or safe. The local authority may do so if, after completing an E&TS, the rounded-down speed limit based on the 85th percentile speed of the vehicles driving through the highway is still more than reasonable or safe.
DISCUSSION:
STC Traffic Inc was hired to perform the Engineering and Traffic Survey for Speed Limits within the City. The City does not have speed limits established in the San Jacinto Municipal Code, so this Engineering and Traffic Survey was necessary to determine whether to establish local speed limits.
STC Traffic Inc surveyed 77 roadway segments in the City, studying the existing characteristics, analyzing speed observation data, and analyzing three-year collision data of the 77 roadway segments. The Engineering and Traffic Survey report recommended increasing the posted speed limit for 17 roadway segments; decreasing the posted speed limit for 6 roadway segments; and to maintain the existing posted speed limit for 50 roadway segments within the City. The 2025 E&TS additionally recommends that speed limit signs reflecting the E&TS recommendation be posted at 4 roadway segments. The 2025 E&TS report is now presented to the City Council for adoption. The recommended speed limits are shown in Table 1 below:
TABLE 1
ID Name of Street or Roadway Affected
Declared Prima Facie
Speed Limit
(Miles per Hour)
1 1st Street from Ramona Boulevard to Vernon Avenue 25
2 7th Street from Melena Lane to Kirby Street 45
3 7th Street from Pine Avenue to State Street 40
4 7th Street from State Street to San Jacinto Avenue 40 5 7th Street from San Jacinto Avenue to Ramona Expressway 35 6 Cawston Avenue from Cottonwood Avenue to 7th Street 40 7 Chase Street from Blodgett Street to Ramona Expressway 30 8 Chase Street from Ramona Expressway to Ramona Boulevard 30 9 Commonwealth Avenue from San Jacinto Avenue to Hewitt Street 40
10 Commonwealth Avenue from Hewitt Street to Esplanade
Avenue 35
11 Community College Drive from State Street to Eagle Road 25 12 Cottonwood Avenue from Warren Road to 1500 ft W of Center Grove Way 50
13 Cottonwood Avenue from 1500 ft W of Center Grove Way to Sanderson Avenue 45
14 Cottonwood Avenue from Sanderson Avenue to Lyon Avenue 45 15 Cottonwood Avenue from Lyon Avenue to Palm Avenue 45 16 Cottonwood Avenue from Palm Avenue to State Street 45 17 De Anza Drive from Lyon Avenue to State Street 45
18 De Anza Drive from State Street to Main Street 35
19 Esplanade Avenue from Sanderson Avenue to Kirby Street 45 20 Esplanade Avenue from Kirby Street to Lyon Avenue 45 21 Esplanade Avenue from Lyon Avenue to Palm Avenue 40
22 Esplanade Avenue from Palm Avenue to State Street 40 23 Esplanade Avenue from State Street to San Jacinto Avenue (West Bound) 40
24 Esplanade Avenue from State Street to San Jacinto Avenue (East Bound) 40
25 Esplanade Avenue from San Jacinto Avenue to Hewitt Street 45 26 Esplanade Avenue from Hewitt Street to Ramona Expressway 45 27 Grand Avenue from North End to 7th Street 30
28 Hewitt Street from Main Street to Evans Street 35
29 Hewitt Street from Evans Street to Commonwealth Avenue 40 30 Hewitt Street from Commonwealth Avenue to Park Avenue 45 31 Idyllwild Drive from Chase Street to San Jacinto Avenue 35 32 Kirby Street from Cottonwood Avenue to Esplanade Avenue 40 33 Lake Park Drive from Ramona Expressway to Soboba Road 50 34 Lyon Avenue/Potter Road from Ramona Expressway to
Cottonwood Avenue 45
35 Lyon Avenue/Potter Road from Cottonwood Avenue to
Esplanade Avenue 50
36 Main Street from 7th Street to San Jacinto Avenue 35 37 Main Street from San Jacinto Avenue to Jordan Avenue 25 38 Main Street from Jordan Avenue to Ramona Expressway 35 39 Menlo Avenue from San Jacinto Avenue to Santa Fe Avenue 35 40 Palm Avenue from De Anza Drive to Investor Place 40
41 Palm Avenue from Investor Place to Esplanade Avenue 35 42 Park Avenue from Cornell Street to Hewitt Street 40
43 Park Avenue from Hewitt Street to Villines Avenue 40 44 Park Avenue from Villines Avenue to N Meridian Street 45 45 Pine Avenue from 7th Street to Esplanade Avenue 30
46 Ramona Boulevard from Sanderson Avenue to Lyon Avenue 50 47 Ramona Boulevard from Lyon Avenue to State Street 45 48 Ramona Boulevard from State Street to San Jacinto Avenue 40 49 Ramona Expressway from Warren Road to Sanderson Avenue 65 50 Ramona Expressway from Sanderson Avenue to Lyon Avenue 65 51 Ramona Expressway from Lyon Avenue to Eagle Road
(North Bound) 55
52 Ramona Expressway from Lyon Avenue to Eagle Road
(East Bound) 55
53 Ramona Expressway from Eagle Road to 7th Street
(West Bound) 60
54 Ramona Expressway from Eagle Road to 7th Street
(East Bound) 60
55 Ramona Expressway from 7th Street to Esplanade Avenue 55 56 Ramona Expressway from Esplanade Avenue to Hemet Street 50 57 San Jacinto Avenue from Ramona Expressway to Main Street 35 58 San Jacinto Avenue from Main Street to 7th Street 40 59 San Jacinto Avenue from 7th Street to Menlo Avenue 40 60 Sanderson Avenue from Ramona Expressway to Cottonwood Avenue (North Bound) 55
61 Sanderson Avenue from Ramona Expressway to Cottonwood Avenue (South Bound) 55
62 Sanderson Avenue from Cottonwood Avenue to Esplanade Avenue 50
63 Santa Fe Avenue from 7th Street to Esplanade Avenue 35 64 Santa Fe Avenue from Esplanade Avenue to Menlo Avenue 40 65 Shaver St/Old mountain Ave from San Jacinto Avenue to Las Rosas Drive 35
66 Soboba Road North Section (Gap in City Limit) 55
67 Soboba Road from Golf Course Entrance to Lake Park Drive 50 68 State Street from Quandt Ranch Road to Ramona Expressway 45 69 State Street from Ramona Expressway to Esplanade Avenue 45 70 Vernon Avenue from Ramona Expressway to Cypress Avenue 45 71 Warren Road from Ramona Expressway to Upperline Avenue 55 72 Warren Road from Upperline Avenue to Cottonwood Avenue (North Bound) 55
73 Warren Road from Upperline Avenue to Cottonwood Avenue (South Bound) 55
74 Warren Road from Cottonwood Avenue to Esplanade Avenue 55 75 Washington Avenue from Villines Avenue to Hemet Street 30 76 Young Streeet from De Anza Drive to Idyllwild Drive 35 77 Vernon Avenue from Cypress Avenue to Main Street 30
In 2020, the City of San Jacinto constructed a safety project on Sanderson Avenue due to a consistent history of car accidents occurring along this roadway. Therefore, the Contract City Engineer justifiably rejected the 60 MPH speed limit recommendation provided by STC Traffic Inc. To maintain an enforceable speed limit, the Contract City Engineer requested STC to investigate the designation of this roadway as a safety corridor. STC Traffic Inc, after review, found that a safety corridor designation was justified by CVC 22358.7(a)(1) CA MUTCD Section 2B.13, Standard 12r allowing a lower enforceable speed limit at 55 MPH. The roadway segments designated as safety corridors are shown on Table 2 below:
Table 2
ID Name of Street or Roadway Affected
Declared Prima Facie
Speed Limit
(Miles per Hour)
60 Sanderson Avenue from Ramona Expressway to
Cottonwood Avenue (NB) 55
61 Sanderson Avenue from Ramona Expressway to
Cottonwood Avenue (SB) 55
The Engineering and Traffic Survey for Speed Limits provides more information about the establishment of the speed limits. The full reports for each segment can be found in the appendices of the document. The document also includes tables, maps, and justifications for the results and recommendations. The document will be provided to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for enforcement purposes.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is an estimated fiscal impact of $10,000 for the installation of new speed limit signs. Any local speed limits that are raised or lowered on the basis of an Engineering and Traffic Survey must be posted by speed limit signs under the California Vehicle Code ATTACHMENTS:
Ordinance No. 25-03 - Speed Limit
Maps from San Jacinto E&TS