The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to lower speed limits on a handful of commercial streets in an effort to promote foot traffic and improve safety.
The move makes use of a state law, AB 43, that gives cities more flexibility over setting speed limits based on safety. Among the streets due to receive speed limits of 20 miles per hour are segments of University Avenue in Hillcrest, 30th Street in North Park and Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. A handful of other streets will have speed limits lowered to 25 miles per hour.
Typically speed limits are based on the actual speeds people drive, which can lead to a phenomenon called "speed creep" that forces cities to raise speed limits after speeding becomes normalized.
The council also voted to retain current speed limits, or revert to prior speed limits, on 72 street segments where traffic surveys showed the city would otherwise have to raise the speed limit.
"The law before AB 43 on typical street speed limits was absolutely backwards and it encouraged drivers to act more dangerously, undermining safety," said Councilmember Raul Campillo.
Benjamin Nicholls, executive director of the Hillcrest Business Association, said slower vehicle speeds create a more welcoming environment for pedestrians that's good for business.
"Having cars move slower through the neighborhood is safer, and I think that will make people feel more comfortable when they're in the neighborhood visiting with businesses," Nicholls said. "At the end of the day, Hillcrest is a walking neighborhood … so that walking experience is something we really want to prioritize in Hillcrest."
Nicholls added that speed limits are easy to ignore, and that he hopes the city will also prioritize widening sidewalks, installing new crosswalks and planting more street trees to calm traffic with infrastructure rather than just signage.
City traffic engineers are working on a citywide "speed management plan" that will expand the city's use of AB 43 to lower speed limits.
