SIMI VALLEY : Council Boosts Speed Limits on 6 Streets

Simi Valley motorists will be able to drive faster--legally--on six stretches of roadway under revised speed limits adopted by the City Council this week.

The new speed limits are in keeping with a state law requiring roads to be surveyed every five years so that the limits reflect current driving habits, said Bill Golubics, city traffic engineer.

Under the law, radar cannot be used if more than 15% of the drivers exceed the limit.

“If we don’t use radar, it makes it extremely difficult to enforce speed limits,” Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said Tuesday. “It’s so hard that we basically can’t do any enforcement on those streets.”

Limits will be increased from 45 m.p.h. to 50 m.p.h. at the following locations:

* Country Club Drive from the western intersection with Madera Road to Wood Ranch Parkway.

* 1st Street, from Bluegrass Street to Arcane Street.

* Los Angeles Avenue, from Erringer Road to Sycamore Drive.

* Madera Road from its eastern intersection with Country Club Drive to Royal Avenue.

* Tierra Rejada Road, from Mandan Place to Madera Road.

The speed limit on Alamo Street, from Yosemite Avenue to Stearns Street, will jump from 40 m.p.h. to 50 m.p.h.

The new limits will go into effect as soon as the city Public Works Department can post new signs, which will take about two weeks.