Though County Engineer Jon Olson said a recent traffic study justified Boulder Avenue’s current speed limit, the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to reduce it to 35 mph.

Boulder Avenue stretches just over a half mile from Lake Earl Drive to Railroad Avenue north of Crescent City. After receiving a petition from property owners on that road to lower the speed limit, the county conducted a traffic study on Nov. 7 and 8.

Olson said the study determined that of the motorists traveling the road that day, 85 percent were driving at 39.5 mph. He cited California Vehicle Code as the reason the speed limit should stay 40 mph, but with a caveat.

“There was one area inside the Vehicle Code where it says you are allowed to round down 5 mph and still make that an enforceable speed limit,” Olson told supervisors. “So, since the finding was at 39.5 mph, I can make the justification to lower that speed limit down to 35.”

Olson said there’s also no speed limit sign on the west side of Boulder, something he recommend the Board of Supervisors fix.
County supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of reducing the speed limit from 40 to 35 mph while installing a new speed limit sign on Boulder’s west side. District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short dissented.

In June, the Board of Supervisors will be able to retain the 35 mph speed limit or adopt the previous 40 mph speed limit, according to Olson’s staff report.

Short had made a motion to install a speed limit sign with the current 40 mph speed limit to see if that created a change in how fast people turning onto Boulder from Lake Earl Drive travel. That motion died from lack of a second.

“That’s probably the most active side,” he said. “People don’t even know what the speed limit is on the road is my reasoning.”

Short suggested installing a 40 mph speed limit sign in the hopes that it would correct that 15 percent of the traveling public who were going at speeds greater than 39.5 mph. The Board could revisit the Boulder Avenue speed limit in June, he said.

Olson also brought up the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which states that speed limits can’t be arbitrarily set low since a majority of drivers would be in violation. This, he said, would create a speed trap and wouldn’t be enforceable.

“Some of the questions that came up were, ‘Isn’t this a residential zone? Shouldn’t it be established at 25 mph?’" Olson said. “While it meets the density for a residential zone, there are certain conditions inside the rules that say if your house is set back so far, then it doesn’t count toward that density.”

Olson’s staff report cited Section 240 of the California Vehicle Code, that only counts buildings that are within 75 feet of the roadway. Most houses on Boulder Avenue are set too far back, he said.

County staff also explored whether Boulder Avenue could be designated as a safety corridor. But that’s based on the number of collisions and with only three or four occurring on that stretch of road in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the county couldn’t designate Boulder as a safety corridor, Olson said.

District 4 Supervisor Joey Borges, who was in favor of reducing the speed limit and installing a speed limit sign on the west side, pointed out that it’s a narrow road with ditches on both sides.

“I think any opportunity that we can lower it, even if it’s only 35 instead of 25, I think that’s huge,” he said. “It would benefit all the neighbors who, every single one, has signed a petition that they have a problem with it. I would strongly suggest to at least do 35 and a new sign.”

Olson said he would return to the Board of Supervisors at a future date with an ordinance reducing the speed limit.

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