After a couple of weeks out of town and after a long drive from Hoover Dam, I thought I was hallucinating when, last Friday night, I turned onto Carbon Canyon Road (State Highway 142) from Chino Hills Parkway and was astonished to see that the speed limit sign read "35", not "45," as I headed westbound. Before climbing the S-curve, though, there was another and then three more before I reached Sleepy Hollow and home.
So, what gives?
Did CalTrans make this decision unilaterally?
Did Chino Hills work with CalTrans to set this new limit?
Why, exactly?
Now, this change only applies to the Chino Hills/San Bernardino County side and there is a stretch that was reduced from "50" to "45" on the eastbound portion maybe a quarter-mile or so from Summit Ranch.
Curiously, that first westbound sign is not immediately at the junction of Carbon Canyon Road and Chino Hills Parkway, but maybe a half-mile or less before Azurite Drive at Summit Ranch, so it'd be interesting to know what the actual limit is before you reach the sign.
Is it the same limit that is on Highway 142 when it is Chino Hills Parkway before turning onto Carbon Canyon Road? Is it "35"?
This begs an obvious question after "why?", which is: will this new limit be enforced any more (or less, perhaps is the way to put it) than the old limit? Knowing how much some drivers love to put "the pedal to the metal" on our beloved state highway, it is only natural to wonder whether there'll be more of a concerted effort to curb this behavior.
I suppose we'll know soon enough whether more patrolling will be implemented to determine whether drivers are any more apt to conform to the new limits. Meantime, a call to the CalTrans District 8 office is probably in order!
3 comments:
As an afternoon commuter who often travels from Brea to Chino Hills on Carbon Canyon Road, I can tell you that I haven't seen any evidence of enforcement. When I first encountered the signs (going northeastbound in my case), I slowed down to 35...well, actually I slowed down to 40. When I did so, I noticed that the cars in front of me pulled away, and a ton of cars backed up behind me.
There's no sense in lowering a speed limit if you're not going to enforce it. In fact, it makes things more dangerous because cars are effectively traveling at TWO speed limits, a situation more likely to result in accidents.
Hello Empoprises, in tomorrow's "Chino Hills Champion," there's a short piece about the change, quoting a Chino Hills Sheriff's Deputy, but no one, evidently, asked why the change was made. (I called CalTrans on Wednesday about this and am awaiting [?] a call back.] The article mentioned that tickets were being written, a point raised by a city planning commissioner at last week's meeting. So, whether there are more patrols is the question, as is when they are carried out. If they're being done as before, at set times, people who drive the Canyon regularly will know when to keep an eye out. Meantime, as you say, persons driving at two different speeds (those trying to keep to or a little above the limit and those who drive faster) are in greater conflict. Supposedly, there have been afternoon patrols around 4 or 4:30, or so I was told by the current city manager, but I'm not in the Canyon then usually. Thanks again and come by again!
I have been driving Carbon Canyon road since 1966. Today's tire and suspension technology is far superior to what was -available 56 years ago. Classic cars with modern tire technology will handle better than when first made. With that in mind you can imagine my reaction to the new speed limits. "Who did the calculations for this nonsense?" (Especially since the speed limit through Sleepy Hollow curves is 35mph!?)
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