Speed Limits

The American autobahn is gone. Montana's freewheeling status as the only state without a daytime speed limit evaporated a half-hour before sunrise today. Now the state's top speed is 75 mph on interstates, day or night. The new law takes effect on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend, 3 1/2 years after Congress repealed federal speed limits and the signs came down along Montana's highways.

Speed limits on several Moorpark streets will inch upward under a resolution approved by the City Council. The council voted late Wednesday to raise, by 5 mph, speed limits on three streets, including one of the city's main thoroughfares. In a sense, the move was intended to slow drivers down.

Early next month, thousands of motorists who commute through this city will notice posted speed limits on major streets. After completing its first traffic study in October, the City Council adopted an ordinance last month to post a 45-m.p.h. speed limit on most thoroughfares, said Ken Rosenfield, city traffic engineer. "Our primary concern is providing an environment for the best traffic safety we can," Rosenfield said. In January, 45-m.p.h. signs will be erected on arterial streets.

Legislation backed by the city of Thousand Oaks that would alter how speed limits are set on certain major streets won unanimous approval in the Assembly on Monday. The bill, AB 872, sponsored by Assemblyman Tony Strickland, passed 72-0 and now goes to the state Senate. The legislation lets cities consider residential density along with pedestrian and bicyclist safety when posting limits lower than the normal traffic flow on urban, divided and restricted-access arterial highways.

Motorists driving along El Camino Real are advised to pay attention to new speed limits in the downtown area. Amid complaints from merchants about drivers posing a danger to others as they speed past businesses, City Council members this week lowered the speed limit between El Portal and Avenida Valencia from 35 mph to 30 mph. Akram Hindiyeh, a city civil engineer, said there are some speeding problems in the area, but reports of accidents are very low.

Changes in speed limits on Meats and Serrano avenues have been given preliminary approval by the City Council. The revisions came after the city had a professional speed-zone engineering and traffic survey conducted. State law requires cities to have periodic updates of such traffic studies to determine if posted speeds are legally reasonable.

Agreeing that reducing speed limits in the Hollywood Beach and Silver Strandneighborhoods would make the streets safer for residents and visiting beach goers, officials have approved a plan to post new road signs and equip sheriff's patrol cars with radar devices.

In changes related to a traffic consultant's study of city streets, speed limits in four areas will rise to 45 mph, the City Council voted this week. The four areas, where the speed limit was formerly 40 mph, are: * Bushard Street between Garfield and Edinger avenues; * Heil Avenue between Magnolia and Brookhurst streets; * Heil between Euclid Street and Harbor Boulevard; * and Ellis Avenue between Newland and Bushard streets.

An attempt to slow traffic on some of the busiest streets in Thousand Oaks hit a roadblock in Sacramento this week -- but officials are hoping it's only temporary. The city was seeking legislation to preset a speed limit of 45 mph on high-volume thoroughfares. Posted speeds on such roads are normally set after traffic studies are conducted to determine how fast most motorists actually travel. But opposition from the Automobile Club of Southern California and the California Bus Assn.