Sierraville residents, law enforcement urge Caltrans not to raise speeds on Highways 49/89

Sierraville residents, county officials and law enforcement told Caltrans at a public hearing that proposed increases to speed limits on state Highways 49 and 89 would compromise safety for pedestrians, school buses, driveways and wildlife.

Sierra County Director of Transportation Brian Davies said Caltrans' recent engineering traffic surveys found the 85th-percentile speeds exceed the posted limits and proposed raising a 35 mph zone to 40 mph and removing a 45 mph zone approaching Sierraville. Davies read findings from the 2018 task force that prompted state reforms but said the laws that allow local adjustments largely exclude the state highway system. “The current speed surveys for Sierraville are expired and have been expired for a number of years,” Davies said. “So right now, you don't actually have speed zones. You have speed signs, and they're not enforceable.”

The nut graf: Residents and local safety officials said the proposed increases would heighten risks on a stretch that…