Escondido commission certifies 20 speed surveys, forwards recommendations to council

The City of Escondido Transportation and Community Safety Commission on Jan. 9 voted 5-0 to certify engineering and traffic speed surveys for 20 street segments and to forward the recommended posted speed limits to the City Council.

The action responds to state requirements for periodic speed surveys. Rob Lau, a consultant with Stack Traffic Consulting, told commissioners the city followed Vehicle Code procedures for determining the 85th-percentile speed (referred to in the meeting as the “80 fifth percentile”) and then applied the code’s rounding rules to recommend posted limits. Lau said most surveyed segments produced speeds close to existing posted limits and that staff recommended approval of the table in the packet.

Why it matters: certification is the formal step that allows the city to post legally enforceable speed limits and support traffic enforcement by the police department under California law. Commissioners noted that accurate documentation and an appropriate professional stamp are necessary to avoid legal challenges to citations.

Lau described the typical survey process: collect vehicle speeds with certified equipment, determine the 85th-percentile speed, and apply statutory rounding. He said recent changes to the Vehicle Code make it easier in some cases to round a measured 38 mph to 35 mph when appropriate. Craig Williams, City of Escondido traffic staff, said the full data for each of the 20 segments is included in the report attachment so the commission and council can review individual segment results.

Commissioners raised two implementation items for staff follow-up. First, several sheets in the packet carried the professional stamp of a prior city traffic engineer (Shahzad) whose stamp has expired; Lau said he is registered in traffic and civil engineering and offered to apply his stamp and replace the pages so the documents will carry a current professional certification. Second, commissioners asked staff to review segment labeling and adjacent segment E6 on Valley Parkway, expressing concern that approving only E5 and E7 now could produce a large posted-speed differential with E6. Staff said they would review E6, confirm whether it was recently updated and report back at a future meeting if adjustments are needed.

Formal action: a motion to approve certification of the 20 speed surveys and forward the recommended posted limits to City Council passed 5-0. The minutes record the motion’s approval but do not name a mover or seconder.

Looking ahead: the commission forwarded the recommendations to the City Council for final approval and asked staff to correct the professional-stamp documentation and double-check Valley Parkway segment labeling before transmittal.