Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Speed Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Traffic committee recommends signs, not speed humps, for South Montezuma Way after speed study
Summary
Staff found average daily traffic below the city threshold for speed humps but recorded high 85th‑percentile speeds; the committee approved sign and pavement legend changes and to move a speed‑feedback unit closer to a curve and asked maintenance to trim sight‑blocking trees.
The West Covina Traffic Committee approved engineering recommendations to install speed‑advisory signs, pavement legends and a solar speed‑feedback sign on South Montezuma Way after staff determined the street did not meet the city’s vehicle‑count threshold for speed humps.
Brian Cervantes, engineering division staff, told the committee a review of the segment between South Golden Vista Drive and the nearby curves showed an average daily traffic (ADT) of 165 vehicles, well below the city’s minimum ADT of 500 for speed hump eligibility. Cervantes said the committee’s review included collision data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) for January 2022 through December 2024, which showed zero reported collisions on the segment.
Despite the low ADT, staff’s 24‑hour speed survey found the 85th‑percentile speed at 40 mph — 15 mph over the posted 25 mph limit — prompting staff to recommend more aggressive signage and feedback devices. Cervantes summarized the recommendations: replace faded curve and advisory signs, change two advisory signs from 25 mph to 20 mph, install solar yellow speed‑feedback signs under the 20 mph advisory plaque, and add 25 pavement legends and speed limit signs at both ends of the study segment.
A resident who lives on Montezuma urged the committee to add a feedback sign nearer the Sandy Hill curves and to trim trees that obscure a 25 mph sign. The resident said she frequently sees drivers perform rolling “California stops” and described a near‑miss with a pedestrian: “I nearly hit 1 of those walkers because, of course, you're gonna hit your brakes.” Committee members agreed to relocate one speed‑feedback unit farther south, nearer Sandy Hill, and to forward vegetation concerns to public works for maintenance trimming.
Motion and vote: The committee approved the staff recommendations, with the adjustment to move the third (speed‑feedback) sign south toward Sandy Hill, and referred vegetation trimming to public works for maintenance. The committee recorded the motion as approved (vote in favor: 4; no: 0).
Staff will send the recommended sign and pavement changes to city council for final approval and will coordinate with public works and the police department for targeted enforcement and tree trimming.
