Is reduced speed limit in La Jolla Shores plausible? Traffic board ponders effectiveness

Driving speeds on La Jolla Shores’ Prestwick Drive have been described by some residents as “absolutely out of control,” impacting people pulling out of their driveways as well as pedestrians walking by or crossing the street.

Resident Laura Eaton, who earlier this year spoke at a La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board meeting about how to address such issues, returned at the board’s Aug. 19 gathering with the idea of reducing the area’s speed limit.

Prestwick Drive is a curvy residential street that also serves as a shortcut from Torrey Pines Road to La Jolla Shores Drive. Eaton says the area is occupied by many senior citizens as well as a few families with young children.

Worried about the safety of their streets, Eaton and some neighbors formed a La Jolla Shores Heights Traffic Committee for Prestwick Drive, Inverness Court, Inverness Drive and Dunaway Drive. One of their ongoing efforts is working with the San Diego Police Department and other city officials to track car speeds using temporary trailers.

The most recent seven-day speed trailer data from June indicated that of the 20,289 cars that passed through the area, 1,174 traveled at speeds exceeding 41 mph. Speeds went as high as 75 mph, Eaton said.

The current speed limit is 30 mph.

Eaton said the community has to start somewhere, and she feels reducing the speed limit is the place to start.

“I think the theory is that if you do lower it to 25 [mph] … a certain number of people will actually slow down,” said T&T Board Chairman Erik Gantzel. “They won’t want to be traveling 10 or 15 mph [above] the speed limit; they’ll want to limit it to 5 …10 mph [over].”

“Who knows?” he said. “But it seems to me that it’s worth trying.”

But the road to reducing car speeds on Prestwick has some bumps ahead, several board members said. And the issue of enforcement looms large.

Gantzel said a city of San Diego proposal in 2015 would have raised the speed limit to 35 mph because so many people were speeding that it was unenforceable. The proposal was rebuffed and the limit remained at 30.

For that reason, Gantzel and others said, a speed limit reduction is “probably a long shot,” as it could make enforcement even more difficult than it is now.

Then there’s the issue of staffing.

San Diego police Officer Tom Cairns said at the June T&T meeting that patrol officers are too busy responding to radio calls for proactive traffic enforcement and that motor units typically enforce speed limits on a rotating schedule in “problem areas.” Those include Torrey Pines and Hidden Valley roads in La Jolla.

Opinions at the Aug. 19 meeting varied on whether a reduced speed limit would affect drivers’ behavior. T&T member Mike McCormack said it could, while others attributed driving speeds to broader, less controllable issues.

“This is a microcosm of La Jolla,” board member John Bauer said. “We deal with it on this street or any street in La Jolla. I just think without enforcement … I don’t think it’s going to change it enough.”

Trustee Patrick Ryan said technological advancements in cars make drivers feel more comfortable brushing past speed limits.

“People will drive the speed they feel safe driving, and that’s just reality,” Ryan said. “And for most cars today, driving down that street at 45 mph is no problem at all.”

La Jolla Shores resident Janie Emerson suggested that Eaton start a petition signed by concerned neighbors and then spread throughout the community.

Ryan supported that notion, saying “If you get 75% of people on a well-written petition in your neighborhood … that you want to change [the speed limit] to 25, then most likely you’ll get the support of this board [for a proposal to the city] to change it to 25.”

Eaton told the La Jolla Light that the office of City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, also recommended that she gather petition signatures from other concerned residents.

However, Eaton said she feels the data from the temporary trailers already proves the severity and urgency of the problem.

“We would like a speed reduction solution from the city before there is a serious injury or death,” she said. “Something can be done if the city leaders make it a priority.”

Several alternatives also are on the table.

The city’s list of approved but unfunded projects includes speed-calming signs in the 8500 block of Prestwick. The city recently indicated that residents can raise funds to implement such signs, as long as they follow the proper permitting process.

Other traffic-calming ideas have been floated, including speed humps and roundabouts. Multiple board members also suggested installing cameras in certain areas to help enforce speed limits.

Emerson said the Captain’s Advisory Board for the Police Department’s Northern Division, which includes La Jolla, is looking at strategic places to run pilot enforcement programs.

Other T&T news

La Jolla Art & Wine Festival: Without any major changes to street closures and required parking spaces from last year, traffic-related plans for the 2025 La Jolla Art & Wine Festival received the board’s unanimous approval.

The 17th annual festival will return to Girard Avenue from from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11-12. It doubles as a fundraiser, with all profits going to programs at La Jolla’s public schools.

Partial closures on Girard Avenue and Wall Street will start at noon Friday, Oct. 10, and expand at 3 p.m. that day. They will continue until 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 13, though organizers say they’re typically out of the area by the night before, barring any setbacks.

Board officers: The next year’s slate of T&T officers was approved at the Aug. 19 meeting.

Gantzel again will serve as chairman, along with Bauer as secretary. Dave Abrams is the new vice chairman, as Bill Podway did not seek reelection to the post.

Next meeting: The La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board next meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Learn more at lajollacpa.org.