LAGUNA HILLS : Mackenzie Streeters Want Speed Relief

For 20 years Mackenzie Street residents have lobbied first the county and now the young city of Laguna Hills to do something--anything--to slow drivers who use their residential street as a high-speed shortcut between La Paz Road and Alicia Parkway.

But after the residents’ latest year-and-a-half campaign for speed humps, stop signs or cul-de-sacs, the speeders still control the street, they say.

The city has not tried stop signs or speed humps, instead trying to choke traffic down into narrower spaces through pylons where Mackenzie intersects Pike Road and Cousteau Street and new white lines painted along both sides of Mackenzie.

City Engineer Ken Rosenfield said such funneling of traffic has worked in other cities, and that he plans to leave the simulated “choker” in place for three months, surveying traffic to see if speeds slow.

But residents say the stripes have made the street even more dangerous, with speeding cars now coming within inches of crashing into each other, and drivers flooring it once they’ve passed the pylons.

They say low-impact speed humps would force commuters who use Mackenzie as a freeway alternate during rush hour to slow to the 25-m.p.h. speed limit.

Speed surveys have shown that people regularly cruise the street as fast as 60 m.p.h.

“I’m tired of the foot dragging and the speed monitoring,” said William Oldham, who has lived on Mackenzie for 15 years.

The city is not listening, he said, because, “we’re a small minority. Those who live on Mackenzie are the only ones who care.”

City staff members say speed humps would set an unwelcome precedent in a city where no streets have them.

Rosenfield said stop signs also are not a good solution because they generally are used to assign right of way, not slow drivers.

Barricading the street to keep commuters off was tried in the early 1970s but was stopped when too many drivers complained.

Now residents and city officials are waiting to see the results of the “choker” trial.

Rosenfield will bring preliminary results of the latest speed study to the June 28 City Council meeting, along with more information on the speed hump and stop sign alternatives.

Residents say they are frustrated with having spent more than a year and a half bringing their problem to the Traffic Commission, the city engineering department and the council.

“We don’t need another study. We’ve had study after study,” said Susi Schley, a Mackenzie resident for 11 years. “The speeders are still speeding. Someone is going to get hurt. It’s really just a matter of time.”