Lower Speed Limits, Radar Devices Sought

When Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Cozzens chats with citizens during his patrols of Hollywood Beach and Silver Strand he hears a common complaint: Too many people speed along their neighborhood streets, endangering other motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and children at play.

Cozzens will ask Channel Islands Beach Community Services District officials to approve a plan tonight to reduce the speed limits in those areas and to furnish deputies with radar equipment.

The district, governed by an elected board of directors, provides water, trash and sewer services to unincorporated beach communities near Channel Islands Harbor. It is also consulted--as in this case--on laws or policies affecting residents or businesses within its boundaries.

Bill Higgins, the district’s general manager, is recommending the board vote for the proposal.

“Speeding has been an issue that has been brought up by the public for many, many years,” Higgins said. “You often see narrow misses when cars pull out of side streets.”

The plan calls a 15-mph limit to be posted on side streets in the area. The limit on Island View Avenue would be reduced from 35 to 25 mph. Ocean Drive is already posted 25 mph, but Higgins said most people drive as fast as 40 mph, and that is why radar tracking and tougher enforcement are important.

To pay for 75 new road signs and two radar devices, Cozzens applied for a grant from the state office of traffic safety. He said he expects to receive the $3,200 he needs. If the services district board approves the plan, Cozzens said he must secure additional approval from the county’s Public Works Agency, because those streets fall within its jurisdiction.