Coto Removes Major Streets’ Speed Bumps

Coto de Caza this month removed speed bumps from its major streets after fire officials said the traffic-slowing devices were hindering efforts by firefighters to quickly respond to emergencies.

Now the Orange County Fire Authority has added language to the fire code requiring greater review by the agency before speed bumps are installed in areas within its jurisdiction.

The revisions come when a growing number of cities across the U.S. are incorporating concerns about emergency-response times in their road designs. Speed bumps have become more common in gated communities like Coto de Caza as well as on public streets.

Capt. Scott Brown of the Orange County Fire Authority said the code changes “assure our participation in the process” when traffic engineers consider adding bumps to roads.

Coto de Caza’s homeowners association ordered the removal of about a dozen speed bumps from the community’s main roads. Other bumps remain on subsidiary streets.

The action resolves a dispute between the fire authority and the association, which at first rejected the agency’s request to get rid of the bumps.

Speed bumps and other traffic-slowing devices have grown in popularity over the last decade as traffic engineers have shifted focus from improving traffic flow to ensuring the safety of pedestrians and drivers.

With their main roads now flattened, Coto de Caza residents continue to struggle with the issue of speed enforcement in the 5,000-acre South County community.

The association must bring Coto’s private roads into compliance with public-street standards if it wants police enforcement. The county has agreed to provide such service, but details must still be ironed out, said John Zarian, a former homeowners association president.

Over the next three weeks, all signs on Coto’s main streets will be changed to comply with the California Vehicle Code, and posted speed limits will be raised from the current 35 mph to 50 mph. The changes are required for the community to receive police service from the Sheriff’s Department.

The increase in the speed limit, though, has many residents concerned.

Lisa Metzger says she’s had what she believes is a vision of what the new 50 mph limit will do to her community.

Several months ago a woman speeding on the main drive lost control of her car, jumped a curb and took out the bushes on the side of a house, Metzger said.

“Had there been anyone on the sidewalk, they would’ve been killed. . . . I have already seen the change since they took the speed bumps out.”

Others, however, said that the old speed limits were impractical for such a large community and that a change was long overdue.

Posted traffic speeds are normally based on a formula that calculates the maximum speed that 85 percent of motorists are likely to drive on a particular road, said county traffic engineer Ignacio Ochoa.