Letter -- Chris Kilpatrick

I am writing in response to the recent feature in the News-Press

regarding the traffic survey that suggests increasing the speed limit on

almost 60 streets in our city. This may seem like a healthy idea for a

city with an ever-quickening pace, but it has harsh consequences.

While many believe that the speed limit is too low at times, we must

realize that uniformly raising it -- as this survey seems to suggest --

is by no means a solution. There are some streets where an increase is in

order, such as Honolulu from La Crescenta to Pennsylvania. Then there are

others such as New York Avenue above Foothill Boulevard, where the

existing speed limit is fine.

The key is considering the many factors that should establish a

reasonable speed limit. These are best seen in the difference between New

York and Honolulu. New York is very narrow and the visibility is many

times obstructed by trees, fences, homes and parked vehicles. This, not

to mention the fact that there is a school on the street.

Honolulu, on the other hand, is very wide, with four lanes, a turn

bay, traffic lights and clear visibility. This is just a taste of factors

that should be considered aside from just raw numbers.

A completely unfounded and poorly planned speed limit increase will

not help the citizens of Glendale. It will just make our streets more

unsafe than they already are. I seriously hope that the City Council

considers all the factors involved on a case-to-case basis. They should

also consider enforcement for these new rules.

I have never heard of the Glendale Speedway. Let’s keep it that way!

CHRIS KILPATRICK

La Crescenta