Bill allowing more local control on speed limits inches forward

State Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s (D-Silver Lake) bill allowing cities to lower speed limits is expected to get its third reading soon in the Senate, after which the measure will go up for a vote. The bill passed unanimously in the Assembly.

The bill revises a change in state law that went in effect in 2004. The change forced cities to round up their speed limits to the nearest 5-mph increment after traffic studies, which Gatto says gives some drivers the false impression they can drive even faster.

Gatto’s bill gives local jurisdictions the option to instead round down speed limits.