Speed Limit

Joshua Pelzer Drivers could get the green light to be more on the go, as the City Council considers raising speed limits on 35 stretches of Glendale streets. Speed limits would increase by 5 to 10 mph on the streets, should the council follow a recommendation by the city's traffic and transportation division The proposed revisions are based on the findings of a radar-speed survey required by the California Vehicle Code for setting speed limits and allowing the use of laser and radar for ticket enforcement.

The Oct. 16 News-Press reports that a 21-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a collision with a left-turning car on Honolulu Avenue at Glenwood Avenue in Montrose. This is the section of Honolulu where the speed limit was recently increased. This is also the corner where a pedestrian was killed in the crosswalk a few years back. The crosswalk has since been moved eastward and a signal installed at the new crosswalk. The news report does not estimate how fast either vehicle was moving; but I suspect that at least one was in excess of the new speed limit.

Can anyone explain what the speed limit on Pennsylvania Avenue (between Altura Avenue and Foothill Boulevard) in the city of La Crescenta is? Let me answer the question. It depends which direction one drives. Drivers heading north from Altura should obey a speed limit of 35 mph. However, a sign of 30 mph is posted just past the Mobil gas station as traffic is turned into Pennsylvania from Foothill heading south. Am I confused or dreaming? How can the drivers on the northbound side of Pennsylvania Avenue have an advantage (or disadvantage)

The Glendale City Council will soon consider increasing the speed limit on nearly 60 Glendale streets, as listed in the Nov. 23 Glendale News-Press. Not all streets are appropriate candidates for such an speed limit increase. As an example, there is a change from 25 mph to 30 mph being considered on Chevy Chase Drive between Leith and Charing Cross. Please carefully consider the following. 1. Chevy Chase Drive is a winding street between these two cross streets.

Let me see if I have this straight. Over 85% of Glendale motorists are breaking the posted speed limit on residential streets, blowing through stop signs, red lights and pedestrian walkways because there are no consequences for it. And some of our insane city officials and police want to raise the speed limit on residential streets as some twisted way of solving the problem! Where is the common sense? Stop insulting our intelligence by telling us that we are "behind the times" by keeping the speed limit at a safe speed.

At what point does democracy hurt the population? According to the Nov. 29 article in the News-Press concerning adoption of an ordinance that would raise speed limits on 60 Glendale streets, "Recent legal rulings require speed limits to reflect the speeds at which 85% of drivers are traveling on a given street." Democracy at work dictates that government does what the majority wants. In this case, the majority of Glendale drivers, who are exceeding the speed limit, want these limits increased.

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.

I read the responses to my comments of "How Fast is too Fast?" Commander Don Meredith is part of the problem. As for T.L. Bentz he or she must belong to the my-city-right-or-wrong crowd. The facts remain that the officers have too much range in which to ticket -- 26 mph tickets wouldn't be reasonable. If the speed limit was a realistic 35 mph, my 39 mph -- for which I was ticketed on Pacific Avenue -- wouldn't look so bad. Other municipalities have signs in their school zones that read "25 mph when children present," here in Glendale the entire Pacific Avenue is a school zone 24 hours a day. As long as the ridiculous 25 mph speed limit remains, Pacific Avenue will remain a speed trap.

This is in response to H.G. "Gil" Martinez's letter "How fast is too fast" that appeared in the News-Press on May 31. For a few years, I lived on Olmsted, five doors away from Pacific Avenue., and was always pretty happy with the speed limit there when people obeyed it. Pacific is congested and there are always children present no matter what time of day. Every day, when turning onto Pacific Avenue, I had to be extra careful because of the people speeding down that street with no regard to the 25 mph speed limit.

Give us a sign, traffic authorities What is the speed limit on Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale? There have been a lot of complaints over the years about speeding on Glenoaks Boulevard. I have asked around and there seems to be a difference of opinion on what the speed limit is. While driving it the other day, I noticed that there are very few speed-limit signs posted along the stretch in Glendale. Also, due to the width of the street, they are not particularly visible as you whiz by. Along with the resurfacing that is taking place currently, I think it would be helpful if the speed limits were painted on the roadway itself at regular intervals.

Robert Bursalyan was born on April 30, 1983 in Yerevan, Armenia. His family moved to the United States in August 1989 and settled in Glendale, California. Robert was a Glendale resident for 24 years. He attended school starting from Thomas Jefferson Elementary and finishing at Glendale Community College. People who knew Robert very well knew his true passion was in movies. He incorporated quotes and punch lines from movies in his lifestyle. Robert began going on auditions for TV shows, commercials, and films.

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.

California Highway Patrol officers issued nearly five dozen traffic citations this past weekend on the steep and mountainous Angeles Crest Highway in response to reports of speeding motorcyclists and close-call collisions. The enforcement campaign yielded citations for speeding, unsafe passing and other violations as California Highway Patrol officers staked out the 66-mile route popular with motorcyclists eager to test their skills on the roadway's tight curve. Some near-collisions, including skids into oncoming traffic, have been posted on YouTube.

DOWNTOWN — The Windsor Road crosswalk is a dangerous path for businessman Barry Wishengrad and his employees who stroll it to conduct dealings between two Brand Boulevard car dealerships. Some of the flashing lights don’t work for the crosswalk, where it’s not uncommon for motorists to speed and not yield for pedestrians. “I have walked this crosswalk and almost been hit two dozen times and so have my employees,” said Wishengrad, general manager of Glendale Nissan and Infiniti.

More than 70 motorists were cited over the weekend in a citywide speed enforcement effort in which drivers were caught reaching speeds of up to 63 mph on city streets, police reported. Six Glendale police officers were assigned to the enforcement detail from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday on city streets in mostly Northwest Glendale, Sgt. Dennis Smith said. Police cited 75 drivers for speeding, including one motorist for traveling at 63 mph and several others who were traveling at more than 50 mph on Victory Boulevard, he said.

The city of Glendale would get to test-drive the power to set speed limits on surface streets under legislation proposed by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake). Assembly Bill 529 would address Glendale Police Department concerns about speeding and would reverse a 2004 shift in state calculations that raised many speed limits. “You can't legislate courteous driving habits, but we can make it safer on city streets,” Gatto said. Under California law, authorities gather data on the average speeds on roadways, and then set limits within the 85th percentile of the average.

I am sick of reading all the garbage about crossing a street in an unmarked area. Hello, this is called jaywalking — always has been, and it deserves a ticket. Why do the people in Glendale and Burbank feel we all must bow down and change the laws so they can do whatever pleases them? Give tickets to every one of them, period . "I am disabled" — what a lame excuse! Take a cab, bus or ride in your family's car. Jaywalking should be enforced for everyone, no excuses.

I read the article about the dangerous intersection in Montrose (“Residents cite unsafe intersection,” March 20). Since I live near the intersection of Waltonia Drive and Park Place, I pass through the corner very often, and I have seen two cars that were severely damaged by a traffic collision. I agree with one of the residents that lowering the speed limit will not solve the problem. No matter what the speed limit is, some drivers speed if there is no traffic or pedestrians.

I work for a towing company right next to Glendale. I just read an article that you contributed to regarding a police sting for motorists that didn’t stop for pedestrians on Central and Garfield avenues (“Sting like a bunny,” April 1). I’m having a hard time understanding how this “sting” operation works. By no means am I educated in law enforcement, but I have never gotten a ticket since I started driving six years ago. I consider myself a very safe driver, but on occasions I have stopped for pedestrians who are walking across the street in an unmarked crosswalk.

LA CRESCENTA — Liz Langford has had three cars damaged by hit-and-run drivers while parked in front of her home. In the most recent incident, she awoke to find her car totaled, she said. Langford was one of several dozen residents who attended Thursday’s Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting to plead with Los Angeles County Public Works and California Highway Patrol officials for solutions to what they called a dangerous traffic situation. “We have serious problems,” said Langford, who lives at Waltonia Drive and Park Place in Montrose.