Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Admiral Way Hill: Why Speed Limit Only 30 MPH?!
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September 22, 2009 at 6:07 pm #677697
swimcatMemberI see pedestrians all the time KBear- I’m one of those drivers that actually looks pretty far up the road to see wtf I’m coming up on since I’m a good defensive driver. I will gladly restate that I have NEVER seen a pedestrian on that stretch of Admiral. Just like some people on this forum seem to NEVER see buses in the bus only lane of the high bridge.
September 22, 2009 at 6:28 pm #677698
JoBParticipantm..
i have stopped for pedestrians trying to cross Admiral Way both ways to access that bus stop… and more than once i have passed a bus stopped at that bus stop…
so i am pretty certain that bus stop gets used.
September 22, 2009 at 6:35 pm #677699
swimcatMemberIt’s all in the timing I suppose JoB.
September 22, 2009 at 6:38 pm #677700
KBearParticipantGo ahead and drive 35 mph then. You probably won’t get a ticket.
September 22, 2009 at 8:01 pm #677701
beachdrivegirlParticipantIt would be interesting to know how often people that think they know hwat is right and wrong about this speed limit actually use the road. It would also be interesting to know what people have done (i.e. contact SDOT) if they are unhappy with the current situation.
September 22, 2009 at 11:27 pm #677702
IrukandjiParticipantI live in the area and would gladly take the bus if I didn’t have to cross Admiral. Drivers just (mostly) don’t stop for pedestrians unless at the signal at the viewpoint or up at 41st. Even then, I know of someone hit while legally crossing in a signaled walk.
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I’d surmise that the combo of street grade, cars entering roadway at top, middle and bottom, and road curves at either end all contributed to the lowering of the speed limit. That, plus a death or two and planters that are repeatedly busted by out of control drivers.
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September 22, 2009 at 11:28 pm #677703
IrukandjiParticipantI live in the area and would gladly take the bus if I didn’t have to cross Admiral. Drivers just (mostly) don’t stop for pedestrians unless at the signal at the viewpoint or up at 41st. Even then, I know of someone hit while legally crossing in a signaled walk.
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I’d surmise that the combo of street grade, cars entering roadway at top, middle and bottom, and road curves at either end all contributed to the lowering of the speed limit. That, plus a death or two and planters that are repeatedly busted by out of control drivers.
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September 23, 2009 at 12:02 am #677704
sam-cParticipantno, I was referring to the “because that is the natural speed my car wants to go” quote- being joked about in post 16, and then several others, like 37.. that quote, from a previous thread, is not from me.
as much as I like my car, it doesn’t have feelings. while I feel like it would be safe to drive 35, I can’t ask my car its opinion.
September 23, 2009 at 2:51 am #677705
CaitParticipantWhoa KBear – I’m not saying anything about what’s normal for arterials, I took drivers ed – if anything is proves my point. 35 mph exceptions are OK for Delridge where there are TONS of kids, school zones for people to ignore and just as many opportunities for hazard… but not on Admiral? I think the answer is more lighted crosswalks, not one sign at the top of the hill for you to forget about.
My point is WHY is 35 (which I acknowledge is more than normal) OK for Delridge but not for Admiral, given population issues and the fact that there are crazy drivers EVERYWHERE, not just in YOUR neighborhood.
September 23, 2009 at 3:29 am #677706
SarahScootParticipantActually, sam-c, I brought up the “natural speed” quote because villagegreen is the one that made that statement in the original discussion, and it was villagegreen saying nearly the same thing again. If you look back at the discussion, s/he said nearly the same thing here. That’s why I was “making fun” of it – because it was a ridiculous argument then, and it’s ridiculous now.
Your car also “naturally” wants to continue to go straight when a road turns, and wants to keep going when a traffic light turns red. It’s called inertia, and is Newton’s first law of motion. That doesn’t excuse us as drivers from enacting that “external force” Newton referenced.
September 23, 2009 at 5:05 pm #677707
villagegreenMemberArguing over the “natural speed” statement is ridiculous. Everyone knows what was implied by “natural speed,” but some people who probably self-identify as “funny” decided to make a joke of it. In case their are some that really are that confused, the “natural speed” implies a safe appropriate speed for the road, taking into account bus stops, pedestrians, cross-walks, etc. I would assume that whomever made the statement about the “natural speed my car wants to go” meant the same thing. Newton is irrelevant in this case, as is your condescension.
The easiest and most logical solution would have been to leave the speed limit at the appropriate 35mph and actual patrol the area to catch those breaking the law. If you’re gonna do speed traps at 30mph, you could just as easily have done them at 35 and achived the same goal.
September 23, 2009 at 5:50 pm #677708
villagegreenMemberArguing over the “natural speed” statement is ridiculous. Everyone knows what was implied by “natural speed,” but some persons (who probably self-identify as “funny”) decided to make a joke of it. In case there are some that really are that confused, the “natural speed” implies a safe appropriate speed for the road, taking into account bus stops, pedestrians, cross-walks, etc. I would assume that whomever made the statement about the “natural speed my car wants to go” meant the same thing. Newton is irrelevant in this case, as is your condescension.
The easiest and most logical solution would have been to leave the speed limit at the appropriate 35mph and actual patrol the area to catch those breaking the law. If you’re gonna do speed traps at 30mph, you could just as easily have done them at 35 and acheived the same goal.
September 23, 2009 at 5:52 pm #677709
villagegreenMemberSorry for the double posts. Checked back 45 minutes later and my initial post still wasn’t displaying. Posted it again and there you go. Oops.
September 23, 2009 at 7:35 pm #677710
KBearParticipantSorry, but if you’re not too impatient to spend a few extra seconds, and you’re not too incompetent to maintain a constant speed below 30 mph, I fail to see what the problem is. 30 mph IS safer for pedestrians, because it gives drivers a shorter stopping distance and more time to plan and react. Raising the speed limit would only benefit drivers, it would only benefit them a TINY bit, and only until they hit someone.
September 23, 2009 at 9:18 pm #677711
swimcatMemberKeep the speed limit low to benefit the 3 people that walk along that road? Hmmm, makes total sense to me now. With all the pedestrians on 35th, Fauntleroy and California, those roads should be 10 MPH.
September 23, 2009 at 11:15 pm #677712
beachdrivegirlParticipantM- i actually think that they are just going to ban all cars on those roads. had you not heard?
September 24, 2009 at 3:14 pm #677713
MindDriveMembercjboffoli is correct that this should not be about getting there faster, but about safety. With that in mind I still think the speed limit on that stretch of Admiral should be 35. I have shared the experience of sam-c, that checking the speedometer constantly downhill is taking away from paying attention to the road. 35 MPH would help and make it consistent with most arterials. Then bring in the strong speed enforcement that attracted me to this area (NJ & NY have a brutal lack of traffic enforcement that drove me out of that area.) Otherwise, it doesn’t matter if people are going 50 in a 35 zone or a 30 zone.
September 24, 2009 at 4:56 pm #677714
JoBParticipantthe wide discrepancy in what people consider the “natural speed” is why we need speed limits.
The natural speed should be the one where you can safely see and react to the unexpected..
not the speed at which you don’t have to constantly have your foot on the brake of your car.
if there is only one pedestrian in the road, that one pedestrian’s life is more important than the few seconds you might gain by traveling faster.
Has our own personal inconvenience become more important than human life?
September 24, 2009 at 4:58 pm #677715
KBearParticipantApparently.
September 24, 2009 at 5:34 pm #677716
JoBParticipantkbear…
i sincerely hope not.
Sometimes we just need to be reminded that what we do without thinking can have serous consequences for others… not to mention the impact killing or injuring someone while driving would have on us :(
September 24, 2009 at 7:58 pm #677717
CaitParticipantThis still begs the question – WHY NOT ON DELRIDGE?
Arguing the ridiculous natural speed argument is all well and good – but that’s the real issue. 35 is good enough down here on Delridge with kids, pets, crosswalks, schools, etc but not for Admiral? Why not make two more painted, lighted, designated crosswalks? It is going to cost too much money?
September 24, 2009 at 8:33 pm #677718
CMPParticipantI can safely see and react while driving 35 mph on Admiral. If there was a common sense driving test I think only 15% would pass based on my rules, but that’s beside the point. I’m getting tired of reading some of these redundant posts so I emailed SDOT to ask about how speed limits were determined for these streets. And I advised raising Admiral back to 35 mph and lowering Delridge and Fauntleroy to 30 mph. I’m sure I’ll get a response three months from now with no helpful information, as happens with most of my inquiries.
September 24, 2009 at 8:59 pm #677719
JoBParticipantdelridge has sidewalks on both sides of the street..
and regular crosswalks.
tho.. from the number of accidents on delridge maybe 30 wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
September 24, 2009 at 9:55 pm #677720
beachdrivegirlParticipantCMP- Thank you for actually taking action and writing SDOT about your questions and concerns. It shows a lot about your character and is very much appreciated. I look forward to hearing (if you dont mind sharing) your response once you get one. :)
September 24, 2009 at 10:29 pm #677721
TracyMemberWhat I find most odd is that Hanford (between CA heading east) is 30 too, which seems too fast w/ all the drive ways, kids, cars, etc. Much more turning traffic than off of Admiral.
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