LAKEPORT >> A striping project on 20th Street that started in August is now complete. The work was made necessary after a radar study prompted an increase in the speed limit from 25 to 30 miles per hour.
When the limit was first increased, there was no visible striping on 20th Street. As a result, drivers continued to pick up speed. This raised concerns of those who live on the road, as well as law enforcement officers.
The double yellow center line, as well as fog lines at the edge to narrow the road were determined to be the most efficient and cost effective measures to enforce the new limit. In addition, a ladder-type crosswalk was put in place to create a safe place for pedestrians.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said he drove down the area himself and he feels it is a good addition to that area, but there are still issues.
“I think it has, in my opinion, created the effect that we wanted. However, we are still actively working that area and unfortunately we are seeing vehicles go upward of 40 mph since it has been striped,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen has been conferring with the traffic engineer. Both feel that a survey of the speed limit changes in the area should be put on hold until a future date, allowing sufficient time to perform enforcement patrols and for drivers to become accustomed to the speed limit.
“If we were to do the speed survey tomorrow it wouldn’t change anything based on what I’m seeing,” Rasmussen said. “We need to get more education out to the public in that area. We have done some social media postings and we have aggressive enforcement in the area and are writing tickets and we’re hoping that the public will work with us and help educate others.”
This is not the only road in the city that has been noted to have issues. In the Lakeport General Plan, there are various other road projects that are being considered.
Some projects in the plan for repair include 11th Street, High Street Intersection, Main Street, Martin Street and Bevins Street. These projects can be anywhere from paving, to widening and event to reposition stop signs.
With the implementation of Measure Z, road projects have a greater potential of being completed. However, there has been some delay in pothole repair work on Main Street due to the formula being used by Caltrans.
“What’s happened is we used the Caltrans specifications for our road projects and Caltrans is the premier roadway filler and maintainer in the state of California and typically they do a very good job,” Lakeport Public Works Director Doug Grider said.
With binding oils difficult to locate, polymer elements had to be added to the asphalt in order to stretch the lifespan. With those blends, different specific zones were made with the mixes to last in various climates.
“Typically you don’t get a place that has consistent freezing weather and consistent 120 degree weather — except Lakeport,” Grider said.
With the concern over the cold temperatures, the asphalt being used becomes soft and has moved when there is hotter weather Grider said. An example of where this has become evident is in Potter Valley.
There are other places that do have this issue with the asphalt that have the same climate as Lakeport and it is a statewide occurrence that Caltrans is looking into.
“So right now there is a mad scramble in Caltrans to try and figure out how to modify the formulas so we don’t get these kinds of issues and unfortunately there isn’t much we can do about it,” Grider said.
Until a better solution is found and Caltrans has modified a new blend he said the city is holding off on making any other changes. His hope is that they come out with it in the next 12 months.
Grider said they completed the striping project for the amount of $17,502.
