Results of Speed Limit Poll: City Streets Safe

The results are in! According to a recent poll, when asked whether or not you felt the newly-increased speed limits are safe in Rohnert Park — you said yes. Despite an outpouring of concern that cars travel too fast in major city corridors, such as on Snyder, Commerce Boulevard or Rohnert Park Expressway, 50 percent of readers said the limits are safe.

After leaving the poll up for two weeks, thirty-two percent said that on major arteries, cars should slow down; just 15 percent said speeds are too fast. Did you miss the poll or the ? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

As we reported on Jan. 20, the City Council in favor of a five-mile uptick in speed limits on a few heavily-traveled throughfares and a couple side streets. In case you missed it, speed limits were increased on:

• Commerce Boulevard between Golf Course Drive and Avram Avenue increased from 35 mph to 40 mph.
• Commerce between Avram and Southwest Boulevard increased from 30 to 35 mph.
• Golf Course Drive from Commerce to Country Club from 35 to 40 mph.
• Labath from Business Park to Rohnert Park Expressway increased from 30 to 35 mph.
• Redwood Drive between Willis and City Limits South from 35 mph to 40 mph.

According to a staff report produced by the Department of Public Safety, speed limits must be set by what's called speed surveys, or "the speed limit becomes virtually unenforceable."

The idea is that police and city engineers monitor travel speeds — here they were examined on 17 roadways — and new speed limits are set based on how fast cars normally travel. In Rohnert Park, for example, that means more cars were traveling faster on Commerce, Country Club and Golf Course Drive, so limits were increased five miles.

. Note: our new polls only allow one vote per IP address, so the results are less likely to be skewed, and are more reflective of how readers really feel.