Del Norte’s new assemblyman is bringing statewide attention to a problem Tamera Leighton says she’s been working on for nearly two decades — cars speeding through the U.S. 199 communities of Hiouchi and Gasquet at 55-plus mph.
Chris Rogers, representative of California’s 2nd Assembly District, introduced a bill Friday that aims to provide more flexibility when it comes to setting speed limits on state highways. Del Norte County is the bill’s sponsor.
Leighton, Del Norte Local Transportation Commission’s executive director, said she and District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard have worked to address residents’ concerns about unsafe speeds since about 2006. According to her, Rogers’ potential piece of legislation means they’ve pushed the issue as far as they can, though she urged supervisors to continue their advocacy.
“I’m hoping one day we can finally put this to rest and have a solution for communities that fit this criteria,” Leighton told supervisors on Tuesday. “I agree that supervisors taking it to the state level within their own groups would be more effective than anything I can do, though I will share the draft legislation with my rural colleagues.”
The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a letter of support for Assembly Bill 1014. According to Assistant County Administrative Officer Randy Hooper, Rogers drafted the bill at Howard’s request.
Gasquet and Hiouchi residents have aired their concerns about unsafe speeds on U.S. 199, though the data is anecdotal, Hooper said. Currently, California speed limits are set based on the speed at which 85 percent of vehicles travel. According to Hooper, there isn’t sufficient data to change things on U.S. 199 through Gasquet and Hiouchi.
“What you see on highways like 199 is seasonality isn’t fully accounted for,” he said. “For example, in the summer, there may be construction, high visitation of the national parks and activities on the river like last weekend [where there were] a bunch of kayakers on every turnout on the side of the road.”
Under AB 1014, Caltrans would be able to reduce speed limits by up to 10 mph on stretches of the state highway system that are risky to pedestrians, cyclists, children, seniors and individuals with disabilities, according to Hooper’s staff report.
The bill would create a criteria for establishing safety corridors on state highways and would require Caltrans to consider local safety concerns when setting speed limits in rural and recreational areas.
AB 1014 would also require the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control to incorporate provisions that allows for reducing the speed limit based on safety considerations beyond the 85th percentile methodology when it’s updated next, according to Hooper’s staff report.
“I don’t know if we’ve been sponsors on a bill before, so we may be breaking new ground as a county here,” Hooper told supervisors. “I think it’s a win-win for everyone.”
In his introduction, Rogers uses State Route 116 through Duncan Mills in Sonoma County and U.S. 199 through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park as examples of roads that bisect parks and “other pockets with high foot traffic.”
But Hooper pointed out that the bill would apply to other highways statewide if it makes it through the legislative process. He urged supervisors to reach out to their colleagues with the California State Association of Counties and Rural County Representatives of California.
Del Norte County supervisors added the speed limit issue on U.S. 199 to its legislative platform in January with Howard calling for a bill that gives the county more of a voice when it comes to setting speed limits on the state highway system.
In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 43 into law giving Caltrans and local authorities the ability to round up or down 5 mph below the 85th percentile. In January, Leighton told Redwood Voice that while AB 43 gave communities more latitude for setting speed limits on a local road system, it didn’t apply to the state highway and, therefore, “really didn’t mean much to us.”
On Tuesday, Leighton told supervisors that while Gasquet residents have been more vocal about the need for a safer speed limit, she was more concerned about Hiouchi.“They have a much more challenging situation, especially during the summer months,” she said. “Even in non-summer months with all the driveways that come onto U.S. 199 in the Hiouchi area. In terms of safety I think that Hiouchi is a higher level of concern even though they are not as loud as Gasquet is on this topic.”
