Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Ann M. Stillman, Director of Public Works
Subject: Adopt County of San Mateo Ordinance Code Amendment to Include 15 and 20 Miles Per Hour Speed Limits
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt an ordinance amending Section 7.04.010 of Chapter 7.04 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code for Prima Facie Speed Limits to include 15 and 20 miles per hour speed limits, previously introduced on May 7, 2024, and waive the reading of the ordinance in its entirety.
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BACKGROUND:
San Mateo County Ordinance Code Section 7.04.010 Prima Facie Speed Limits include vehicle speed limits of 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 or 60 miles per hour (mph).
The San Mateo County Office of Education's Safe Routes to School Program (Program) focuses on encouraging and enabling students to walk and bicycle to school by implementing projects and activities that improve their health, well-being, and safety. In June 2022, the Program developed the San Mateo County Safe Routes to School strategy which found that motor vehicle speeds are the primary determining factor in the safety of all roadway users, especially for students walking. It further identified the establishment of Slow Speed School Zones as a high-priority recommendation to improve safety near schools.
The California Vehicle Code (CVC) governs how speed limits are established and grants local jurisdictions the authority to establish speed limits. CVC Section 22358.4 allows local jurisdictions to determine and declare a prima facie speed limit of 15 mph and 20 mph, whichever is justified as the appropriate speed limit based on an Engineering and Traffic Survey (E&TS).
The CVC also allows speed limits to be implemented in the following manner near schools:
* 15 mph school zones contiguous to the school and within 500 feet of a school boundary; and
* 25 mph school zones between 500 feet and 1000 feet from a school boundary
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