Reduced Speed Limits OKd for Beach Areas

Agreeing that reducing speed limits in the Hollywood Beach and Silver Strandneighborhoods would make the streets safer for residents and visiting beach goers, officials have approved a plan to post new road signs and equip sheriff’s patrol cars with radar devices.

“There was very good community turnout at the meeting” Tuesday, said Bill Higgins, general manager of the Channel Islands Beach Community Services District, which provides political representation for the unincorporated areas near Channel Islands Harbor. “The board received letters and phone calls supporting the plan.”

Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Cozzens drafted the proposal after patrolling busy Ocean Drive and Island View Avenue and the narrow side streets that connect them.

Speeding problems are aggravated, especially in summer months, by limited parking, bicycle and pedestrian traffic and children playing in the streets, he said. In fact, worried parents have posted homemade “Children at Play” signs.

Cozzens’ plan, which will cost about $3,200 to implement, calls for the two main thoroughfares to be posted at 25 mph and side streets at 15 mph. It could be implemented in as little as 60 days, with new signs and radar equipment funded by a state grant.