Alameda, California Speed Traps

Motorcycle officer hides behind fence of Lincoln Middle School, catching motorists as Fernside goes from two lanes to one, at the bottom of the slight hill.

Both directions on Vasco road at the Alameda county /Contra Costa county border heaviest . Beware of CHP bikes using laser and patrol car and ALA sheriff using instant on. Also from CoCo line to Brent NB and Bwood to Alameda county line, CHP uses various driveways to hide.

As Ron Cowan Pkwy. turns into Harbor Bay Pkwy, the speed limit drops from 40 to 35 rapidly. There is only ONE 35mi/hr sign in a mile and a half stretch of road. Sign is also partially concealed by a wire fence. Cops hide by the aviation field to catch you. Average speed on the road is between 50-60.

Two motorcycle cops sitting across the street from the 7-11 in front of the 400 Club thing. They are popping people coming over the bridge heading to 880 S.

Fernside Boulevard, between High Street and Liberty Avenue, is posted at an unjustifiably low speed limit of 25 mph. The city’s own speed survey, taken in May of 2005, shows the NB 85%-ile speed as 35 mph, and the SB as 36 mph. The lanes in each direction are 16′-18′ wide, with parking/bike ‘lanes’ over 12′ in width. Sight distance is excellent, both horizontally and vertically. I was stopped in December (2005) at Fernside and Fairview (3300 Fernside, SB), and ticketed for speeding. That is a hot location for Alameda’s motorcycle cops because they KNOW the speed limit is unrealistic. However, the city’s traffic survey ‘justified’ a speed of 25 mph on that stretch due to a school that is a full 0.6 miles from the location, a nursing facility at High Street whose residents are not allowed (or able) to leave the premises, a non-existent daycare center, a park over a quarter mile away, a bay trail nearly a mile away, etc. You get the picture. Anyway, I took the ticket to court recently, and had it dismissed. Fortunately, I’m also a civil engineer (transportation, specifically), and I think I know the standards a little better than the City of Alameda’s engineer does. Too bad for them.