Suggest you check the Stae Traffic Manual and the Auto Club "Reasonable Speed Zoning" for information on speed zoning. The critical speed in the speed at or below which 85% of the traffic is traveling. Both cited documents set the speed limit at the 5 MPH speed limit below the critical speed not a round up. The Traffic Survey and Engineering Study looks at basically three elements. 1. The Critical Speed 2. The 5 year accident history 3. Conditions not readily apparent to the motorist. The latter two elements determine if a 5 MPH reduction can be implemented.

Suggest you re-check the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the Auto Club "Reasonable Speed Zoning" booklet. First, the area surveyed is not even in the area listed for the speed limit; you can get the ticket thrown out of court just for that. Second, the documents you cited do not instruct the engineer to round down. Specifically: o The 85th percentile shall be rounded to the NEAREST 5 mph increment o If there are conditions "NOT READILY APPARENT" to drivers, the posted speed limit might be lowered by 5 mph, with complete and concise documentation explaining the "NOT READILY APPARENT" conditions. o In cases where the 85th percentile speed is rounded to the FARTHEST 5 mph increment ( a LOWER 5 mph) instead of the NEAREST 5 mph (the higher 5 mph), no further reduction in the posted speed limit is allowed, regardless of existing conditions (new for 2012). o THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITED USING ROADWAY FEATURES THAT ARE READILY APPARENT TO DRIVERS AS JUSTIFICATIONS FOR ARTIFICIALLY LOWERING POSTED SPEED LIMITS, BECAUSE DRIVERS CAN SEE THESE CONDITIONS AND ADJUST THEIR SPEEDS ACCORDINGLY. The California Vehicle Code specifically says, "It is the intent of the Legislature that physical conditions such as width, CURVATURE, GRADE and surface conditions, or any other condition readily apparent to a driver in the absence of other factors, would not require special downward speed zoning.