New Speed Limits For Healdsburg Streets, School Zones

HEALDSBURG, CA — A short list of annoyances almost guaranteed to rattle residents includes higher taxes and slower driving speeds.

Healdsburg drivers will soon see more of the latter, if they have not already.

Speed limits are being reduced on downtown streets, major corridors, and school-zone roads as the city moves ahead with traffic changes.

Public Works crews are replacing and adding speed-limit signs across the city, and all affected signs are expected to be installed by July 31.

Downtown streets will receive new 20 mph speed-limit signs. School zones will have new “15 MPH When Children Are Present” signs.

Under the state-law framework cited by the city, school-zone speed limits may be set at 15 mph within 500 feet of a school and 25 mph from 500 to 1,000 feet.

The new limits affect downtown streets, school zones, and several arterial and collector roads, including Dry Creek Road, Grove Street, Healdsburg Avenue, March Avenue, Mill Street, Powell Avenue, South Fitch Mountain Road, and Vine Street.

The Healdsburg City Council approved the changes June 16 after reviewing a speed-limit proposal tied to the Sonoma County Transportation Authority’s “Vision Zero Action Plan” project, including a Healdsburg-specific “Speed Limit Reduction Evaluation Project.”

City officials said staff would finalize engineering and traffic surveys, install updated signs, and issue warning citations for 30 days after the ordinance takes effect.

Officials said lower speeds reduce crash severity, give drivers more time to stop, improve road visibility, and support safer street designs. The changes are also tied to Healdsburg’s Active Transportation Plan, Local Roadway Safety Plan, and Safe Routes to School efforts.

I changed “include” to “includes” in the first sentence, removed a slightly awkward phrase in the second sentence, fixed extra spacing before “project,” and changed the quotation marks to curly quotes for consistency.

The affected streets and new limits include:

• Center Street, North Street to Mill Street, 20 mph
• Dry Creek Road, US 101 to Healdsburg Avenue, 25 mph
• Grove Street, Healdsburg Avenue to Dry Creek Road, 25 mph
• Grove Street, Dry Creek Road to West Grant Street, 25 mph
• Grove/Vine Street, West Grant Street to Mill Street, 25 mph
• Healdsburg Avenue, northern city limits to Parkland Farms Boulevard, 35 mph
• Healdsburg Avenue, Parkland Farms Boulevard to Dry Creek Road/March Avenue, 30 mph
• Healdsburg Avenue, Dry Creek Road/March Avenue to Powell Avenue, 30 mph
• Healdsburg Avenue, Powell Avenue to Grant Street, 25 mph
• Healdsburg Avenue, Piper Street to Mill Street, 20 mph
• Healdsburg Avenue, Mill Street to Exchange Avenue, 25 mph
• Healdsburg Avenue, Bailhache Avenue to southern city limits, 35 mph
• March Avenue, Healdsburg Avenue to Woodside Court, 25 mph
• Matheson Street, western city boundary to 14 Healdsburg Avenue, 20 mph
• Matheson Street, 14 Healdsburg Avenue to Healdsburg Avenue, 20 mph
• Matheson Street, Healdsburg Avenue to East Street, 20 mph
• Mill Street, East Street to US 101, 25 mph
• North Street, Grove/Vine Street to East Street, 20 mph
• Plaza Street, Healdsburg Avenue to Center Street, 20 mph
• Powell Avenue, University Street to eastern city limits, 25 mph
• South Fitch Mountain Road, Heron Drive to eastern city limits, 30 mph

Residents with questions may contact Healdsburg Public Works at (707) 431-3346 or publicworks@healdsburg.gov.