Residents seek to slow south-city speeders
Mar 02, 2010 | 1169 views | 17 
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Jim Shaw likes to relax in the front room of his house on Valpico Road, but he said the vibrations from cars zooming by make it difficult to unwind.
Since Shaw moved into his house in 1993, two cars on that road have flipped over onto his front porch, another took out his mailbox, and one hit his truck, which was parked on the side of the road.
“There’s gotta be something we can do,” Shaw said.
Shaw, 61, has posted hand-lettered signs to remind drivers of the 35 mph speed limit on the country stretch of Valpico Road between Tracy Boulevard and Corral Hollow Road, and he’s set bright cones on the side of the road to mark the driveways.
He said walking across the street to the mailbox is like playing Russian roulette, and most residents pick up their mail only a few times a week to avoid it.
“It’s like living on the freeway,” his wife, Suzan, said.
The Shaws are hardly alone in worrying about their safety while under their own roof.
Leroy Luiz, 69, said he has replaced his mailbox five times since he moved to Tracy 42 years ago. In 2008, Luiz’s daughter, Cheri, was hit while turning into her father’s driveway on Valpico, and her car went through the fence and smashed into the kitchen, where the family typically eats, Luiz said.
Many Valpico Road residents have suggested speed bumps or dips to slow drivers down.
However, San Joaquin County traffic engineer Dodgie Vidad said the county, unlike cities, does not put speed bumps or dips on roads and said reminding drivers of the speed limit is the best alternative. He said speed trailers that flash the speed of each car at the driver are the most effective way to slow drivers, and he estimated it will be about a month before a trailer will be stationed on Valpico again.
The county kept a speed trailer on Valpico for several weeks earlier this year, and most residents agreed that it helped remind drivers of the 35 mph zone.
“Nothing else has worked like the speed meter has,” said Kim Garca, a Valpico Road resident.
Garca, 37, owns Kim’s Daycare on Valpico Road just west of Tracy Boulevard and said there have been two accidents outside her home since 2008. She and her husband, Lino, bought their house in 1999 and opened the day care in 2001.
“I just don’t want to see somebody get killed or injured,” Lino Garca said.
From 2008 to 2009, there were eight crashes on that stretch of road, including two that involved DUI charges, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Luiz said he called and asked the CHP to park an empty patrol car on the road in hopes of slowing drivers down, but the CHP said there were no extra cars available.
CHP Cmdr. Amy Mangan said officers have met with the people who live on Valpico several times to listen to complaints about speeders. Mangan said she thinks the posted speed limit is safe for the neighborhood — the problem is that drivers don’t follow it, not that it’s too high.
“The same people that are ignoring 35 are going to ignore 25,” she said.
Since Shaw moved into his house in 1993, two cars on that road have flipped over onto his front porch, another took out his mailbox, and one hit his truck, which was parked on the side of the road.
“There’s gotta be something we can do,” Shaw said.
Shaw, 61, has posted hand-lettered signs to remind drivers of the 35 mph speed limit on the country stretch of Valpico Road between Tracy Boulevard and Corral Hollow Road, and he’s set bright cones on the side of the road to mark the driveways.
He said walking across the street to the mailbox is like playing Russian roulette, and most residents pick up their mail only a few times a week to avoid it.
“It’s like living on the freeway,” his wife, Suzan, said.
The Shaws are hardly alone in worrying about their safety while under their own roof.
Leroy Luiz, 69, said he has replaced his mailbox five times since he moved to Tracy 42 years ago. In 2008, Luiz’s daughter, Cheri, was hit while turning into her father’s driveway on Valpico, and her car went through the fence and smashed into the kitchen, where the family typically eats, Luiz said.
Many Valpico Road residents have suggested speed bumps or dips to slow drivers down.
However, San Joaquin County traffic engineer Dodgie Vidad said the county, unlike cities, does not put speed bumps or dips on roads and said reminding drivers of the speed limit is the best alternative. He said speed trailers that flash the speed of each car at the driver are the most effective way to slow drivers, and he estimated it will be about a month before a trailer will be stationed on Valpico again.
The county kept a speed trailer on Valpico for several weeks earlier this year, and most residents agreed that it helped remind drivers of the 35 mph zone.
“Nothing else has worked like the speed meter has,” said Kim Garca, a Valpico Road resident.
Garca, 37, owns Kim’s Daycare on Valpico Road just west of Tracy Boulevard and said there have been two accidents outside her home since 2008. She and her husband, Lino, bought their house in 1999 and opened the day care in 2001.
“I just don’t want to see somebody get killed or injured,” Lino Garca said.
From 2008 to 2009, there were eight crashes on that stretch of road, including two that involved DUI charges, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Luiz said he called and asked the CHP to park an empty patrol car on the road in hopes of slowing drivers down, but the CHP said there were no extra cars available.
CHP Cmdr. Amy Mangan said officers have met with the people who live on Valpico several times to listen to complaints about speeders. Mangan said she thinks the posted speed limit is safe for the neighborhood — the problem is that drivers don’t follow it, not that it’s too high.
“The same people that are ignoring 35 are going to ignore 25,” she said.
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Spanky6...I'm betting TPD were on their way somewhere and couldn't use sirens (sneaking up on folks) or something that ilk...at least I hope so!
I hate the speeding and the amount of traffic...but sadly, I think it will take an injury or death to get a change. :-(
Anyone who has suggestions on how to get a 4-way stop...I'd love 'em!
The speed detectors on the speed limit signs last month were terrific and should be a permanent fixture on your stretch of the road. If you haven't done so already, invite your County Supervisors to visit during "daddy hour" (coffee and goodies can go a long way). If one or more of them get caught up in the insanity you deal with, you might get the clout you need to resolve this issue.
Tho the County doesn't "believe" in speed humps/bumps -- there are always liability issues brought up with these -- there are other types of TRAFFIC CALMING tools available. One that comes to mind is called "bots dots"! They are the little colored and/or reflective ceramic dots secured to the roadway, usually before hazardous intersections or sharp curves in the middle of long, flat stretches of road. In the midwest we called these sections "rumble strips" and they were very effective in getting people's attention.
Over the past few years -- especially now with St. Bernard's Holy Family Center at Valpico and Corral Hollow -- I've wondered if the County has considered putting in a traffic light at that intersection. Or better yet, what about turning that intersection into one big TRAFFIC CIRCLE? Many communities have found traffic circles not only "spiffy" the intersection up, they also are a very effective traffic calming device. If you think "outside the box" and can get County staff to do the same, you WILL be successful in finding a solution to this problem.
To heck with the "nay sayers"!
you state the following:
"I lived on a main drag called park blvd. You deal with it, your kids don't play on the street, you learn to have patience with other motorists, and you deal with heavy foot and car traffic. It comes with the territory. Quit your freakin' whining and deal with it."
I agree that a busy street is a busy street, but these people are not whining...they are validly stating that the traffic is going so fast that they are 1) being struck while turning into their driveway, 2) their HOUSES have been hit by cars that are wrecking from driving at unsafe speeds and 3) residents are being put in unnecessarily risky situations because people driving through are not being respectful (and those people probably "whine" when someone speeds on THEIR street!).
Nobody should have to worry about a car crashing into their house. Houses are far enough off the road that this is just not a reasonable thing to have to expect. I commute daily from Tracy to San Mateo. It stinks...I'll be honest. But I see so many gunners flying along too fast, cutting people off to get one car ahead and basically endangering everyone including themselves. I stopped driving my gas efficient commuter car and I'm selling it...because the feeling of security I get in my truck (17 mpg so not too evil...but not cheap and not great...I'm doing other green things to offset my usage and I make sure to actually use the truck part regularly!). So, in essence, I'm paying extra because some people are sooooo important that they can put others at risk. Yesterday alone...on the way to work, someone rolled right by the canals on 580 West. Then on the way home, someone rolled right before Grant Line Road on 580 West. These are straight sections of the highway...so it was most likely speed...if you go too fast, you don't have control of your several thousand pounds of metal that you are driving.
I urge you ChrisRoberts...think about how YOU would feel if people drove too fast on YOUR street and crashed into YOUR daughter and into YOUR house. Then talk about "whining." To quote the Golden Rule, "do unto others as you would have done unto you."
In the meantime, people need to remember that they are, in essence, driving a lethal weapon. Getting to work or home 5, 10, 15 minutes faster is NOT worth dying or killing someone. PERIOD!!!
When your in the store with your shopping cart do you ever tailgate someone ? Cuss at them to move out of your way ? And if they don't go as fast as you want them to go and you have to go around them do you flip them the bird as you go past them ?
I'm sure the answer to the above questions are of course not. That would be rude. But why do so many have this mentality when we're in our cars going at a high rate of speed ? I don't understand road rage, it's one of the mysteries of life I just can't figure out.
Slow down everyone, time isn't important, only getting from point A to point B safely is. We have way too many graveyards nationwide filled because of the behavior of these deadly drivers.
When I go back home and spend time in Tracy I notice that commuters are uptight, tired, and frustrated but oh well it's still no excuse for disregarding the law.
I grew up in Suburb of Chicago called glen ellyn for the first 13 years of my life. I lived on a main drag called park blvd. You deal with it, your kids don't play on the street, you learn to have patience with other motorists, and you deal with heavy foot and car traffic. It comes with the territory. Quit your freakin' whining and deal with it.
I'm so tired of county residents trying to dictate what goes on with tracy people. The city should just annex that stretch already so we can get at traffic light on valipico and corral hollow like we have needed for years.