ENCINITAS — The speed limit along a stretch of Saxony Road will be lowered to 25 miles per hour beginning April 1, as the city’s first “senior zone” will go into effect, city officials said.
The city has placed electronic signs on both ends of Saxony warning motorists of the imminent speed-limit change, which the City Council approved in January in response to calls from the community to make the heavily traveled road safer for pedestrians.
The speed limit change encompasses a section of Saxony just north and south of the Magdalena Ecke YMCA and Seacrest Village, a large retirement community a few blocks north of Encinitas Boulevard.
“We are trying to give motorists ample time to prepare for the change, and I think we will see a residual effect of drivers starting to slow down in advance of the official change,” said Glenn Pruim, the city’s public works director.
The speed limit change is part of a series of actions the city is taking to improve the safety of Saxony Road and Quail Gardens Drive, two busy north-south streets in the city that are at the center of a hub of cultural, educational and environmental organizations, including the Heritage Museum, the San Diego Botanic Garden, the Magdalena Ecke YMCA, Seacrest Village, the Encinitas Union School District’s new farm lab and the Leichtag Foundation, whose headquarters are along Saxony.
Several of the fixes have been completed or are nearing completion, including the installation of crosswalk on Quail Gardens Drive and the lowering of the speed limit near the farm lab, which is also on Quail Gardens Drive, from 40 to 25 miles per hour.
Several other remedies, including the installation of speed-warning signs and a much more complex sidewalk project on Saxony between Seacrest Village and the YMCA, are still in the works, Pruim said.
Pruim said that Sheriff’s officials will give motorists a grace period to become accustomed to the new speed limit before it starts enforcement, but urged drivers to follow the new rules.