San Diego lowers speed limits on nearly 700 miles of city streets

San Diego will soon lower speed limits on 680 miles of city streets — roughly one-fifth of the city — to help make vehicle crashes less frequent and less deadly.

The lower speed limits are called for in a long-awaited speed management plan that prioritizes safety near schools, in business districts and at intersections deemed dangerous because of their history or other risk factors.

The plan, which was released this week and approved Thursday by the City Council’s infrastructure committee, will reduce speed limits on more than 1,500 stretches of roadway to make them less deadly for pedestrians and cyclists. The lower limits will also give drivers more time to react to dangerous situations.

Impacted streets include Aero Drive, Balboa Avenue, Bernardo Center Drive, Beyer Boulevard, Carmel Valley Road, Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Mira Mesa Boulevard, La Jolla Village Drive, Scripps Ranch Boulevard and many others.

A 2022 state law — AB 43 — gave cities much wider discretion to reduce speed limits if they complete a thorough analysis like the city’s 135-page speed management plan.

The plan gives San Diego the comprehensive knowledge of speed and danger across the city that it has previously lacked, said Maggie McCormick, interim director of the city’s Transportation Department.

“The city now has a clear and consistent framework to ...