Street Smarts: Illegal entry to Roaring Camp needs to be enforced, reader says

What needs to be enforced is the downhill speed limit of 25 mph. If people actually drove within the limit then they wouldn't come close to rear ending a stopped car in front of them.

On Hwy. 9 south of downtown Boulder Creek, the speed limit is 25 mph. and the road is relatively straight with good visibility.
But on Hwy. 9 in downtown Ben Lomond, the speed limit is 30 mph and the road is curvy with limited visibility. Please consider lowering the speed limit to 25 mph. to increase driver and pedestrian safety.

DBS wrote:

Illegal left turns need to be enforced????????
How about illegal entry into the country?

Pretty sure the CHP doesn't work on that...This is the street smarts column, not the Minuteman Quarterly...

For all of the local drivers who are on that road daily. Give each car some room. You never know if they are a veteran of the road or a first timer in the area. Plan ahead and you will avoid a bad day. It will not matter who is at fault if you and your friends are through the windshield. Think and plan ahead.

the way its posted, it -looks- like the no left turn is for the FIRST driveway which is the exit-only.

just curious, what are people coming from the Santa Cruz direction supposed to do? U turn at Zayante Rd? I don't think so. Drive down to Felton Faire, pull into the shopping center, turn around and return?

at least 2 or 3 weekends every month and during the week CHP send cars to sit in Felton, it's easy practice for them... they're all rookie cops and use the area as a training ground. They are indiscriminate in who they stop and stop people for the most trivial of reasons just for practice. my father in law for one, going 4 mph over in a 25 zone ...!!
this is nothing less than harassment , why the locals put up with it i've no idea!

A left turn there is only dangerous because of incompetent drivers who don't pay attention, or follow too close. If people can't turn left there, than as another poster says, they will just go down further and make a U-turn. This will probably make things much worse. There is not always a "fix" for everything.

The real Realist wrote:

What needs to be enforced is the downhill speed limit of 25 mph. If people actually drove within the limit then they wouldn't come close to rear ending a stopped car in front of them.

The downhill speed limit by Roaring Camp is the same as the uphill speed limit -- 35 mph.

A lot of folks honk -- often just laying on their horns continuously -- when someone is trying to make that left turn. I know because I live very close to there.

Honkers -- do you honestly think this is going to change the roaring camp tourist's behavior? I can tell you that it does P.O. the neighbors in the vicinity!

Felton local wrote:

at least 2 or 3 weekends every month and during the week CHP send cars to sit in Felton, it's easy practice for them... they're all rookie cops and use the area as a training ground. They are indiscriminate in who they stop and stop people for the most trivial of reasons just for practice. my father in law for one, going 4 mph over in a 25 zone ...!!
this is nothing less than harassment , why the locals put up with it i've no idea!

The speed limit by Felton Faire was increased this spring to 30 mph.

::Yawn::

"As for the law enforcement part of your question, "Officers are aware of the no-left-turn into Roaring Camp from westbound Graham Hill Road and will routinely issue citations for this violation," said officer Hugh Holden, CHP spokesman."

Come on Ramona. Don't let them off with a quaint "but of course we enforce there." STATISTICS! Press him for numbers. How many tickets have they written this year for people breaking this law? I'd be willing to bet it lies somewhere between zero and zero, which is fewer than the lies officer Holden gave you when you called.

What ever happened to the H and the P in the CHP? We have all seen them, the CHP cruiser that sits on 19Th Ave and East Cliff at the four-way stop waiting for someone to fail to come to a complete stop, at an intersection where there has never been a serious accident. Or the CHP Officer that sits in the driveway of private property on the corner of Simms Rd and La Madronna at another non-dangerous three way stop. Or the one that sits at Paul Minnie and Rodriguez St yet another low priority three way stop. Why aren't these revenue generating lazy officers out on HWY 1 at 6:30 A.M. as north bound cars between Buena Vista and Freedom Blvd. are routinely doing anywhere from 80 to 100 MPH? Lets face it they don't really care about safety, they do care about the easiest way to generate revenue and make their quotas!

JJJ wrote:

the way its posted, it -looks- like the no left turn is for the FIRST driveway which is the exit-only.
just curious, what are people coming from the Santa Cruz direction supposed to do? U turn at Zayante Rd? I don't think so. Drive down to Felton Faire, pull into the shopping center, turn around and return?

It is pretty simple. You pull right onto Roaring Camp Road which is just before the railroad tracks. It is a relatively unused road and makes a perfect turn out where you can make a U-turn and get back on Grahm Hill south. Then turn right into Roaring Camp.

Jon wrote:

A left turn there is only dangerous because of incompetent drivers who don't pay attention, or follow too close. If people can't turn left there, than as another poster says, they will just go down further and make a U-turn. This will probably make things much worse. There is not always a "fix" for everything.

The "fix" is to widen the road there, and make a dedicated left turn lane.

How are you suppose to get in there if not turning left? Doesn't make sense. A U turn on a blind curve would get everybody killed. Ramona?

Tim wrote:

What ever happened to the H and the P in the CHP? We have all seen them, the CHP cruiser that sits on 19Th Ave and East Cliff at the four-way stop waiting for someone to fail to come to a complete stop, at an intersection where there has never been a serious accident. Or the CHP Officer that sits in the driveway of private property on the corner of Simms Rd and La Madronna at another non-dangerous three way stop. Or the one that sits at Paul Minnie and Rodriguez St yet another low priority three way stop. Why aren't these revenue generating lazy officers out on HWY 1 at 6:30 A.M. as north bound cars between Buena Vista and Freedom Blvd. are routinely doing anywhere from 80 to 100 MPH? Lets face it they don't really care about safety, they do care about the easiest way to generate revenue and make their quotas!

Looser #2, The C stands for California, H for Highway (read the vehicle code, a highway is any road for vehicle travel. P stands for Patrol, they are doing that. For a little more information the CHP is responsible for all traffic enforcement in the unincorporated areas of the county. Get some knowledge before you spout off.

Would have been nice to have the DMV update their website of their operating hours. My husband took time off his busy work schedule to head down there after verifying the hours on the website, then drove from Ben Lomond only to find they were closed via a print out posted on the door.

JJJ wrote:

the way its posted, it -looks- like the no left turn is for the FIRST driveway which is the exit-only.
just curious, what are people coming from the Santa Cruz direction supposed to do? U turn at Zayante Rd? I don't think so. Drive down to Felton Faire, pull into the shopping center, turn around and return?

This is an excellent point! Santa Cruz Co. is full of s c r e w you type traffic planning. Take for example the many intersections where two lanes merge into one as you leave the intersection. Always someone trying to race you for the lead, never mind the NO PASSING signs posted. How about the yield signs which aren't observed? When there is an accident at one of these the cops don't write a report unless there is significant damage or injury.

I have driven that stretch of Graham Hill road everyday for the last four years and can't say that I recall seeing a no left turn sign. All I recall seeing are lots of clueless tourists causing near-collisions cause they either similarly don't see the signs, or just plain don't give a s_hit cause they don't live here.