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Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009
Tip List: Speed trap? Only on the southbound side
Drive north of Yosemite Avenue on G Street in Merced and you will find some strange instructions.
The speed limit is 55 mph as you head north toward Bellevue Road. But if you are headed south on G Street from Bellevue the speed limit is 45 mph.
So as cars drive past one another on this part of G Street, they're traveling at two different speeds.
A tipster called the newsroom recently to complain she didn't know how fast or slow to drive on that part of G Street.
I drove up there to see for myself Wednesday. I didn't know how fast to drive on that part of road either. So I just made up a speed limit for myself, since the city can't seem to make up its mind.
When I called the city, I was told to talk to the police department. They didn't seem to have an answer for the speed-limit conundrum.
Andre Matthews, spokesman for the Merced Police Department, said he didn't have an immediate answer for my question. But he did think it a little odd to have two speed limits on that part of G Street.
"That would be a 10-mile difference and a ticket, depending on what side of the road you are on," said Matthews. "That may be a signage error," he added.
On another note, an old eyesore that Tip List pointed out in a Feb. 26 column has finally been torn down.
Originally envisioned as a senior living facility, the half-built building at 3015 Park Ave. is gone.
The project stalled way back in 2003 and has been idle until now. After the original owners, Park Avenue LLC, filed for bankruptcy, a new owner took over the project. But the local and national financial meltdown halted the project again in 2008, and the site had been silent until its recent demolition.
Usually when building projects grind to a halt like this one, said Stuart England, the city's planning manager on the project, the permits are pulled after six months. But the project owners kept applying for extensions and made changes to the plans. The new owners are still using the original permit issued in 2003.
What is wrong: There are two speed limits on a stretch of G Street north of Yosemite Avenue.
Who is at fault: The city for failing to put up the right signs.
Tip off the tip list!
If you see something broken or in need of repair in your neighborhood, call the Sun-Star Tip List reporter, Jonah Owen Lamb, with your tips at (209) 385-2484 or e-mail jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.
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