42nd Ave, West of Bettina Ave to El Camino Real
On 42nd Ave between West of Bettina Ave and El Camino Real, the limit is 25. Half of drivers go faster than 27; the fastest 15% go faster than 32.
- Current limit
- 25 mph
- Proposed
- 25 mph
- Lowest legal option
- 20 mph
What state law allows here
For a person walking, the average risk of death is about 10% if struck at 23 mph and about 25% if struck at 32 mph. These are impact speeds, the speed at the moment of the crash (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Tefft 2011).
Options for collectors like this one
The survey classifies this segment as a major collector. Typical effects, from federal research:
- Bike lanes: up to 30% fewer crashes overall on urban two-lane collectors, and up to 49% on four-lane ones (FHWA Proven Safety Countermeasures, FHWA-SA-21-051).
- High-visibility crosswalk: up to 40% fewer pedestrian injury crashes; advance yield markings, up to 25% fewer pedestrian crashes (FHWA Proven Safety Countermeasures, FHWA-SA-21-049).
- Flashing beacon at a crosswalk (RRFB): up to 47% fewer pedestrian crashes at uncontrolled marked crosswalks (FHWA Proven Safety Countermeasures, FHWA-SA-21-053).
- Chicane (alternating curb extensions): on two-lane, two-way streets, 85th-percentile speeds averaged 31 to 33 mph after installation (FHWA Traffic Calming ePrimer, Module 4, Table 4.1).
The city's 2006 traffic calming policy does not allow speed humps, traffic circles or other physical calming devices on collectors or arterials, so changes on these streets come through city street projects. The city's Local Roadway Safety Plan lists its priorities. For reference, this segment does not pass the policy's speed test: the fastest 15% go 7 mph over the limit, and the test is more than 7. The survey doesn't measure cut-through traffic, so the policy's volume test can't be checked here.
Ask the city
This opens an email to Council Member Newsom (District 3), Mayor Loraine (District 5) and Jay Yu, Engineering Manager, with this street's numbers filled in. There's a blank line for a sentence of your own.
Dear Council Member Newsom, Mayor Loraine and Engineering Manager Yu,
The city's 2026 speed survey measured traffic on 42nd Ave between West of Bettina Ave and El Camino Real on April 10, 2026. The limit there is 25 mph. Half of drivers went faster than 27 mph, and the fastest 15% went faster than 32 mph. The survey proposes keeping the limit at 25 mph.
State law would allow a limit as low as 20 mph on this street, with an additional 5 mph reduction, if it qualifies as a safety corridor or as a street near places that draw many people walking or biking (Vehicle Code 22358.7).
Add a sentence of your own here.
Will the city set the lowest limit state law allows on this street?
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