Since September, City crews have updated more than 75 signs with new speed limits on various Rancho Santa Margarita roadways. Be sure to read speed limit signs and check your speed as you travel throughout the City.
As a result of an Engineering & Traffic Study examining how fast people drive on our streets, speed limits have been lowered to make our streets safer – the faster the speed, the higher the risk of a severe crash with serious injuries or deaths.
The city's website has more information and a complete list and locations of the revised speed limits: Speed Limit Press Release, Traffic Engineering & Circulation Information.
Most new speed limit changes are going down by five (5) mph, except for one segment going down by ten (10) mph. In all, 45 sections of City roadways will see reduced speed limits, with 19 segments remaining unchanged.
As new signs go up and we get used to new speed limits, Rancho Santa Margarita Sheriff Deputies will be helping educate drivers with warnings during this transition period. Deputies will use discretion in making everyone aware of the revised speed limits, with the goal of educating motorists to follow them. Deputies will continue to cite drivers for excessive speeding, and drivers exceeding speed limits may still be ticketed based on the Deputies’ discretion and specific situation.
And no, the City is not changing speed limits to issue more tickets. Revenue from tickets is never the City’s motivation for revising speed limits. What revenue the City does see from tickets does not cover the cost of deputies, motorcycles, patrol cars, or other equipment involved with issuing a citation.
Lowering speed limits is part of the City’s ongoing work to make Rancho Santa Margarita's streets safer. Changes to all revised speed limit signs should be completed by November 18, 2024.