What You Need To Know About Safety Factors Relating to Children at Play
The City of Ventura often receives requests to install signs warning drivers of the possible presence of children at play. Concerned citizens fail to realize that these signs are deceiving and ineffective.
Drivers already expect the presence of children in residential areas, especially at certain times, and studies show that devices attempting to warn motorists of normal conditions or conditions that are not always present fail to achieve the desired safety benefits.
False Sense of Security
"Children at Play" signs also tend to create
a false sense of security for parents and children who believe the signs
provide an added degree of protection when motorists, particularly local
ones, actually pay little attention to them. The use of Children at Play
and similar signs such as Slow or Slow - Entering Residential Area has
long been discouraged since these signs are a direct and open suggestion
to small children that laying in or beside the roadway is acceptable.
Parents also seem to believe such signs may help reduce speeds. There is no evidence that these signs prevent accidents or reduce the speed of vehicles. If problems with speeding exist, stricter enforcement should be sought from the appropriate law enforcement authorities.
City Policy on "Children At Play"
Signs
Children at Play and similar signs are not
recognized by the State or the Federal Highway Administration as official
traffic control devices and, therefore, are not installed by the City
on public streets.
Lower Speed Limits
Citizens frequently request 10 mph speed limit
signs on residential streets where children are playing. The unposted
speed limit on a residential street is automatically 25 mph and can be
enforced. The City cannot post 10 mph speed limits because the posting
of such signs by a local government agency is considered a speed trap
and therefore makes enforcement of such limits illegal.
Prohibiting Trucks in Residential Areas
To help make residential streets safer for
children to play on, citizens also frequently request signs that say:
"COMMERCIAL VEHICLES OVER 3000 LBS PROHIBITED"
Whenever such signs are installed, not all vehicles over 3000 lbs. are prohibited from using these posted streets. Exemptions to posted weight restrictions include: emergency vehicles; vehicles used in transporting passengers such as buses; vehicles used in conjunction with building construction or delivery; vehicles used for local pickup or delivery; vehicles used by local businesses to gain access to and from the business. It requires a City Council resolution to establish weight restrictions on a street and high visibility enforcement to make such signs effective. Therefore the City posts such signs only on streets where there is a documented large volume of heavy traffic that does not have a legitimate reason to use such streets.
Addressing the Safety of Young Children
Unnecessary signs confuse and annoy drivers
and foster a disrespect for all signs, but signs in accordance with the
State of California’s Traffic Manual can and should be posted for school
zones and pedestrian crossings as well as playgrounds and other recreational
areas where a need exists.
Most importantly, parents should teach children the dangers of playing in or near roadways and strongly discourage them from doing so. The City provides neighborhood parks where children can play safely with proper supervision. Safe playgrounds are also provided at many elementary school sites.
Citizen Concern
The City takes our role in solving traffic problems
very seriously, yet the ultimate burden of safety rests with you, the
citizen in Ventura. Since we receive over 600 citizen requests per year,
we cannot always investigate your request as quickly as we would like
to. However, we will respond after carefully evaluating your request.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.