11/4/2005
California: Speeding Tickets Replace Tolls on Coronado BridgeCoronado, California is lowering speed limits to make up for lost toll bridge revenue.
San Diego's Coronado island is a popular California tourist attraction and home to a Navy SEAL training base and two aircraft carriers. On October 11, Coronado lowered the speed limit to 25 MPH on the roads that lead on and off of the Coronado Bridge. The city cited new Caltrans guidelines that ignore engineering studies suggesting the limit is as much as 10 MPH below the recommended 85th percentile speed. Coronado expects to raise revenue significantly with the change.
The city lost a significant amount of income on June 27, 2002 when the Coronado Bridge was turned over to the state of California and the last toll was collected. The two-mile long bridge soars 200 feet above San Diego Bay, allowing ships to pass beneath. Tolls were used to pay for the bridge after it opened in 1969, and continued for fifteen years after the construction bonds had already been paid in full.
So far, the city has issued 125 speeding tickets with the new limit.