Napa will lower speed limits on 33 street segments by 5 miles per hour, the Napa City Council recently decided, continuing a multi-year strategy of reducing allowed speeds on roads throughout much of the city.

The changes will apply to both heavily-traveled corridors — such as Soscol Avenue between Lincoln Avenue and Trancas Street, where the speed limit will be 35 miles per hour — and road sections that see less traffic, such as McKinstry Street between First Street and Soscol Avenue.

Of the other street segments analyzed in the city’s annual update, 19 segments will see no changes and none will see a higher speed limit.

The City Council voted unanimously — with Mayor Scott Sedgley absent — to make the changes on Tuesday. They will come into effect 30 days after the council approves a second reading of the ordinance at a future meeting.

Jimmy Jessup, a transportation engineer for Emeryville-based traffic engineering consultant firm Parametrix — hired for transportation engineer work while the city recruits for a senior traffic engineer position — said at the meeting the California Vehicle Code requires engineering and traffic surveys every seven years to retain enforcement of speed limits.

Jessup said that work involves surveying roadway conditions, area land uses and traffic speeds — including a speed survey of at least 100 vehicles traveling on the roadway.

The recommended speed limit is largely dictated by the speed at or below what 85% of drivers are traveling on a particular section of roadway. But a 5 mph reduction to the recommended speed can be applied if a justification is documented by the engineer approving the surveys, Jessup said.

Both public commenters and City Council members said they supported the reduced speed limits, in part as a way to improve traffic safety. But they also suggested more should be done.

Kara Vernor, executive director of the Napa County Bicycle Coalition, said speed limit reductions need to be paired with “traffic calming, enforcement, education and other strategies.”

Maureen Trippe, a co-founder of Slow Down Napa — a community group formed during the COVID-19 pandemic to push for traffic safety in Napa’s neighborhoods — said the city’s streets have broadly seen reductions in speed limits in recent years, but there’s still a disconnect between the lived experience of residents and the city’s efforts.

That’s in part because of the city’s seven-year update cycle, Trippe said, which can leave speed limits on street segments that could use a change unaddressed for years.

Trippe suggested the city provide a comprehensive map to show where speed limits have been lowered, and where other safety measures such as enhanced crosswalks and pedestrian beacons have been added. Such a map would also be a way to visualize what’s missing. Trippe said a glaring example of what’s missing is setting speeds in the Oxbow District area at 20 mph like they are in downtown.

“A cohesive strategy could significantly improve public understanding of how the city is working to enhance safety and reduce speeding,” Trippe said.

Council member Bernie Narvaez said he supported the speed limit reductions. But at the same time, he noted, it’s uncomfortable for people to slow down when they’re used to driving a certain speed limit. He suggested the city needs to add more traffic-calming changes such as speed bumps or other physical changes that will motivate people to slow down.

“I have to remind myself to slow down, right, it’s something you have to actively do,” Narvaez said. “What I’ve seen when I’ve traveled and driven in other communities, beyond the speed limit, there’s other things, there’s objects, there’s physical changes on the roadway that really force you to slow down.”