Editor, Ceres Courier,
Regarding the letter, "Citizens' antics tiresome," since Ms. Demott addressed me by name, I am responding.

To put it simply, many residents do not agree with the City Council's decision to install unwarranted stop signs for the purpose of slowing drivers who speed because stop signs are not designed for that purpose - and actually create a safety hazard. Many of these same residents are not wanting unwarranted stop signs installed anywhere in Ceres, and were supportive of the family who advocated speed bumps four years ago and are still in support of proper speed-control devices.

But since the city ruled that speed bumps on Fowler Road could cause problems for emergency vehicles, the residents you hastily expect to move or sell their homes - had offered to help the city. Citizens for Ceres, of which I am a member, offered to help with the purchase of driver feedback signs and offered other support for a citywide effort to raise the public's awareness of the problem of speeding. But those ideas have not yet been accepted by the city.

Do you live on a busy street? Do you live near a school? Do you think about driving the speed limit? Most people drive the speed they are comfortable with and that is not a good way to judge what is safe. This is why I was in support of driver feedback signs.

To answer of your questions: A driver feedback sign is placed near the edge of the road, and its electronic readout provides the actual speed a driver is traveling next to the posted speed limit. It allows a passing driver to make appropriate speed adjustments. That is, if the speed limit is 35 mph and a driver is going 45 mph, the feedback sign will publicly display this information - causing the speeding driver to slow down.

The city was provided multiple references of expert opinions regarding traffic measures used to curb speeding. Nowhere in the public data does it state that stop signs are used as measures for controlling speeding motorists. In fact, the city's own engineer recommended against the unwarranted three-way stop.

I encourage you to look into what options exist to help curb these safety issues in Ceres. The public will be well served by hearing the facts.

Rick Rushton,
Ceres