Supervisors establish 25 MPH speed limit on Los Gatos’ Oleander Avenue

SAN JOSE – The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today to establish a 25-mph speed limit on Oleander Avenue in Los Gatos between Orange Blossom Lane and Azalea Way, with appropriate signage. The County Roads Department is scheduled to return to the Board later in June to approve radar enforcement by California Highway Patrol (CHP) along Oleander Avenue. Radar enforcement would begin after appropriate signage is installed.

“Local residents saw a problem and spoke up,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. “They were heard.”

Oleander Avenue is located in an unincorporated County pocket adjacent to the Town of Los Gatos. In response to neighborhood concerns, the Santa Clara County Department of Roads and Airports recently completed an Engineering and Traffic Study, which recommended the 25-mph limit. The San Jose CHP Office reviewed the study and concurred with the County’s recommendations.

“Higher speeds in residential areas, where kids, parents and grandparents ought to feel safe, are clearly dangerous,” said Simitian. “Now that the County has completed the study, we’re able to improve safety in the neighborhood.”

In the past year, since Los Gatos and the Santa Cruz Mountain communities were redistricted to the Fifth Supervisorial District (now represented by Simitian), the Board has approved the following proposals to improve road safety:

• In June 2022, and in response to concerns raised by Los Gatos residents, the Board adopted a resolution to extend the 30-mph speed limit on Black Road between Thompson Road and Highway 17 Frontage Road.
• In September 2022, the Board voted to move forward with a Preventive Maintenance Project to maintain the safety and integrity of Aldercroft Creek Bridge at Old Santa Cruz Highway in Los Gatos.
• Since January, the Board of Supervisors has allocated $15.4 million for repairs to roads damaged by the 2022—2023 winter storms, and is working to reopen Old Santa Cruz Highway, Bear Creek Road, and Aldercroft Heights Road.
• In February 2023, the Board unanimously approved a $1 million contract for the installation and replacement of roadside safety barriers at six locations throughout the County, including at the intersection of Old Santa Cruz Highway and Ogallala Warpath, near the Chemeketa Park community in Santa Cruz Mountains.

“It’s not particularly flashy stuff,” said Simitian, “but this is the work that keeps people safe. That is, and should be, priority number one.”