Los Altos officials are preparing to raise the speed limit on Springer Road as a way to slow down motorists. Increasing the posted speed limit from 25 mph to 30 mph may seem like a backward approach to the problem, but officials say it’s the only way - short of spending a large amount of money that the city doesn’t have on traffic-calming devices - to control motorists who drive too fast.

Councilmembers last week agreed to increase the speed limit on one of Los Altos’ busiest streets on a six-month trial basis. Traffic engineer Tom Ho ssid the city would begin erecting new speed limit signs next week.

The adjusted limit will enable police to ticket motorists using radar. Under state law, police are prohibited from using radar unless the posted speed limit is within 5 mph of what 85 percent of the motorists on that particular road travel.

Judges are throwing the tickets out of court, Police Chief Bob Lacey said. Lacey said officers may pace, or follow, cars to enforce limits, but it’s not practical. The officers must themselves speed to catch motorists, and, even then, they are only capable of cracking down on a limited number of drivers.

“This is a problem that doesn’t go away. The street was designed to go faster. That’s the real problem. Whether the posted limit is 30 or 35 mph, traffic is going to travel the same,” Councilman Ron Packard said. “The most dangerous drivers are indifferent to the signs anyhow. If we can nab them … I’m not crazy about (increasing the speed limit) but I’m willing to do an experiment.”

This is the second time the city has raised the limit on Springer to conduct this type of experiment. Some residents oppose the idea.

“Raising a speed limit is a license to speed,” said resident Kristi Clarke. “It means to the driver, ‘They want me to drive faster!’ The upward creep of speed limits will result in another Lawrence Expressway and San Tomas in Los Altos.”

Resident John Ciacchella questioned the council’s logic in a letter to the editor (see page 8), noting tickets can be given for exceeding any posted speed limit. He added, “In well over 50 percent of the cases the person cited would never even take the step of challenging the citation. The vast majority will go to driver school or pay the ticket.”

Ho said speed surveys would be conducted “before, during and after police enforcement” during the trial period.