If you drive east on Highway 62 through Joshua Tree, you may have noticed a change in the speed limit signs. Last week CalTrans lowered the speed limit through Joshua Tree to 45 miles per hour. CalTrans spokesman Manuel Jabson said the new signs were installed last week. Now the speed limit drops from 65 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour eastbound on the highway at Juniper, about a quarter of a mile before the previous speed reduction, with no stepping down to 55 miles per hour. Jabson said CalTrans did a speed survey last September, and found that 85 percent of the cars driving through that area were driving 51 miles per hour or slower; he added that CalTrans has the option to reduce the speed by an additional 5 miles per hour, which is why the speed limit for the entire village area of Joshua Tree is now 45 miles per hour. Jabson added that CalTrans reported the findings from its speed survey to the California Highway Patrol’s Morongo Basin office, which agreed with the reducing the speed limit due to the high rate of traffic collisions in the area. In addition, the 55 mile per hour speed limit leaving Yucca Valley eastbound has also been extended about a half a mile. Local law enforcement is already enforcing the new speed limits.
