Letter: Solve the dangerous downhill speed issue on Niblick bridge
To the editor, 
On February 22, I was driving to SuperCuts to get my hair done in the Kohl’s shopping center. I turned onto Niblick Road and was going down the long downhill portion of the bridge. As I was slowing down to make my turn into the shopping center, I noticed a police officer sitting on his motorcycle parked at the entrance. I was not alarmed, because I knew that I was not speeding. I turned into the shopping center and happened to notice the police officer turning in behind me. I continued to drive to SuperCuts for my appointment, when I noticed the police officer (A. Ketchum) had his lights on. I immediately stopped and pulled over. I was confused as to why he stopped me. I thought, maybe I had a tail light out. When he told me I was going almost 60 miles per hour on the bridge, I was in shock! I totally did not feel I was speeding on the bridge. I was upset and accused him of setting up a speed trap. He became defensive and stated there had been some recent serious car wrecks at that intersection.
Handing out tickets to people who rarely drive on that bridge and are unaware of the increased speed due to the downhill grade is not the answer to avoiding accidents at that intersection. I would suggest installing a speed limit sign that flashes the speed limit to drivers who pass by to warn them that their car is picking up speed.
Most people on that bridge have just exited the freeway and their sense of high speed is decreased. The long downhill steepness on that bridge and the location of the intersection at the bottom is a serious situation and needs to be resolved. I am concerned that this police officer, instead of sitting there waiting for an unsuspecting driver to cause an accident or to hand the driver a ticket, would better serve his community by suggesting a simple solution of installing the above mentioned flashing speed limit sign.
Pauline Conrad
Paso Robles
