The speed limit on Crom Street is going back to 30 mph after being increased to 35 mph in 2013.

The speed was originally raised 13 years ago after residents back then wanted increased speed enforcement.

In order to legally use radar to do that, state law required a survey to establish an enforcement speed.

The speed that met that criteria was 35 mph.

The Manteca City Council, acting on the recommendation of the engineering department, dropped the speed back down to 30 mph.

That wasn’t far of enough drop for one resident that wanted it placed at 25 mph.

Councilwoman Regina Lackey agreed with the resident, noting she had first-hand experience as a resident living on Crom Street for 10 years on how speeding had led to collisions with parked cars and mailboxes.

Police Chief Stephen Schluer said dropping the speed limit down to 25 mph couldn’t be justified under the speed survey and state rules meaning police would not be able to use radar to enforce the speed limit.

Instead, they would be forced to pace speeding vehicles for a set time which would contribute to safety concerns as opposed to clocking speeders with a radar gun from a set position and then pulling them over.

By dropping the speed limit down to 30 mph, it opens the door for residents to request speed lumps.

The speed lumps — of which 50 have been placed on city streets so far with a waiting list of 36 other locations – can only be considered for streets where the speed limit is 30 mph or below.

It forces drivers to slow down to 15 mph or less to go over them.

Crom, as a collector street, has emerged as a short cut between north-south arterials Airport Way and Union Road.

And unlike most collector streets in Manteca, it is a straight road for the mile between the arterials although there are a pair of intersections with stop signs.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com