RESIDENTS FED UP WITH SPEEDERS AFTER TEEN'S DEATH.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

GREEN VALLEY - The sign along the road leading into this small town in the Angeles National Forest is clear - ``Speed Limit 35 mph.'' For those who miss it, the law is painted in several spots on Spunky Canyon Road.

But the warnings haven't deterred motorists from racing down Spunky Canyon Road and nearby San Francisquito Road, and after a 16-year-old girl was killed earlier this year, residents have had enough.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday instructed the county Public Works Department to coordinate with the California Highway Patrol to implement radar speed enforcement on Spunky Canyon Road between San Francisquito Canyon Road and Calle Bonita.

The CHP, the Green Valley Traffic Response Action Committee and county officials have been working together on traffic problems in the area since Jillian Winkel was killed by a speeding motorist when she stepped in front of a pickup truck after retrieving her mail from the box along San Francisquito Road.

``The problem is a lot of people are in a big hurry to get from the Antelope Valley down to the Valley and back; the speed limit on the rural route is 55, but a lot people aren't slowing down to meet the 35 speed limit,'' CHP Capt. Brian Smith said of San Francisquito, where the speed limit drops to 35 mph through Green Valley.

The truck driver was going 45 mph, police determined.

The CHP has always used radar on San Francisquito Road and has since stepped up its patrols to catch speeding motorists and lawbreakers, Smith said.

But some residents, especially those who work and live along San Francisquito Road, say the problem continues.

Cathay Bemiller, owner of the Heart N' Soul Coffee House, which sits on the corner of San Francisquito and Spunky Canyon roads, has watched numerous vehicles roar through the stop sign at the intersection, with speeds reaching at least 60 mph.

``I see it a lot,'' she said. ``The real worry is the kids, the kids walking down Spunky Canyon. They shouldn't have to worry about a car going 60 mph.''

While they step up patrols, officers have completed speed surveys along Spunky Canyon Road - which is often used to cut over to Bouquet Canyon Road - and plan to begin radar enforcement soon. Those signs will be posted soon.

For a town that prides itself on sticking together and working as one, residents are trying to slow down motorists with their own techniques.

Jamal Hanoun, an employee at the convenience store on Spunky Canyon Road, said he sold bumper stickers after Jillian was killed, asking people to slow down. His car proudly wears the badge created by a local woman on her computer.

But it's not only the kids and people who are meandering around the roads in the town of 1,100, but also the horses and dogs, Hanoun said.

``It's better to keep the speed limit low,'' he said.