Short Road Permanent Installation of Traffic Calming DevicespW N f
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i �p COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: APRIL 4, 2012
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: GREG LARSON, TOWN MANAGER
MEETING DATE: 4/16/12
ITEM NO: e
SUBJECT: SHORT ROAD PERMANENT INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC CALMING
DEVICES
ACCEPT REPORT ON THE PERMANENT INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC
CALMING DEVICES FOR THE SHORT ROAD NEIGHBORHOOD.
RECOMMENDATION
Accept report on the permanent installation of traffic calming devices for the Short Road
neighborhood.
BACKGROUND
Short Road neighborhood residents formally submitted a petition to the Town in December 2007,
requesting staff to consider this street for a traffic calming project. Staff reviewed the petition,
then collected speed and traffic count data to determine if this street qualified for a project.
According to the Town's Traffic Calming policy, the 85 percentile speeds of vehicles traveling
through the neighborhood must exceed the posted speed limit by 5 MPH, or the average daily
traffic volume must exceed 1500. Based on the data collected, the Short Road neighborhood
qualified for the traffic calming program because of vehicle speeds. This project request was
placed on a waiting list while other traffic calming projects were being processed and/or
completed.
Staff hosted a neighborhood meeting on April 19, 2011, to explain the Town's Traffic Calming
policy process and to engage residents in a discussion about potential traffic calming solutions.
Residents were notified of this meeting via US mail. This meeting was attended by 10 residents.
At that meeting, residents expressed an interest in reducing vehicle speeds. One of the solutions
proposed to address this was to create a three -way stop at the intersection of Old Blossom Hill
Road and Short Road. Additionally, the consensus of those residents in attendance was to also
PREPARED BY : TODD CAPURSO \�
Director of Parks and Public Works
Reviewed by:
Town Manager Town Attorney Finance
N:\PPW\MANAGEMENT\ COUNCIL \COUNCII. REPORTS\2012 Reports\ApnI 16 \Short Road.Tmffic.Calm.Pem ent.Devices.doc
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APRIL 4, 2012
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: SHORT ROAD PERMANENT INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC CALMING
DEVICES
BACKGROUND (cont'd.)
install two speed humps on Short Road to reduce vehicle speeds. The residents in attendance
agreed to conduct a neighborhood vote on these three (3) traffic calming devices as one proposal.
A neighborhood vote was conducted in May 2011 to see if residents favored the traffic calming
proposal. Ballots were sent to all residents of Short Road as well as to residents that live on
Angel Court, Shannon Road and Quail Hill Road who would be directly impacted by the
proposed modifications. Ballots were mailed out to 25 residents, of which staff received 16
responses. The vote breakdown for this traffic proposal was as follows:
Approve of temporary proposal 75%
Not in favor of temporary proposal 25%
At the June 20, 2011, Town Council meeting, the Council approved the traffic calming proposal
for the Short Road neighborhood. The proposal included the installation of the improvements
described above on a temporary basis. The improvements were installed in October 2011, with
the primary purpose to reduce vehicle speeds. Prior to installation, the 85 percentile vehicle
speeds averaged 35 mph.
DISCUSSION
In February 2012, new traffic data was collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the devices.
The data indicates that the vehicle speeds have decreased to 31 mph on Short Road. (The posted
speed limit is 30 mph on Short Road.) The last step in the Traffic Calming process is to inform
residents of the data findings and conduct a final vote on the devices. Staff proceeded to conduct
another neighborhood vote in March 2012 to inform residents of the new data collected and to
also solicit input on the permanent installation of the traffic devices (Attachment 1).
A final ballot was sent to residents in March 2012, asking if residents would be in favor of
retaining the traffic calming improvements on a permanent basis. A total of 25 ballots were
mailed and 21 residents responded. The Traffic Calming policy requires 67% approval rating
from the votes returned in order to forward the proposal to Town Council for review.
The vote breakdown for permanent installation for these devices was as follows:
Approve of permanent installation 81%
Not in favor of permanent installation 19%
Based on the ballots returned, the Short Road neighborhood residents support the permanent
installation of the stop sign and the two speed humps. Upon Council's acceptance of this report,
staff will complete the final steps necessary to make the devices permanent.
PAGE
APRIL 4, 2012
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: SHORT ROAD PERMANENT INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC CALMING
DEVICES
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends the Town Council accept the report on the permanent installation of traffic
calming devices for the Short Road neighborhood.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
This is a project as defined under CEQA, but is Categorically Exempt (Section 15301c). A
Notice of Exemption will not be filed.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact.
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INTENTIONALLY
LEFT BLANK