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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-07-08 City Council (4)City of Palo Alto C ty Manager’s Report TO: ATTENTION: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Policy and Services Committee FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AGENDA DATE: SUBJECT: July 8, 1997 CMR:320:97 TRAFFIC CONDITIONS ON ROSS ROAD REOUEST On April 3, 1997, Council directed staffto work with residents to develop a recommended plan for the installation of road bumps on the segment of Ross Road between Oregon Expressway and Colorado Avenue (see Attachment 1). Council voted to refer this item to the Policy and Services Committee. This report presents the background information. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff recommends that Council direct staff to work with residents to develop a plan for the installation of road bumps on the segment 6fRoss Road between Oregon Expressway and Colorado Avenue, and return with a Budget Amendment Ordinance to fund the installation. POLICY IMPLICATIONS In 1991, Council approved a citywide program for installation of road bumps on local residential streets, including procedures and criteria, based on a successful test of road bumps in the Midtown area (see Attachment 2). This program gives residents a procedure by which they can request road bumps, and it allows staff to determine which requests should go forward for Council approval, without staff having to present every case to Council for consideration. Even when a particular request meets all Council-established criteria, staff is still required to obtain Council approval. Even though staff cannot recommend road bumps unless all the criteria are met, Council may override the criteria and approve bumps under circumstances it deems appropriate. Two criteria, in particular, were purposely set high in order to limit road bump installation to those situations where there is dear, factual evidence that speeding has become an actual hazard (minimum CMR:320:97 Page 1 of 3 existing speed of 32 mph and minimum of six speed-related accidents in three years). In this way, road bumps would be used only in the most serious situations, minimizing the bumps’ cumulative impacts on maintenance, street resurfacing, and Fire Department response times. Since the program was established in 1991, staff has received and evaluated 17 official requests for road bumps. None of the requests met the accident criterion, with the result that staffdid not approve any of the 17. Other than the bumps in the Midtown area (which preceded the establishment of the citywide program), Council has approved the installation of bumps in only two locations, neither of which fully met the required criteria. One ease was the Lytton Avenue Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan, in which Council approved a set of bumps as an. integral part of the overall plan, which also included other traffic management devices. In the second case, a set of bumps was installed on Bryant Court as part of a subdivision approval. Even in the Midtown area, where bumps were first installed, the now-established criteria would not have been fully satisfied. Approval of road bumps on Ross Road would continue the precedent for installation of bumps in situations where not all of Council’s criteria have been met. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As explained in staff’s response to Mr. Jones’ June 10, 1996 letter (Attachments 3 and 4), eight of the nine criteria are met for road bumps on Ross Road between Oregon Expressway and Colorado Avenue. Only the accident criterion is not met (no speed- related accidents were recorded for that segment of Ross Road during the analysis period). Staff therefore denied the residents’ request. Residents felt strongly enough about their situation to contact Council for special consideration in overriding the criteria. Council received numerous letters from Ross Road residents, for its April 3 discussion. Those letters, as well as others received recently, are included separately in the packet. The traffic volume on this segment of Ross Road, 2600 vehicles per day, is higher than most typical local residential streets in Palo Alto. Eighty-fifth percentile speeds on this segment of Ross Road range from 30 to 34 mph, depending on direction and location. Speeds on local residential streets in Palo’ Alto are typically around 32 mph or less. Considering the congestion at the nearby Oregon/Middlefield intersection, staff believes that a primary cause of the above traffic conditions on Ross Road is that some drivers on Oregon Expressway and Middlefield Road use Ross Road and other local streets to bypass that intersection. Even though there are no police records of speed-related accidents on Ross Road, residents are obviously concerned that accidents could occur, CMR:320:97 Page 2 of 3 and present many anecdotal experiences of speeding, near misses, and pets being killed. Residents are also concerned about reduced quality of life due to the impacts of traffic volumes and speeds. Road bumps reduce speeds, may discourage some through traffic, and are relatively inexpensive compared to other physical traffic calming measures. Other than the lack of speed-related accidents and the impacts of road bumps discussed above, there are no reasons why road bumps cotdd not be installed on this street segment, should Council so desire. FISCAL IMPACT Approximately 5 to 7 bumps would be needed to noticeably reduce speeds on this segment of Ross Road. At a cost of approximately $3,200 per bump, including signing and striping, the project would cost about $23,000. There is no funding for road bumps in the current budget or capital improvement program. Staff will-return with a Budget Amendment Ordinance from the General Fund Budget Stabilization Reserve, if Council so directs. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT An environmental assessment would be prepared at the time a specific project were brought to Council for approval. ATTACHMENTS Memo to Colleagues from Council Members Fazzino and Eakins Road Bump Program Information Package Letter to Carl Stoffel from David E. Jones III and Residents of Ross Road Letter to David E. Jones III from Marvin Overway Prepared By: Carl Stoffel Department Head Review: City Manager Approval: KENNETH R. SCHREIBER / Director of Planning and Community Environment HARRISON Assistant City Manager CMR:320:97 Page 3 of 3 OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEMORANDUM ATTACHMENT 1 DATE:April 3, 1997 TO:Our Colleagues FROM:Council Members Fazzino and Eakins SUBJECT: Traffic Conditions of Ross Road For a longtime, residents of the section of Ross Road between Oregon Expressway and Colorado Avenue have expressed serious concerns about the speed of traffic and increased volume of traffic along that section of Ross Road. The problems that Ross Road is experiencing are very similar to problems experienced during the 1980s by Middlefield Road’s other major parallel street, Cowper Street. As you know, the Council installed speed bumps on Cowper at that time to address their traffic speed and volume concerns. Both Ross Road and Cowper Street are used as alternatives by drivers to get to and from the Midtown area. Collectively the residents approached the City last year to request installation of road bumps to reduce travel speeds. City staff reviewed their request and concluded that this section of Ross Road meets eight of the nine criteria established by Palo Alto for installation of road bumps. Failure to meet the accident criteria (minimum of six speed- related accidents in three years) precludes staff from proceeding with the installation of road bumps under current city procedures, unless otherwise directed by Council. Copies of a letter request from residents and staff’s response are attached for reference. More recently, we met with a group of residents who live along this segment Of Ross Road, and it is apparent that they have very serious continuing concerns about the safety of their children, their pets, themselves and others and look to the Council for help. We believe that their situation warrants further consideration and action. They reported to us several incidents of accidents, near accidents, and the deaths of several pets due to high speed traffic. This block of Ross Road experiences traffic volume p.roblems because it is used as an alternative to Middlefield Road to get to the freeway or to Midtown and points south, and high speed traffic problems because it is located right off Oregon, is a wide street, and lacks a significant tree canopy or other traffic calming measures. Therefore, we recommend that the Council direct staff to work with residents to come up with a recommended plan for the installation of road bumps for the segment of Ross Road between Oregon Expressway and Colorado Avenue. We view this as an interim solution until such time as a comprehensive plan is developed to address the traffic problems associated with Middlefield and other parallel roads to assure a fair distribution of traffic. Attachments P. O.BOX 10250 PALO ALTO,CALIFORNIA 94303 CITY OFPALO ALTO ROAD BUMP PROGRAM ATTACHMENT 2 speed bump road bump BACKGROUND A road bump is an artificially created, relatively gentle rise in the pavement of a local residential street. The above figure compares a road bump to a speed bump commonly found in parking lots. The purpose of road bumps is to lower speeds on local residential streets. Several years ago, road bumps were installed on a test basis in the Midtown neighborhood of Palo Alto, and have successfully reduced.traffic speeds and volumes on those streets (a common side effect of road bumps is the reduction of traffic volumes on the streets with the bumps). -In March 1991, the City Council approved the use of road bumps as a tool for potential use in appropriate situations. Road .bumps may be installed only when it is desired to reduce speeds on local residential streets and when specific criteria can be met (please refer to the attached Procedures and Guidelines). Road. bumps are certainly not the answer to all speeding problems, and they are not appropriate for all situations. Rather, they are another tool for managing speeds on residential streets. They have a number of disadvantages, including delay to emergency vehicles, potential diversion of traffic to other residential streets, increased noise, general inconvenience to the driving public, and an unattractive appearance. Road bumps are still experimental in the sense that no State or national guidelines have been issued for their use or design. Thus, there is considerable variation in road bump installations among various cities. If State or national guidelines were issued, Palo Alto’s guidelines might need to be modified to conform. Our guidelines might need to be modified anyway, in the course of our o.wn experience with road bumps. HOW TO GET ROAD BUMPS ON YOUR STREET If you live on a local residential street in Palo Alto, and you believe that thereis a speeding problem on your street, you may wish to request consideration of the installation of road bumps to help reduce speeds on your street. Before you make your request, please read the attached Procedures and Guidelines, especially the five "Basic Criteria" listed on page 2. These are five of the many criteria which your street must meet .b.’efore the City could consider installing road bumps, and they are things you may already know about your street. Item 1 under "Basic Criteria" requires that your street be a local residential street. The attached figure shows which streets in Palo Alto are no.._At local residential streets (i.e., almost all other streets ar~e local residential streets). We advise you to see and experience the Midtown road bumps located on Cowper Street south of Oregon Expressway, and on Marion and Colorado Avenues between Cowper and Middlefield Road. You should be comfortable with the look and feel of road bumps in front of your own home. You should also have some idea of whether or not your neighbors would be comfortable with road bumps, possibly in front of their own homes, as two-thirds of them would eventually have to sign a petition supporting the road bumps (Procedures and Guidelines, page 3). Your written request for road bumps should be sent to: Chief Transportation Official, Transportatign Division, P.O. Box 10250, Palo Alto, CA 94303. The request should include your name, address, and daytime telephone number. Please include a brief desci’iption of your concern about speeding, and the approximate limits of the area on your street that you are concerned about (e.g., "2400 block", or between "A" and "B" streets). You must live within or adjacent to the portion of the street where you are requesting road bumps. Within about one week, you will be notified in writing that your request has been received. In about six weeks, you will be notified either (a) that your street does not qualify for road bumps (refer to Procedures and Guidelines, page 1, item 2); or (b) that your street meets the initial guidelines and that you are required to circulate a neighborhood petition (refer to Procedures and Guidelines, page 2, ,item 3). Ultimately, if your request meets all the necessary criteria, public meetings will be held, and the final decision would be made by the City Council (refer to Procedures and Guidelines, pages 1-2, items 5-8). QUESTIONS? If you need more information, please contact Mr. Carl Stoffel, Transportation Division, at 329-2552. Additional .copies of these Procedures and Guidelines are available, as well as staff reports providing background information about the road bump program. CS Attachments: "Procedures and Guidelines for Application and Design of Road Bumps in Palo Alto." 2.Figure showing Palo Alto Street Network. Road Bump Program April 16, 1991 Page 2 PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATION ANDDESIGN OF ROAD BUMPS IN PALO ALTO A.Administrative Procedures o o A request for road bumps must originate from a resident of the street on which the bump is desired. That request may be forwarded through the neighborhood association representing that area. Alternatively, staff may suggest to a resident who has filed a complaint relating to his or her street that rba~ bumps may be an option for addressing the complaint (in which case the next step would be skipped). After receipt of a request, staff will determine if the street meets the Basic Criteria listed in Section B, and, if data is readily ~available, Operational Criteria (i) and (3). A cursory determination will also be made of whether any of the guidelines in Section C would preclude the installation, of bumps. If the street does not meet these criteria, staff will so inform the requestor in writing, and advise the Police Department that a speed complaint has been received that may need enforcement action. If the street does meet the criteria identified in A(2), the requestor will be required to submit a petition (forms provided by the city) which establishes the extent of neighborhood support (two-thirds, as explained in Section B). After staff receives and verifies the petition, staff will gather traffic data in order to determine if the street meets the Operational Criteria listed in Section B. If the street does not meet the Operational Criteria, staff will so inform the .requestor in writing, and advise the Police Department that~ a speed complaint has been received that may need enforcement action. If the street meets all the criteria listed in Section B, staff will conduct a more thorough evaluation, including: The logical length of the street segment where bumps should be installed and the number and location of potential road bumps on this segment will be determined. The extent of the area where traffic diversion might occur will be determined. The amount of traffic diversion from the eligible ("primary") street to other ("secondary,). streets in this area will be estimated. Traffic speed and volume data on these secondary streets will be collected. If nece~ ry, mitigation measures ~ 0r the secondary streets w±±l be proposed. If road bumps are proposed as mitigation measures, the secondary streets shall meet as many of the eligibility criteria listed in Section B as possible. A neighborhood meeting for residents of the primary an~ secondary streets will be held. A report for City Council will be prepared. It is anticipated that this report would be referred to the Policy and Procedures Committee. After Policy and Procedures Committee review, the request will be forwarded to the city Council for program, but not funding, approval. If City Council approves the road bump request, the project will be considered for funding approval by inclusion in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) internal staff screening process which normally begins in December of each year. If approved during the screening process, the road bump project will be.included in the CIP which the City Manager recommends to the City Council. In May of each year, the recommended CIP is transmitted to the City Council for consideration and approval, via public hearings before the Finance and Public Works Committee. (Note that a road bump project may meet all Criteria and guidelines, but could still fail to receive funding approval in the CIP.) Road bumps may be considered for removal under a similar procedure. ~. B. Criteria for Determination of Eliqible Street Seqments. A street segment (or street) is eligible for road bumps if al__l of~ the following criteria are met. o Basic Criteria o .Neighborhood Support Criterion ~Operational Criteria Basic Criteria i.The street is a local street as defined by the Pal. Alto Comprehensive Plan, and is predominantly residential. 2.The prima facie or posted speed limit is 25 mph or less. Guidelines March 21, 1991 Page 2 There is no mir ,~m requirement for number -~ bumps or length of street where Goad bumps areproposed, ~ ~vided that there. can be at least 250 feet between bumps or between a bump and a stop sign, sharp curve, jog, -cul-de-sac, or other discontinuity which reduces speed to.approximatelY 15 mph. o The street is not a designated truck or transit bus route or a primary or routine access route for emergency vehicles. So The longitudinal grade of the street does not exceed five percent° .Neiqhbor’hood SUpport Crite~i0n ’i.Occupants of at least two-thirds of all dwellings with addresses on the street where bumps are requested to be located sign a petition requesting the bumps. 9perati6nal Criteria lo The average daily traffic (ADT) is between 500 and 4000 vehicles. The average-8rSth_ percentile speed along the segment-.is a minimum Of ~32 mph. At least six reported speed-related traffic accidents have oqcurred in the immediately precedingthree consecutive years. C.Location of Road Bump~ Io ° The minimum.distance from an. intersection to a road bump, where the street with the bump is a through street with no stop sign, shall range’from 50 to.200 feet, depending on the type of intersection. A road bump shall not be instailed within a sharp horizontal curve (generally a curve of less than 300 feet centerli~e radius) or within i00 feet of the beginning or end of such a curve. The first road bump at either end of a series shall be placed such that a warning sign can be installed before the bump at a distance equal to at least the minimum safe ’stopping distance, based on the existing 85th percentile speed. Any road bump shall .be visible to oncoming traffic for at least the minimum safe stopping distance, based on the existing or expected 85th percentile speed. A road bump shall not be placed over ~anholes, catch basins, or other utility access points. Guidelines March 21, 1991 Page 3 o Do A road bump sb~l only be located where ::~ does not cause a substantial a4. rse impact on establishe& .rainage patterns. A road bum~ shall only be located where, a curb, pole, tree, or other obstruction (existing or new) wquld block traffic from driving around the end of the bump. The followin~ guidelines should apply where feasible° ao Road bumps should be placed near streetlights. Road bumps should not be located immediately adjacent to driveways° ~. Co Road bumps and related Signing should be located on .property lines,, and where shrubbery, fences or other obstructions interfere.with.the direct view of the bumps from residences. Design of Road Bumps A road bump shall’ be three inches high at its midpoint (tolerance of -0, +0.25 inches), and 12 feet wide in the direction of t~avel, as shown in Exhibit Bo The spacing between road bumps or’between a road bump and a stop sign, sharp curve, jog, cul-de-sac, or other~ discontinuity which reduces speed to approximately 15 mph, shall range from 450 to 550 feet, except: (a). if the existing 85th percentile speed is less than 35 mph, the spacing may range from 350 to 550 feet; (b) if. ,there are- unusual circumstances, as determined by the Transportation Division,- the spacing may range from 250 to 550. feet. Signing and striping shall be in accordance.with Exhibits A and C. Guidelines. March 21, 1991 Page 4 LUZ ~.. Z LU I-- ZIll I~U o ~U I U.,l >- I- 0 0z0 --.O0"E .86"Z --- .Z6’E" "° < o 7- XW z 5 T ~F--F-..T June 10, 1996,ATTACHMENT 3 Carl Stoffel Chief Transportation Official Transportation Division P.O. Box 10250 Palo Alto, CA 94303 Subject: Ross Road residents request "Speed Bumps" between Oregon Expressway and Moreno Ave., through the City of Palo Alto Road Bump Program Dear Mr. Stoffel, Please HELP US!! The dramatic increase in the .~, along with the enormous increase of traffic on Ross Road, has created a hazardous situation for the children, residents and homeowners of this Palo Alto Street. The program has a criteria of: ,85% of the vehicles exceeding 32 mph (yes!!) ¯500 - 4000 vehicles per day volume ¯posted speed limit of 25 mph []street is not a truck transit (you wouldn’t know it!} []proper longitudinal grade ¯local Palo Alto Street []six speeding accidents in three consecutive years We meet or exceed all of the above criteria, except possibly the volume of accidents. Given time, we will meet the accident criteria. Wouldn’t it be better to advert a potential tragedy? Please help return Ross Road to the residents, by allowing speed/road bumps. between Oregon Expressway and Moreno Ave. (please see attachment of resident signatures. * 100% - All 24 homes have signed!!] Sincerely. David E. Jones III and Residents ’of Ross Road 2500 Ross Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 L. Wheeler, Mayor of Palo Alto R. Anderson, Member of City Council Care of City Clerk/City of Palo Alto Council Members OREGON EXPRESSUAy OREGON EXPRESSWAY ~-30, $50. :574 590 MORENO AVE o o 2451 2497" MORENO AVE November 8, 1996 Cityol-"alo Alto Department of Planning and C~fftunity Environment ATTACHMENT 4 Transporlation Division Mr. David E. Jones III and Residents of Ross Road 2500 Ross Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 Dear Mr. Jones: This is in response to the June 10, 1996, letter from you and all the residents of the 2400 and 2500 blocks of Ross Road regarding speed and traffic conditions on Ross Road between Oregon Expressway and Moreno Avenue, and requesting installation Of road bumps. You have discussed thi~ issue several times On the telephone with Carl Stoffel, and I appreciate your understanding that we have not been able to respond earlier. As you and Mr. Stoffel discussed, Palo Alto has a program for installation of road bumps on local residential streets, based on procedures and criteria approved by the City Council in 1991, and he has sent you our packet detailing the program. The criteria were designed to be strict, as there are some undesirable aspects of road b .umps that warrant their usage to be limited to situations with demonstrated safety problems. According to the City’s procedures, all nine criteria must be met in order for the Transportation Division to recommend installation of bumps,, with final approval and authorization of funding required from the City Council. We evaluated the section of Ross Road between Oregon Expressway and Colorado Avenue, which is a longer segment than is the subject of your request, because we have received prior complaints about the segment of Ross Road between Moreno and Colorado Avenues. The Oregon to Colorado segment meets the first five basic criteria for road bumps in that (I) it is a local residential street; (ii) the speed limit is 25 mph; (iii), the segment is long enough; (iv) it is not a truck, bus, or emergency vehicle access route; and (v) its grade is less than 5 percent. As is obvious from your letter, the neighborhood support criterion is met in the 2400 and 2500 blocks of Ross Road. The final three criteria concem volume, speed, and number of accidents, for which we gathered data in July. The 24-hour volume (ADT) was measured for three days in each of two locations (2400 and 2700 blocks), with a resulting average count of 2600 ADT in both locations, meeting the criterion that the volume be between 250 Hamilton Avenue P.O.Box 10250 Palo Alto, CA 94303 415.329.2520 415. 329.2299 Fax Mr. David E. Jones III November 8,. 1996 Page 2 500 and 4000 ADT. Speed surveys were conducted northbound and southbound at the same two locations. In the 2400 block, 85th-percentile speeds were found to be 34 mph (northbound) and 32 mph (southbound). In the 2700 block, speeds were 30 mph (northbound) and 33 mph (southbound). These speeds, when averaged, meet the minimum speed criterion of 32 mph. Finally, accident history was examined for this segment of Ross Road between January 1, 1992 and October 31, 1996. Four accidents were reported to the Police Department during this nearly five-year period, none of which was speed related. This does not meet the criterion of a minimum of six speed-related accidents in three years..While we can understand your desire to have road bumps installed on Ross Road, you can see that your request does not meet the required minimum criterion for accidents. For your information, there are locations where road bumps have been approved or installed in Palo Alto where the above nine criteria have not all been met. These were special eases that involved City Council review and approval of the bumps in the context of a larger project--a neighborhood area study and a residential subdivision project. Since 1992, we have received approximately five requests and inquiries for road bumps from residents of the 2400 to 2700 blocks of Ross Road (some of whom were the same people who signed your letter). It is typical for speeds and volumes on local streets to be higher than usual close to an intersection with a major arterial, such as Oregon Expressway. In this case, congestion at the Oregon/Middlefield intersection is probably causing some .drivers to bypass the intersection. The City has a planned improvement project that would substantially improve the operation of the intersection, thus reducing the advantage to drivers of taking shortcuts. However, funding is not yet available for this project. ~ Please be assured that the City is concerned about traffic safety, and recently initiated several safety-related programs. These include additional Police Department traffic team members, use of motorcycles for enforcement, a neighborhood speed watch program (wherein residents may use Police Department radar guns to identify speeders), and others. We will forward a copy of this letter to Lieutenant Don Hartnett with a request for the.Police Department to provide additional speed enforcement on Ross Road. You may wish to contact him about the speed watch program or other aspects of the traffic safety program (329-2449). Mr. David E. Jones III November 8, 1996 Page 3 In summary, installation of road bumps on Ross Road does not meet all of the City Council approved criteria, and we have notified the Police Department of your neighborhood’s concerns about speeding. Again, thank you for your patience, and for bringing your concerns to our attention. Sincerely, . Marvin L. Overway Chief Transportation Official CS City Council Residents of 2400 and 2500 blocks of Ross Road City Manager, June Fleming Lt. Don Hartnett, Police Department