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Home My WebLink About2003-03-03 City Council (11)C ty of Palo Alto C ty Manager’s Report TO: FROM: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT DATE: MARCH 3, 2003 SUBJECT: ROSS ROAD TRAFFIC CALMING PROJECT This is an informational report and no Council action is required. CMR:182:03 BACKGROUND The Transportation Division received a petition in May 2001 from residents of Ross Road between Colorado Avenue and Loma Verde, to reduce speeds and volumes of traffic in this neighborhood. A neighborhood meeting was held in November 2001, where residents expressed an interest in using police enforcement as a traffic-calming too! and stated that they did not want to implement physical measures like speed humps or traffic circles on the street. Consequently, staff developed an education and enforcement traffic-calming plan in conjunction with a small working ~oup of residents. This was the first project where staff implemented an education and enforcement traffic-cahning measure. The implementation plan consisted of police enforcement, deployment of speed radar trailers, initiation of the Pace Car and Citizen Speed Watch Pro~am, issuance of press releases to local newspapers, and signing improvements including the installation of traffic watch pro~am signs. The trial started in January 2002. DISCUSSION Police Enforcement: The Police Department had priority enforcement in this segment of Ross Road during the trial from January to December 2002. A comparison was made on the number of citations issued before and during the trial. Time Period Number of Citations Issued 7/1/01-12/31/01 (6 months before the trial)49 1/14/02-2/14/02 (1 month during the trial)55 3/14/02-4/14/02 (1 month during the trial)1 25 January to December 2002 ]164 CMR:182:03 Page 1 of 4 Speed radar trailers: The speed radar trailer was placed in the neighborhood four times during the trial to display an approaching driver’s speed. This tends to moderate speeding by some drivers. Neighborhood Pace Car Pro~am: This pro~am was introduced to promote safe and courteous driving. The two elements of the program are a bumper sticker and a pledge. Residents were asked to sign a pledge and implement it in their driving habits. A bumper sticker was then sent to each participant that identified him or her as a pace car driver. Of the total 121 households in the project area, 27 residents participated in this program. Citizen Speed Watch Program: This is an educational progam for residents in which they can learn the actual speeds of drivers by using a radar gun and recording the speeds of vehicles. When a vehicle is observed exceeding the speed limit, the registered owner of the vehicle is sent a letter about the speed violation and is encouraged to drive within speed limits. Only one resident from the project area participated in this program during the trial. Press releases: Staff notified the public about the efforts taken by the residents of Ross Road, the Transportation Division and the Police Department through press releases. There were two newspaper articles published and one television intelwiew on NBC local news that helped promote the project. This was done to make other citizens (outside the project area) aware of the enforcement and education traffic-calming measure being implemented in the project area. Sign Improvements: Stop legends were painted at each of the intersections with stop signs, within the project area. A "stop ahead" sign was installed for northbound traffic at the intersection of Ross Road and Clara Drive to give advance warning to drivers, because of low visibility due to a hill over Matadero creek. In addition, a red reflective post was attached to the existing stop sign poles at three locations. Drivers now see a red post in addition to the stop sign, rather than a galvanized post, thus improving the overall visibility of the stop sign installation. A before and after study was done during morning and evening at each location to detern~ine its effectiveness. Reflective posts installed on stop sig~s along Ross Road Location 1- northbound at Colorado Avenue ~efore installation Location 1 after the installation Location 2- southbound at Clara Drive before ]Location 2 after the installation Location 3- northbound at Clara before 2_ ................................................................... ILocation n after the installation No. of people wN°’ho of people who stopped rolled through at stop sign stop sig-n 83 ~_8_ .............. .............. ;;; ..............[ .............. No. of people who ran stop sign * * These cars were mostly making a right turn. CMR:182:03 Page 2 of 4 Traffic Watch Program Signs: Two new signs were installed at main entry points to the project area.~ which read "Neighborhood traffic watch program. Traffic laws strictly enforced". These signs are located northbound at Ross Road and Loma Verde Avenue and southbound at Ross Road and Colorado Avenue. The purpose of the signs was to inform non-local drivers that they were entering a special enforcement zone. Evaluation of Education and Enforcement Trial: At the end of the trial in October 2002, speed and volume counts were taken ~/o determine the effectiveness of the education and enforcement measure. A comparison of before and after counts is shown in the table below. Location Volume 85th Percentile Speed (mph) I Northbound Southbound Total Northbound Southbound 1. 2925 Ross Road (before July 2001 trial)860 1130 1990 29 30 1. 2925 Ross Road (October 2002 after the trial)1258 1404 2662 29.8 28.4 I.3100 Ross Road (before July 001 trial)900 1130 2030 33 32 2. 3100 Ross Road (October 2002 after the trial)1208 1366 2574 29.9 29.5 The above results show that the volumeof traffic increased in this neighborhood after the trial. The "before" counts were donein July 2001. Typically, smnmer counts are not considered accurate because of the reduction in school trips. The speed of traffic has decreased at location 1 but not significantly. At location 2, the reduction in speed by about 10 percent shows that the trial was more effective in October even though enforcement ended in April. These results and observations were presented to the resident working group on January 27, 2003. The group feels that the effects of this trial will diminish over time, since police enforcement wil! not been done at the high level that it was during the trial. Speeding is still a major concern for the residents. Subsequently, the group decided to reconvene the project to install physical measures like speed humps or tables. In spring, staff will report to the Planning and Transportation Commission and then to Council on the traffic-calming plan preferred by the residents during the sur~ey. CMR:182:03 Page 3 of 4 PREPARED BY: DEPARTMENT HEAD" RUCHIKA AGGARWAL Engineer Technician STEVE EMSLIE Director of Planning and Community Environment CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: Assistant City Manager CC:Project Working Group Planning and Transportation Commission -) -Pa~e4 of 4CMR: 18_:0-~~