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City of Palo Alto
City Manager's Summary Report
HONORABLE CITY COUNCn.
AITENTION, POLle'i AlIo'D SER\lCES COMMITTEE
FlNAlllCE COMMITTEE
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: Pom.. Department
Tnmsportatioo
AGENDA DATE: MarcIa 27,1995 CMR:l9:Z :95
llecxJlIIJJleDliations Addressing TraffIc Safely lssuos
UQUEST
Is te$pOI>3C 10 • Council assignment regordlng !he development ofadditio.,al traffic safety
SlrafcBies, tIm report provides specific recommendations tllal staff believes will add", ..
the CXKICCnIS that have been upressed. Staff p'..oommcMs that the Council rete. the
traffic safely recouuncndali<J.,. 10 !he Policy and Services and FInance Commi!tees.
lespediVely _ At !he end of eacll r=mendation, staff has indicated ia parentheSis !he
commit!ee !he item· should be referred 10. The additional staffing recommendation
",ferre<llo !he Fl/lllIW:e Cummit!ee will be discussed during the upcoming budget process.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff rccommeudlJ Ib8t Council;
I. EstabIisll rad!lr enforceable speed limits on Il-.ree selected streets for a si.-montll
Ilia! ba,... (Policy and Services Comll'Jttee)
2. Approve Ill. coocept of !he use of motorcycles for traffic enforcement. (policy
and Services Committee)
3. Approve !be concept of increasing th. size of the traffic "'am by adding two
offker po<itions. (Finance Committee-Budget)
4. Approvelhe installation of flashing warninl! lights en Embarcadero Road adjacent
10 Waller Hays Scbool on a triAl basis. (No referral act>oo requested.)
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S. Endorse the ~ of increasing enforcement effo<u allocations ",here there is
a higher !han normal accideDl rate. (Policy a,1d Services Con'llrutte.o)
6. Establish • Neighborhood Speedwal<h program on .. six-month trial basis. (policy
!.Dd Scrvires Committee)
7. . Endone wntinuatioa of partnership effo<u with the Palo Alto U cified School
District. cspeciall, in an .ttempllO enhanoe traffic safety edocatioaal programs for
JlBI"nls and slUdenls. (No referral action requested.)
8. Approve oontinued assistance provided \0 the schools Ll,.l wOO\ICl 10m'" Safety
Patrol programs. (No referral actioo requested.)
9. Conduct periodic safety cbe<:kpoints. (No referral action requested.)
10. Endorse conccpI. ol • City vehicle saf.: driving program. {Policy and Services
Committee)
II. Throogh the CPAC discussiora on the Transportaoon .lement. provide oxrection
10 staff 00 any continued wock for the f"orIov,{ng long range strategies:
I. Neighborhood Traffic StuG1eS
b. Reduction ol Residential Stre.:ts/Neighborllood Street Wxlth
c. Downsize Arterial(s} from Foor Lanes \0 Two Lanes
d. Support Regional Martel Based Pricing Strategies
e. Develop Loca/ Trans:' [Margu.:rite· Type] System
f. Pursue Extension ol Ughl Rail Transit from Mountain VleW loIthrough
Palo Alto
g. Reduce Allowable Commercial Vehicle Weight Limits and Change
Designated J:ruck Rootes
h. Full Vehlr..le Grade Separa1ior.(s)
i Underground CalTraia
POyeY IMPLICATIONS
Due 10 the Dumw and variety of issues .taff has anempted 10 address, r.:cornmendatioas
iDcludcd ia this report involve several policy implicaoons. A. an .<ample, if Council
wm:o \0 ,opprove the rooommendatioa \0 e.ubfish radar enfo<ceable speed limits, Ibis
would dumge Council policy \0 not raise speed limits that have bee" in place for a
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. IIWI1bet 01 yNn. ThaI necessitate, !l!c need 10 ~view !l!c Couocil's speed limit policy.
lbc .a1!tCbe6 in-depth rtpcrl prcMdes informatlon t)Il each of tho5e implloations.
To assist IIle Council in their review ~. staff Iuu included ,uggestions 01 whiclt
C<immiltee may be more appropriate 10 review each individual teCOOlmcndatlon (see
luaclunenl A). Staff used Sec60ns 2.04.2SO and 2.04.260 01 !!Ie P.lo Alto Municipal
Code as pideliDes for suggesting assigrunents 10 commitlees. The two secOOns describe
!he duties oflbe committees. The FInance Committee', respoosibiliti.es include finance.
budge!, ludits. C8pi.!Jil planning and debt. The Policy and Se",lces Committee',
n:apoosibililies inclu& intergO'iernmenl!l relal'.ons. personnel poIkle •• planning and
zooina. Inffic and parking, public works and community and bum." servi<:es. Those
reoommeodalioos which could be implelUnted as an administrative <kcision are 00«
iodic&Icd as referrals 10 Commitlees. but sllould be diocussed by Cou oci!.
FDQOJYE SUMMARY
Ia MardI 1994. !he City Council raised ~rns voiced by rnemben of the community
regarding a peroeivoo decer'.arafioo ollnlffic safety ;11 !!Ie Citf. The COIlCeIlIS were
lOcu3CII on Ibe speed of vehicles travelling throIIgb Ihe City. the lack of compliance by
c!rivers wilh lite ruk. of lite road and an increased risk 10 pedestrla"" and bicyclis!s.
Council direcIed staff 10 review 1Ile currelll strategies and develop suggestions for
pocenti.III~.
The first phase ollhis assignmenl was reflected in I Council study session dial was held
011 Sepfembcr 26. 1994. Prior 10 tlta! session, Police and TranSjlOl'lAtioo Department staff
<:OIIecf.ed l considerable amounl ofinform.!ion (CMR:439:94), whie. Wi.S presented and
used as a basis for discussion.
Staff lias spelll !he last several montll. since Ihe study session collecting and &nalyzing
additional infonnatioo 0se<1 in the development of tIte recommend.oons prese~ted in this
report.
Ia additioo. staffhas conducled some communily outreacb efforts by meeting with various
ocig/lborllood BJ'OUI", including the Frknds of Em!>arcadero and die Midtowa
NeighborboocI Association.
Tbc !ask of developing recommendatioos for enhancing traff;c safeI)' has beeR very
comp&:arcd for various reasons. There are certain issues tII.t are perceiv~ problems and
certaill .. sues tbat are factual problems; tltere are strlltegies tIIa! most probably would
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resuIt.i .. significsn! positive impacts, bul are very cosily; !here are some ftrategies Chat
may VU'/ well zerult in & n:ductioo cl a problem, but thaI may seem at first revie .... 10
malt;e the situation worse; and then: are diff:rences cl opiruon as 10 ",bat traffic
enfon:etneDt efforts should accomplish. The attached in·deplh report include. detailed
information on these reasons.
IDcIuded in this n:par1 are I number <>f recommendations for Council consideration. The
recommeftdations vII)' as 10 cost, practicality :nd staff's assessment about the level of
impact eacIt may hove 0<1 ameliocating specific issues. Attachment A provides •
summory <>f Ibis: information Oil eaclt of the =<>mmcnd.tlons.
Also, !here are some issues thaI bave be.,. addressed in the Comprebensive Plan Ailvisory
COO".mitlCe (CPAC) recommendations in their Transportation element. Staff provide,
Iimiled data 0<1 those issue. in this report and believes that associated <fIscussion about
thcst· issues is more appropriately undertaken during the Comprebensive Plan revision
proccsa.
Srafr Iw obo included information abou! oCher optioos that were reviewed, but were DOl
=ommeoded for various reasons. Those re3S(ll1S are articutated in thaI section cl the
rep<>rI.
»SCM JMPAC1:
The fiscal impact of the recommendations varies and ranges from almost DO COSIIo very
sWsIan!iBl costs. Staff has p-ovided some preliminary eslimates for some ol !be more
costly item.. This information is included with each recommendation.
ENVIRONMENTAL As.<!F.S.<jME,''T
'The activities for which C<luncil aW(1Val is recommended are exempt from CEQA
pum18IIt 10 Section 1506I(bX3). becau1le it can be seen with cer'.ainty that there is DO
possibility Ihallhey may bave I signifkant effect on the enviromnenL
PREPARED BY: Marvin Overway. Cbief Transportation Official
Ashok Aggarwal. City Traffi<: Engineer
Lynne Jobnson. Assistant PoIi<:e Chief
Jon Hernandez. PoIKe Lk\!renanl
Brad Zoot. PoIi<:e Sergeant
DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW:
CITY MANAGER APPROY AL:
lAexGRQUND
City of Palo Alto
City Manager's Report
'The coocera about traffic mely Iw e:<is1cd since Ole automobile was firJl inYeDIed. As
IIOb:d ill \he City'. recent anoual report, r<llllplaiDls were ~ivcd about speemng vehicles
.. IleA !he posted speed limit wu 10 miles per hour (mpl».
Staff be1ievco it u imporumt '" prIMde .. brief <l=:ripti<>n of the complex la$b and !he
dilemmas I!tat bave bee. faced during the de>-elopment of the recommendatioos. The first
dilemma de8ls with issueo thal arc perceived pcoblems and issues thaI are factual. As an
example, !he perception of many is that traffic safety in general bas deteriocaled over \he
past few yean. Ve!, as DOled in CMR:439:94, the injury accid<nl rale in Palo AH" bas
remained relatively unchanged over the las! five 0<" six years. Additionally, lravel speed
data mooitored at seven.! locations ind"">Cates insignifica"t change. over. II year period.
Council will. DOte I!tat staff bas takea t!:e percP.ived is.ues seriously and has included
recommendations to address them. .
Tbeoeoond dilemma a .... 1 has beea encountered dear. ..,;Ib those strategies thaI proba!>!y
would result in signi6conl positive impact> while reducing' problem. bUI arc very cosily.
Tbe llralegy of dowr.sizing an arterial from four lanes 10 two may possibly result iI. a
live mph consistent reduc600 in lrave! speed,. However. !he lSsocialed cost is quiie
subslantiaI.
W\rile staff Iwi been mindful of =ts, estimated ."pendi~.res !>ave nil( precluded lheir
ptCSCDlation for C<J<Illdl consideration.
~-'hal may very wen result in • reduction of • problem, but may be seea by
IIWI)' people to eucerl>ate !he pcoblem, creates !he !bird dilemma. A pcirnary e:<ample
is reIlected ia \he recommendatioo 10 esrablish radar enfocceable speed limits. Currently.
~ to the coort', inlerpreta600 of California I.w. if 85 percent of !he vohlcles
lraVot at !he same speed. under most siwaoons. they are rICA in violation of lIle basic
opeed Ia ..... and thus citations issued for under that speed are usually dismissed. This ia
based 00 the premise !hat 8S percent cllhe population is able 10 accurately asses; u,.,
roadway conditions and characreristics and adjust !heir speed IICCO!"ding 10 wba! they
believe 10 be reasonable and safe. Speeds over the 85 percen111e ar. considered
unreasonable and unsafe, .. '>d therefore unlawful.
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Bucd "JlOIIlhll i"formaoo.., offic:en tre unable Ie! use radar 10 enforC<! ~ Iirru!s on
roadways !hat arc not survey~ and pesle<! accocdingly. Middlefield Road, oortlI of
ORson Expressway, pro"id •• a goo4 example. Under ~urrent conditions, oBie",' cannot
uae radar and wben the peclng method (requires offi«rs \a drive behind. violator, reacI1
the rioIator's speed and n.ainLaiB the speed for I sufficient distaoce for proal in court)
is used, citalioos arc issued for vebkles lrivelling in eX""55 of 40 mph. This is 10
aa:ow>l fill' sp=lomeler ,'tiiaOOnS and queslions M>out ;he actual W~ spee<ls. If,
however, !lie posted sp:cd funjl were 10 be increased by 5 10 10 mph. oBiee.-, could
legally begill radar enforcement and issue cila60fts for speeds .t 36 mph and greater.
This would be allowed because the posted Iirrul would be based on survey r.nd accident
dais., evea though roadway conditions "oold be unchanged. Wbile many pe<>ple believe
lIlot by increasing • posted speed lirrul the actual InIvel speeds woold also increase,
experienoc 0( 00Ier cities has (0000 that adjusling speed limits \a be ronsi;teol: with the
85tII percentile speed does no( increase actual speeds.
'The fcurtII dilemma staff ellC<)Unter~, and 0IIe that frequently puts police officers in
1II1ICn8ble positions, de&!o with Ihc differences of opinion as 10 what !nIffie enforcement
effotta ohouId azcomplisb. The intent of !OOSI I • .,. regulating traffic is 10 prevenl
accidents and msi!llain the orderly /low of 1nIffic. The generally accepted reason 10
eIIfon:e Ihese 10 ..... !herefore. is 10 reduce the number of accide ors and help ensure the
jJowof traffic. Staff lias heard other opinions regarding the goal of enf«cemenl efforts.
wIIiclI include having officers more visible without taking any acoo.. to olIicers issuing
cib60ns for !he sake 0( writing citations, regard1ess of an} association betwee. caose of
~ and violations.
PJSCI§SJQN
A5 ~ earlier. information on tI-.e strategies is divided into three "",!ions: I)
. strare&ks Ihat staff :ecOI1l1nends; 2) strategies !ha! tre included in !he CPAC
TransporIaIioII element recommendations; .r.d 3) strategies thai staff reviewed. bul are
no( recommended. After each recommendation beading. the specific issue tbat is being
..sdr-~ (speed. accider.ts, volume, scbooI commute, commuclal vehlcles and CalTrai.
crossings) is included in parenthesis. The recommended strategies are listed in order of
priority and sIaff'. as .. ssmen! of the level of impact they would have 0. the specific
issues. 11 is important to note that staff intends on continUing the UK of c.xjstin,
strarqjes listed in CMR·439:94.
py.cnMMENDEl) STRATEGIES
1. F.8TABUSBMENT Oi' RADAR &'WORCEABI.E SPEED LIlI-DTS (Speed)
Tbc IinBIe most cost-effecljve me"" 01 addressing excessive speed woold be I<l establish
radar enforceable speed limits 01> arterial; and col~lo<s. lJt onlet foe poIk:e officen 10
lepIIy use ndu foe speed enforcement, L'Ie speed limil must be posted iD accordance
willi an Engineering and Traffic Servey, as required by die Califcmja Veru.::!e Code. A>.
explainrA cuiler. n<!ar enforceable speed Iimiu OR based upoe die 85th percenlile speed
(th8I speed at or below " .. ~Jch 85 percelll oldie traffic is mel''',g). 'I'Iili is based on die
premise duo! 85 peroeDl of !be poopl. OR able \0 accurately asses., f.atures o(!he roadway
and dlaracteristks oldie adjacem ar.,. and '11m. accordingly. adj usl !heir speed \0 'IIhal
is reasonable and safe.
Addi1ionally. C.rfnns reqai. ..... information 00 accidenl data and roadwayengineerin,
~ be used in determWng reasonable speed limits.
Map facIon ill determining a driver' I percep!ioo 01 ",hat a safe speed is include mth
and number 01 travel lanes. volume d traffic, pamng conditions, and roadway conditions
6 .•.• wet« dry, slope and grade, curvarute. e!C.) and have relatively little 10 do with
pasted speed limits. Review of lechnical studies and information from Traffic Eogineen
in otheIRay Area communities indicates thaI raising posted speed limi 3, \0 conform with
!be RSUIls of prescribed Engineering and Traffic Surveys, does no! result in a
COl IUpOIldiDg Ux:rease in overan sped.
W!llt ndu enforceable speed limits, police dticers ~ave • very effective i0oi foe
identifying and ciling vebkles that .. ." lravelling al unsafe speeds. By posting speed
Jim.'t1 duo! arc not radar enforceable (o.! .• 2S mph), police officen must rely 00 the
poIcing meihod for .peed enforcemenL This methnd is inherently u osare in that it requires
offi<:en 10 a=lenue 10 read. Ibe viola!oc'J speed and thea maintain that speed foc a
sufticienl distance f« prod in court. Because 01 the safety concerns surrounding thi>
mcdIod, it is used only 00 a very Ii mited basis.
Consldet I roa4wlY segment where the 85!!1 percentiie speed is determined!O be 35 m~.
If the posied speed limit is 35 mph, police officen can utili"" radar \0 cite vehlcles that
are travellin, II unsafe speed. (40 and above). Hm"ever, iflhe posled speed limit .. 25
mph. police annal use radar and, therefore, lose their ability to eftio-ctively and ,af¢!y
cite vehicles [ravelling at these unsafe speeds. Furthermore, contrary to public
peroeption. lInder most circumstances. speed enforcemenl is Dot cOnOOcled for vehicles
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lnvel1ing ~. 15 and 40 mph. in spite of the jlO5ted 25 mph sp=Ilimit Consistent
COOI1'I ICIioos have upllcld dlat speeding violations are valid only if Ihey rdlect unsa~
speeds. and DOl sil!lply if drivers are exceeding jlO5Ie<J speeds.
Attachment [) reflecta the utcrial. and coIIecIon !hal are """,,nUy. surveyed and 00
wIJidI radar may be used fot enforcell1C!ll purposes. Council win nnte thai many of the
IUrveyJ c>pUe during 1m.
The uoe of radat enfor=oble sp=Ilimiu iJ the highest pcio.-iIy. lowest cost, and most
effecIh,,. means f« rontroIling unsafe speeding. The e<>r,cera 1ll.1 travel speeds will
iDcrease as a result of jlO5P nj radar enforceable spee<l limits is I perception that is
~ by factuol <lata and profe,skK'..1I! experience.
SIaff reoommeDds proceeding .... ith • trial demonstration project whereby jlO5lod .pee<!
&mils a100g por!lons of th= roadway. (q:., Embarcadero, Ml<IdIefield, and Cbru"leslon)
are raised lO radar enforo:ab1e speed limits. This wool<! enable the us. of ra<lar for speed
enforcemeDi 00 Ibese designated lest roadway segments.
SIaff woWd monitor actual speed. on I period'K: basis arod report back 10 !be CouDCI1
following SJl initial six-month tri&! period. Aoylime prior 10. a! the _od 01, or foIWwing
!be !rial period. Council coul<I return the speed limits 10 the C\orTen! level (15 mph). wi!h
Ibc UllderstandinS Ihat radar enfort:ement would be djocoo\inued.
If COWIC"J supports !his recommendation, slJiff will proceed wit!t the """"osary surveys
and preparaIion of ",!ale<! documents and rerun'" Council for approval 01 an ocdinance
m<ing the speed limits prio£ !o actual implementation.
The costs associared ",;!h !his stra!eg) woold include .taff Ii me 10 conduct the suneys and
die replacement of the speed limit sig .. ond pavement legends ($19,500).
2. POlleE MOTORCYCLES (Speed, Accidents, School Commutes)
1M use of roororcycle. by police officers has proveD 10 be an effective i0oi 10 combal
aD aspects of CWTenl and future traffic ellforcement problems. Due In tIleir smaller size
and quicl<.ec acceleration capabilities compared 10 I full size police e.aT, radar speed
enforcement. pacing speed enforcement Ind congested intersection enforcement Clill be
accomplished mue" more effectively and i •• safer manner wid> • motorcycle.
The areas wbeR tccldcDU mosI &eq ... ndy occur in Palo Alto include University Avenue,
betweeII Alma &nil Liocoln, and Fl Camino Real. at or near major orten!!! inters<ctions
IJId in (root olllle Stanford SboppIng Co nlet. Traffic enforcement ill patrol vehicle$ is
difficIl1t allbese and otlIer locsti<>m due !o the traffIC cooges5on, traffic volume, and/or
DBn'OW roadways. MOIOrCycks an: mIlCh t>eiler .u ite<l 10 work in these areas. Staff
believes their use would result in a .reduction of !he tot!il number ol .ccidents by
providing offic:en with tlIe ability 10 more easily enforto the violations that l<.'iuaIly cause
!lie accidenIs.
M~-cle.s are also ideally suiled for use in low volume at<'-as such as residenlial
inIenectioru, collector streets and local streets. The Police Department receives
cumerous complaint! (lD.. regular b",is for speed, stop sig~ and right-of·way violations
in these areas.
As mcntiooed earlier, speed enforcement on IOOs< streeU that radar cannot t>e used occurs
QDIy on « limittd basi. due 10 !he unsafe naMe of the pacing meillod. While IIle l"'ci.<1g
method with !he u.<e of _cycles is stH! not the best alternative, it is considered safer
than with !be use ol a palrol car in that lTh."l!orcycles b ave greater acceleration niles.
The use ol m()(orcycle$ woule! also eliminate !he need for • group radar.' This wchnique
en!aits one o/l"HlCr who oper>fe.4 !he radar unit at a fhed position OIl .roe road &ncI ,.ho
communicates inform.1ion on viot.!ors via raOlO 10 offi<:ers stationed at • l'unher dislanOe
away. These officen flag cIowD vioI.tora using hand hold slop signs. Ageru::ies who ose
moton:ycles for radBr enfOlUment reportlhal the moIorcycle off,ce ... are effectively and
safely able 10 use the radar unil and slop Ille violators as individual. instead ol as a leam
or group. The elimination ol group radar also has Il-.e adv.nt.ge ol deploying !he tra..<flc
olIicen throughout IOOre locations in tl1e City. instead of concentrating at • particular
lOCation.
Additional!y. the use of motorcycles in tl1e highly congested cIowntowu business <f .. !rict
would t>e very t>eneficial. Traffic enforcement can be accomplisb<d more effectively due
10 the smeJler siz" of the motorcycle, freqL>ently •• parking space cannot t>e fOllod for
iI full We car. Ia!be downwllIA area, il1e use of patrol cars 10 initiate !r&ffie stops
mquenUyaddo!o the congestion and creates additional hazards. However, I motorcycle
c:aD almost always t>e posltioood easily between parked cars or on I corner allowing th.
officer 10 OIOnilor traffic in lI".e area and initiate slops more safely.
The moIorC)'cle officer is also more accessible 10 !be pub!;c L't.n whea working wilhln
!he coofine. of • patrol car. While monitoring traffic on his or her mctoccycle, an officer
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is II>Ote approecltablc by pedestrians, as wen IS motorists, allowing for grealer inleracCod
between oiIkers and the public. WhIle thi. samc exposure \0 the public e.isu ",'ilb out
bicycle officen, the motorcycle provide. more flexibility in resp""se '" calls foe service,
vdUcle SlopS .nd emergencies.
YI.D8IIy, the mobility CJl moIorcycles would improve the response lime \0 m.jo.: a~nl.t
and con. fur service during rush hour traffic, .. well as during large evenl! sucb ..
Slanfonl sporting e."ents, parades and demonstratiot>.s. Annually, !bere are a mini mum
CJl2S 10 30 pre.pIanned specilIlevents including Stanford football games, organiuJ nlRS,
events and show •. Polke Department stsff have "flu requested ossis\llllCe from adiacent
agencies who :have tnOIoc officers. Motorcycles ore also better .uited foe rnOlorC3<k
esccrIs, sucll as for funeral, and visiting dignitaries ,.'hid, are occurring .. "i!b increased
frequency.
fa a SUIVC)' of 49 police ~gencies in the wunties of Abmeda, Santa CIua. San Male<> and
San FI1lIICi.!o». staff ronfirmed that 41 of those agencies have some type CJl police
~ program. Of the eight cities that do not "ave .uelt • program, sIx have
pnpnlarioos CJlIess than 25,000.
CoonciI may recall l1lat the Police DepartmetJI bad • motorcycle program about 25 years
ago. AI !hal time, the Police Chief disbanded the unit in part due 10 the higll incideDCe
CJl injuries. Beceuse the safety 01 officen is 0( utmost concero, this is an area Ill&! staff
has <XlOd1lCled considerable researcl\. Wlule operating I motorcycle is inherenUy ~
dangerous than driving I car. research has determined that the keys 10 minimizing
mocorcycle accidents and, ams, injuries are a carefully designed process for the selec!ion
01 moIorcycle officers, Iogelhu ... ith the highest quality 0( training, dose supervision,
and mandalo<y "50 CJl safely equipment. Based upon the experience CJl many .gencies,
"II/bP-" these bcton are emphasized, t."e 'njury rate <>f mctor officers is signific&ntly
reduced. AJ an example. in the last 10 years, the California ffighway Patrol (CHP) has
experienced only 3.66 disabling injuries per million miles driven by their motor officers.
1be City 0( MounlaiD YIC"', ovor the 20 year hislO<} of their motorcycle program, !las
.rKUine<f .83 disabling injuries per million miles drive •. The one agency staff contacled
\hat 1epOI1ed an unusually high injury ",Ie over tIleir program histOo"")", noted a sharp
decJine whea they improved their selection prnce,. and began sending their officers
duoogh the CHP training school. II shocld be nOled t!;at the use 0( poIke motorcycles
may impact the City', Wader', Compensation Program. Althougll the frequency of
injurico for motorcycle officers may DOt be iocreased; the nature, severity and expense.
foe such injuries are generaDy higller.
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k ill importanllO review ihe costs 0( • motorcycle program from two perspectives, !lie
annual COS!J for lq)Iacement, fuel and main!c:nance, and t'>e actual start-up costs. The
annual c:csIs 1lIOUld actuaUy be Ie .. for moIo<cycle, than for can. _". an e""",ple, if fin
moIorcycles were pun:hased, 1he patrol vehkle fleet would be reduced by two cars.
Therefore, die lIll!UaI associ.red costs would be u foilows:
A-. annual main!c:naooeifuel COSIs
per vehicle ($3,500" 2 cars) $1,700
Avt:rqC annual mainICcancelfuel costs
per mc>I<lrcycle ($11,000" S ~c1es) -8500
EsIimated annual cost .. ving. S 8.500
n.e approximate start .... p costs would be u follows:
ApproximaIe pun:lll.Se cost
0( S IIIOI«cycles $40,000
ODe time equipmeJlt, uniform., training
for five officers + 31,000
Purclwe COSI 0(2 <:an (<q>!aceme:lls) -54.000
TOIal start up COSIs $17,000
Compensation and working condition issues u,",--iale<! with the use 0( lOOtorcycles are
Sl:bjeo:t 10 die meel-ln<konf ... process. h is reasonable 10 expect that such issues vJi
be pursued II die bargaining table with possible cost ramifications.
SIaff lIrocIgly believes that motc>:-cycles are ideally suired foe m.ffic enforcement i .. Palo
Alto and !hal !heir use would greatly enltance lbe general pOOr ... response 10 can. for
secvicc and tile way !he public vle\lls !he City". comniitment 10 traffic enforcement and
safely.
Staff l"CCOOII1Ieoo, Ihat Cooncil IpproYC ic concept the use of moIo<cycle.. At. noced in
die abo\-e example, it is staff's inlent thal peoomg CouOCll approval of !he ~ an
inilial moIorcycle program would include five motO!'"cycles. Staff would relunt during
o
k upcomin, budget process ",ilb specific cost infonnanoo and as>OCl.~ funding
requests.
3. INCREASE THE NUMBER. OF TRAFFIC OFFICERS (Speed, Accidents,
ScbooI Commutes, Commercial vehicles)
Presendy, ItIf!k enf<l<Umcnt is • shared respon>aillity between patrol offu:en and the
Traffic Team. Due 10 c:a!I. for secvice, proactive cornmuni~ policing efforts, time speDl
in follow-up investigations, in court, and training, patrol officen .... e available foe traffic
enforcemelll only as time permits. "Therefore. t'le bulk of traffic enforcement
resp<lIWbility rests with the Traffic Team.
Currently, the six-person TnJflc Team consists of f<Jut officers, one agent and one
sergeant. EacII member ",orb rour Io-bcuc days from 6:30 I.m. 10 4:30 p.m., willi
either Monday cr Friday off. This curren( schedule aIWws for Traffic Team coverage
MOCIday 1hroogb Friday from 6:30 I.m. 10 4:30 p.m. TIlO Tnffic Team .Iso voluntarily
adj_ 1heir schedule 10 wcrk OIber boors when necessary. ....s an .umple. whoa staff
recently determined dial 40 10 45 percent of accidents oce .... during .>,,,ning commute
Iiours, sevenlleam members began working laler in!a the t"eaing. While i! is 100 early
10 tell if the number of accidenu bas decreased, it is evident that the genero public is not
aa:usromed 10 the Team's deplaymen! during those hours. "Therefore. numerous
violalions have been observed and associaled citations b,ueci.
Staff recommends inct"..asing !he ';ze of the Traffic Team bylwo officers and believes
several benefits woold result. The first beoetit would be the ability 10 divide the learn
info two productive teams; an early Ind lale shift. The early shift would continL'" 10
work from 6:30 I.m. 10 4:30 p.m., witll an emphasis on the morning c"",mute traffic,
especi.Uy during !be school year. "The lale shift would work from 12:00 I. m. to 10:00
p.m., willi an emphasis on the aftel1lOO!lfeveninJl commute traffic. Each shift would have
three offi<:crs and either I sergeant or an agent is • supervisor. The additional Iwo
officen woold also ailow f«coverage 00 Saturdays. The Team's work schedule would
provide for traffic cnfcrcement covenge Monday througb Saturday, from 6,30 I.m. 10
10:00 p.m.
A comparisoo of traffic learn coverage by eight other agencies determine4 Ibat while
~ provide sevelHlay I ..... k ca'lerage, .n provided I minimum of five-<lay coverage
ranging from 6:00 I.m. 10 10,00 p.m.
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The. seeoad benelillo increasing the siu 0{ Il1e Traffic Team wOllld be an increase in the
IIUll1ber 01 citalioos. Wll!J two additions! officm assigned 10 !fle primary function 01
traffi;: enforcement. more enfora:melll would occur over .. Ionge< lime period, resulting
ill additional citations being issued. With Ibis iDcreased enforcement d"uected II tile most
ac:cldenl prone areas, u well as at .locations where complAints 01 speed and oIher
violations occur, staff believe •• reduction in Ihe overa..'l accider.t rate in the City would
n:sWL Additionally. a change in !be percepliou thallraffi<: safety contin .... 10 delerioratc
may oJso (lCCW'.
'The 1argcr Traffic Team would oJso be bettcr suited 10 respond 10 enforcement requests
from the public. These enforcement requests often include traffic concerns in scllool
zooes, business cIUtricts and residential area> througbout !be day .. '1<1 evening. While
some ollbese areas 1Il81 DOC ~xperlence a high accident rate, tlle people who live, work
and rra_e1 dIrougll the .. areas expect Lie Polke Department 10 respond 10 tllcir coocerns.
Increasing Ihe Traffic Team by two officers would bring the 1<>!aI number 01 personnel
COIIlmitted 10 traffic enforcement 10 8 01 96 1oIa1 SWOOI officers, .... hich represents 8
~'" 01 the lola! sworn stre_p de,ftcated 10 traffic enforcc<'lent. As indicated below •
• SUI'YC)' olllCVca local police agencies show; 8 percent i. well within Il1e Bay Area norm
for traffic slaffing.
AGENCY , 01' TltAtTIC TOTAL SWOII)II PERCENT
OI'FlCEitS DEDiCATED TO
TltAtTIC
M_PIat 4 <2 9\1
NOUDI:iUa VieW • 13 15
_c... .2 I4S .,1
Saoayvalc , ''''' Ss s..._
'S I.m U
~ II ,90 611
MiIpi ... , >0 n.
PALO ALTO [<wnoI) , J6 41"
PALO ALTO • 98 IS
(Ptl0i'0SED!
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Duties for an traffic officers in the cities surveyed include traffic enforcement &00 traffic
oa:ident invcs6ption.
---~ .<9SI 0{ IWO addi60nal officers, including salary .00 benefits ... 'auld be approximately
$145.~ a year.
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u Councii ;,pprovea !be pIliIosopby cI inausing 1he siz., cI!be Traffic Team and adOrng
two officer positions. tIaff would retum duri.~g !he upcoming budget pcoc:e.. with •
proposal for reprioritizing services 10 ~mod.1e the additional costs. By !be nme this
iIem is heard althe Pooce Department budgcl bearing, staff will have completed !heir
analysis and will proYide a recommeoo.tion on ~ funding for !he two positions.
4. USE OF R.OADSIDE FLASIDNG UGlITS (Speed, School Commutes)
Yellow brmking lights (fbsb.:n) ",,,,,nted along the side clthe road have bee. suggested
by n:sidenlS as I means 10 belp red""" tnv.l speed. on certai. road",.ys. NormaJty. the
lights are used 10 alert drivers who are unfarruliar with an are. or safety rela~
condilions thai are DOl illUt'.edialely apparent. These siwations generany O<.'CUTon bigher
speed roadway, and/or in nual areas (e.!., I ,harp curve in a roadway oc "' unexpected
1!op signs). There is little or DO evidence that they Ilte effective wben used 10 w ..... cI
ocher Iypes cI conditions (e.,., pedestrians, driveway •• elc.). and past SWOlOS bave
aJIICluded Ihat !bey are g"..rany DOl effe<:tive as I speed control measure.
HoYollOVer, during the past several mootbs. staff has cor.duCled several outreaclt meetings
wilD residents, wbo live along Embarcadero Road for the purpose 0{ developing an action
plA!Ilo address .pecific ;,sues alOllg that roadway _ 000 kIe. that has surfaced bas bee.
!be posslbilily of installing yellow flaslIing ligbts as a means of adc!nesslng .peed
coocerns. Staff has yet 10 conclode the action plan recommendations fur Embarcadero
!toad and. has some co_rns regarding the unal1rllctive appearance ane! ,.;sua! inlnsion
Ihat flashers will create, ar.d ",bile available information indicates thaI l1ashers will not
u.-e a long tum effect on speec! reducrlon. staff doe. support I trial lest ins!allation foc
the purpose cI determining whether <l< not the lights have an impact ()Q speed reduction.
Since some residents along Embarcadeto Road .upporl the use of yeDow flashing lights
011 Embarcadero Rood. an appropriate location for the lest installation would be on
Embarcadero Road. SpecificoIly, staff recommends the installation 0{ the l1ashers on
Embarcadero Rood. 0<1 eocl! side of Walter Hays Schoo!, on a trial basi. 10 determine if
speeds would be reduced. During lIli, trial. first hand experience regarding effectiveness,
oppearance. cost and public reaction woulcl also be obtained. The lights would be
CMit:!J1:J5 Par< 15 at Jf
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adivaRd 24 houn • day 10 lest tbtit effectiveness during school bOIlrs. non-school bours.
aDd alorhl!ime boon. Staff would relllnliO Coo neil &&r • period of lime with an
eva!-.wion oa !he impact tbt ligbts had oa rWucing speed.
TIle estimaIed cost 10 purcl-.ase and install two flasher units. one in each dh'eCOon 0(
IraVd. is $12,000.
$. INCREASED ENFORCEMElI.'T AT HIGH ACCIDENT INTERSECTIONS
(AedcIenIs)
Aa DOCed earlier, tbt primary purpose of traffic enforcement is 10 rllinimize injury and
p",pe.ny damage accidents by p<omoting • safe and orderly flo", of pedestrian. bicycle.
and moIOr vehicle traffic. To !his end. the Traffic Team and p.~-01 oIf>cers have r-ecently
IIIat1ed woddng several specific high injury accident &Teas in an effort 10 reduce !he
IIWIlber 0( persons injured in accidents. (The use 0( the term' bigb' sbOllld be interpreted
as higher !haD avenge compared 10 other locations in !he City.) for example. injury
accidenrs OCCUlTing at or near major inler>ections can be attributed 10 hazardous vioIalioas
in aDd Il')UJ>C! 1hc periphery of tbese locations (i.e., following 100 closely and unsafe
opeed; JOinB 10 mph VI_ 0 mph). The Traffic Team devoted 150 bouts 10 certain areas
durin! cbe tint six months of IT 199419S and issued 302 warnings and 378 cillltions for
sud!. hazardous violations.
TIle average number of petSOO5 injured in accidents per year betwee. 1989 and 1993 was
S71. During 1993. !here were S43 persons injured in accidents. Comparing the tint
.,;.., months of 1993 10 !he same period in 1994, • 32 percent reductio. in !he Dumber
0( injury accideills has been observed. Staff attri!x.<!e. !he .,,<luction in large part 10 !he
increased emphasis of enforcement allhose locations where tbtre are I higher DUmber of
accidents.
Staff plans an e>pansion of these efforts. Pending CoullC11 approval, !he Police
DcparIment will exlelld enforcement efforts 10 more locations !ha! experience higher than
aven&e accident nJes ill order 10 further reduce injury accidents in and arou nd tbese
areas. Staff proposes coocentrafing on !he five most com mon locations for injury
accidents ill Palo Alto. A review of these locations would occur OIl I quarterly basis 10
deIermlne if increased enforcemen! dforts bad beeR successful at accident redu<:tion.
It is important 10 no!e !ha! !his red"uect>oa of resoorces ,",ould DO( diminish attentioo given
10 oIher IeclIniques, sueR as radar enforcezr.ent, nghl of "ay violation enforcemenl al
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imene<:tions and erlfon:emeDl of stop sig' \ioIatiOflS, but rather add. enforcemeDl at the
higher accidelll prone locations. Other thlll staff time, there arc no coolS associated "'it"
dUs recommer.ded slrategy.
II, NEIGHBORHOOD SPEEDWATCH PROGRAM: (Speed)
A ~ Speedwa!cll Program involve. citizens ",1>0 volunteer their time kI
mooitol" vehicle speeds in residential neighborhood. using ClIy-<'Wned band-held radar
lIlIilS. The program is intended kI be educa6oo.al for both res'rtlent volunteers and the
III()(Qring pubIi<:. It contributes 10 public awareness by iDvoMng re~.1S ;,. the
recording of speed. on neighborhood s!reelS\<> determine if and wben I speeding problem
exists.
Citizees wUbin& kI pertkipate ""ould be trained on the proper operation of • hand-held
radar sec. Additiooally, they ""ould be L-ained 10 accurately documen! license numben,
vehicle descripIions, d"trection 01 travel and log this infonnation (with the time and date)
OIl • teporl form.
Inteteo!ed residents ""ouId be issued. raclar unit for a ~rtain number of day.. They
'fIOUId be instructed that their participation is oot cnf<K"Cel!".ent onentcc!, but another _y
of assisting the poIke kI educate th. motoring public. To ensure the accuracy of the
information. Ciiy staff wouldcwk t'>e De~nl of Moto<" Yehkle·. computer
do'abase kI identify the registered " .... oer of veltkle, repor.ed 10 be in violation. City
IIaf( would solid !ellen kI the registered owners of the vehkles advising them of the
opeed"mg vidation. If after sending I number of these letters kI regi'iered o .... nen of the
~1Sib!e vehicles the problem C<lntinaes. police staff ",,,,,Id thea concentrate in the aro.a
throup dLoected traffic: patrol enforcement tecbniques.
The cities of Campbell. CaIifOCllia; CO<"vallis, Oregon; and Bellevue. W.,hingtoD repurl
tlUII their Speedwatclt programs continue \0 be 1 success. The initial public response \0
die Campbell and CO<"vaTIis programs was overwhelming. AI the peaIc: of CO<"vaIlis's
program. SOO letters ""ere maIled out 10 c:tizens per month. However, over time. the
lI11mber of citizens Willing 10 volunteer their time kI both programs bas Ievelcc! off;
Corvallis DOW Iverages about 40 letters per month, Bellevue average. 100 letters per
1DO!lIh_ These dtie. ICport • positive re.action from citizens receiving these &dvisory
Ieaen. It should be DOIec! the City of M~rJo Park will be instituting I similar program,
Citizen Speed Control Program. in an effort 10 reduce speed. on their neighborhood
otreets.
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III combinalioo with the lraditiooal police methods, the NeighOOcbood Speed..,at,,"
Pl'Ogram has s.,=-sCully "bee. implemented by • number of police agencies itt the
fotlowmg ways:
L II inConns City staff as 10 bow significant • speed problem may be in • parlictJlar
IIttt.
b. 11: educates the pvb!k 10 the teallIy of their perceived problem (i.e, i. it • valid
complain! or is if • ~1).
c. k educates the public abOlll the manner in whic~ t.'>ey II". been drivlng.
MOi!itcring speeds on four-lane roadways using a radar unit wbIle sta!locOl)' is difficult.
Due 10 the roedway width. the Dumber of vehicles on the road. and vehicle speeds, it is
diffi<:u1l1O obCaiB III accuralc radar reading, descriplion of. ,'ehicle. and accurately Ik>!e
• vehicle'. front or rear license piau: from • stationary position. Therefore, it is
m:om'!IC!>de<i that the program be .sed only on two-lane lC>idential roadways.
Staff recommeadi lbaL this progn.m be implemented on • six-month trial basi. 10
~ the ~ from the community. IS weD as determine the amouDl of
additional lime needed by staff 10 complete tasks associated with this program. Staff
would r:lUnllo Council aL !he end of ilia 1 time with an evaluation of tJ-.e .ffecti veness of
Ihe program.
Radar units that are scl!edu!ed 10 be replaced wouk! be used foe Ihe program. Excluding
Ihe staff lime noeded 10 recruit and \rain !lie volunteers and conduct !lie follow-up aft.er
receiving the speed information from volunteers, Ihe only associated costs would be roc
st8liooery .uppfleS, postage and additional portable b.ttery packs for the radar unil!.
SIaff es6mates thalloial cosb would not exceed $400.
7. EDUCAnON PROGRutS FOR PARENTS .<\ND STIl"OENTS {School
Comm\lteS)
Ead! individual school site has traffic safely concerns specific 10 iIs location and each
princip'!I bas the IUIOOriIy 10 modify traffic palte,ns on school property at h;s~r school
location-Freq.uenlly, pan:nb raise CO<l<:erns regarding the .afety of e~ .. and in~
points on 10 public .!reels that are adjoccnllO Ill. school sites. Traditiorlally, Cit)' .taff
hu .responded on I case-by-case basis 10 traffi<: safe;y concerns at tIlese locations.
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Using !he mm cl!he City-Scbool Tn.ffic Safety Committee, infocmatioo is exchangod
IIbout specific problems between fr.e School Distr>..'t and City staff. Wbile some traffic
safety problems are easily addressed and resoIvod al !lie school site, others are mon:
c:GIJIPIkaIod SlId require discussion and considoration cl large expenditures foe the
Iddilioa cl tnffic signals or rec:onfiguralioa cl!he road","y.
SIaff befievea !he most efficient mechanism for ':;s~mlnating wely information 10
paleD and students is through school newspapers and mailers. Staff reromrnends ilia!
bodl City and School District personnel tak. greater advantage of these communication
IooIJ to re&clI !he pubtic II large. The Polk. o.partmenl will continue 10 ",ork with
ocbooI adminislnltors, individual school sites, and scbool PT.~ groups 10 organi2e and
cooduct community meetings for parerds 10 addre.! concerr.s reiated 10 school CO<J!mutes.
RccentIy,!he CityISchooI Traffic Safety Committee ad hoc Traifie Task Fora: published
• report addressing oo-site and commute traffic issues at elementary and middle schools.
It. ccm!DOQ thread observod in !heir ana/y>is w .. the need \0 make school commut_ safely
• higber priori!y. One of their suggestions includes the need for moce effective traffic
safety educalioa for parents and students. City staff inrends 10 work wi!l\ the CitylSchool
Traffic Safety Committee and the School District \0 help in these education efforts,
specifi<: site enforcement and design consultation.
The COOls asweialed with this strategy woold be reflecled i. staff time. However, if
problema were identified that required some pulenlia! engineering changes on City
prope:ty, addilicoAl COOls for desigll ronsulwioo would be iocurred accordingly.
8. JUNIOR SAn:rv PATROL PROGRAI'dS (School Commut~)
Currently, sev ... of !he _levell elemelllary !Cboot. Utlliz. a student safety patrol progt"am.
Students are trained as junioe saf"ty patrol officers by scbool staff, with assistance from
Police Depal!mell! personnel, 10 ,fired pedestrian traffic in and around the school sire.
The four schools that do not participate in the program feel it presents 100 hazardous a
siruatioil Uld as a result, the oeceuary assistance is provided by adult crossing guards.
Staff rtwmrneods ~onlinua!io" of assistance provided \() those scbools wbo bave junior
oafety patrol p<ogram. through tr&ining.
Costs for t!u. program are limited 10 1he st.afftilm involved in the training of the safety
patrol members at interested scbools.
" SAJETY CHECKPOINTS (Speed. Atcldents)
Safely d>ed:poinls _ conducted similar 10 soo,kty cbeclcpoints, in that vehlcles are
nDdomty pWIod <Wel. The purpose cf the safely dIedpo1nts is to in=&se officer
v'.sibi1ity and 10 reduce the numbel of unsafe vehlcle. on !he roadways. Specific..ny,
om.:en c:hedc for equipment viotatloos. OCC"put safely devices, and drh'ers' license -.
V>Olalon ate usually cited and wben it is delennined thaI vehicles are so unsafe IS 10
pn:seDt • severe traffic bazard, !hey are removed (rom !he roadway. While !he
cbccipoints. would not oocessariJy result in citations being issue<! for speed 01" other
.....uc and meg>! driving, !he IUgh visibilil)j cf offi<:ers acts as • ""I..-renl \0 suc" driving
behaviors.
SIaff plIIJIS 10 cooonue conducling ...rety cbe<:kpoints in a high protile manner OIl bigll
volume roadways aucll os University, Embarcadero, Middlefield, el<:. on a periocflC basi.,
deprnding 011 staff availability and IS other service demand. permil.
Cost cf !he prograr.t would be limited 10 staff lime for operation cf!he program.
10. CITY VElDCLE SAFE DRIVING PROGRAM (Speed)
SWf bas beard frequent romplainls from citizens alxxJt !he perceived illegaJlinappfOpriare
driving by employees d.-iving City vebicle •. CUlTently, wbe. spe<:ific complaints are
received and !he vehlcle Dumber has heea noted by the complaina"t, both !he appropriate
deparuneot bead and Che City Mal1llger are ooUIied. Employees are asked about !he
alleged behavior and, if found in vk>Ialion, are admonist.ed a=>rdingly.
A signifi<:anl numbet cl private companies pride !hem selv •• in having I public relations
communi<:alioas syslcm ",hereby citizens can notify management cl improper driving by
!heir employees in company vehlc1es. Mos! programs ental! !he displaying cl. phone
number on vehick. Chat people can call 10 repon improper CJC illegal drhing behaviors.
Staff n:commend. a similar PfOgram 10 .ddress complaints from citizens concerning the
openIioo cl City vehicles. For example, most City·marked vehicles ( ... ';th the exception
cl public safety vehicles) rould bave bumper sticken attac~ with "HOW'S MY
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DlUVING!' displayod on !he rear bumper. Each verucic would also display the
rupecIi~ (City department', phone Dumber. These Cityo m3l'krd vemcles would also bave
Ibeir vehicle Dumbec cleat!y affixed 10 both sides and rear of each vcbi..-le for easy
idcIlIiIicarioa.
1be apprcpriaIe department bead would be responsible for respondi ng 10 any comp!al nls.
CiIizena, who would be required 10 identify themselves. would be sent a letter by the
depod_ bead thanking them for participating in the program and infonrung them of
1bc ou!come of their complaint.
'11Ws program would aIk>w citizens 10 promptly wmmunico!e with deparUnenl heads
reprdinJ the openolioo of City .... !rieles and would also heip increase employee lwarene ..
of Ibeir driving habils. While employee. driving City ye~Jcles should sel proper driving
elWtlp/es. it is impor!3nl 10 point out thaI if Iltis program is 10 be successful. !he
imposition of dual standard> for City employees compared 10 citizens cannot be allowed .
.... III example. if. member of the publk drive, 35 mph along with !he majority of oIher
drivers 011 a roadway with • posted speed limit of 25 mph. there is no COIl<e<jUOnce.
Tbercfon:. a City employee driving a City vehicle undo< the same drcumSlaliCCs would
JX)( be admonished. If dual Slandards were imposed. severe st3ff morale would moot
probably result; and the program'. PUf]>05o! of iocreasing .Iaff'. awareness would be for
naugIIL It is otaJr. inrention that no disciplinary acOOns 16aiDst employees would be
tUn in 1!1ese case,. unles. actual Vemcle Code violanons could be substantiated.
0Iher IhaJI minimal costs for the vehicle s!klee ... the only other coru associ .ted wilh this
recommcodation are reflecled in staff time.
SJ"8t'1'FG!F$ RECOMMfNPED BY CPAC
The following eight i~ms ore recommendations that are included by CPAC in their
Comprehensive Plan updare. Policies and Program" Draft IV. Transportation ElemcoL
Due I<> the map cos! OOf' ... ideraOOns and competing priorities for limited funds. staff
RCommeDds thai the .. issues be addressed as part of the Comprebensive PIa" review
process. Council discussion 0( the full CPAC Transportation recommendations began on
Marcil 13111 and is scheduled 10 conclude at a special Council meeting on Saturday.
Marcil 2511t. A. ooted j" the fe\lowing !est, tne Cooru.;! did initially consider items '.
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1. Nei&bborbood Traff'oe &-...r1OS (Volume, Speed, Accldents)
Some cilics (e.,., Portland, Oresoo and Bellovue, W .. hingtoo) have formal neigbbomood.
traffic: managen-.eot programs !!utI serve os • means 10 ad<lress neighbcrnood residenls'
t:aIICemS about speed. safety and o!her tf"affi<:-rolated issues.
TypicallY. sud; programs (()nsist c( Council-approved procedures 10 receive, scrr,en, and
~ requu!l from residents 10 Wdress oeigbbocbood traffic proOlems, os weD os
procedures for sel«Iion, desip .,ld implemenlation of measure,. Measures include
enforcemenl &lid edllC"atioo 1ooIJ, OS wen as engineering designs. Such progrsms opera~
"" II> &nlllUll budget. .pproved by C<xm<:il, .,.0<\ include a give .. level of dedkaled staff
lime, os wen u dedicaled funds (about $Vresidcnlfyear) foe implemeDlJltion measures.
Polo AM bu """ a similar, albeit less 1.."<"!Tlal. process for neighbocbood I:"affic .Iudies
foe man)' years. Typically, City slaff" responds direc~y 10 issues/requests from residenls
IhaI do DOt ~ extensive lime or implementaoon do!lars. lssuesfrequests!hat require
significant stAff lime andlor implelllCntatioo dollars are J"lrsued oa1y "pan Council
direda ..... on • case by case basis.
Recent clWnples of lbe lauer include Ill. Waverleyf AdOlSOn Study and the currently Od
going LytiOO Avenue Study. A mo<e furmal .,.. structured approach could include: (l)
fonnaIIy adop'.ed written procedures, (b) criteria w. study. prioritization &lid
impIemcntallon. &lid (c) an :.rdluol commitment of dollars foc implementation of pby,kal
measures, an of whicll characterize current higher profile modeb in otIler cities. Polo
Alto's Road Bump Program, for example. bas such fe.tures. exclusive of lIle annual
commitment of doUars for implemenlali<ln.
CPAC Draft IV TraJI$jl<l<!atio Elemerol recommendaoon TR-2. Ci, Page 1 is to
'Eslabli.!lt 1M fund I Neighborhood Traffic Management Program to impiemert
opproprWe mitigaVon measuces. '
2. RedudXm of Residential StreetsINeigbborbood Street Width (Speed)
One factor !hat influences driver percepUon about what is a reasonable a,.,d safe sP'"..M.
is \he widlll of the lra~eI way and \he presence and proXimity of ooje<:1S along \he side
01 the travel lane. F« .... mple. I driver has I different serue c( ",hal is I reasonahl.
and safe speed on the narrow streets willi on-streel parking Illat eXisll ;n Ille Southgate
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neighborbood as compared with tho wider streets, rolled curos, caT> parUd in driveways
or up 011 the cuTbl.idewalk t'talll'pifie. OIkr residential areas in Palo Alto,
ODe_V 10 address ~ reductioo on neighbornood streets would be 10 '''''TOW
cxisling wide $ln>:ls, This COIIld be done Oft • full block race basis oc II periodic
IocoIions (e"" usc of buJbouts) at interse<.1ions andfoc along a block fa<:e. Eilhct
ippt"OAclI, depending upon site speci6c conditions. could necesti!ate signifkW roadway
drainoge and desigI! c:onoidetations.
Cost consideralions male such. policy practk~ for only limited applir ... tioo. and not 011
• Citywide basis. For eump!e. boibouts 10 IWTOw intenectioos or ,mall inte=elioo
traffic circles. well designed.nd landscaped. can.:os! S30,OOO oc more per installation.
Such 1I1C8.SUre.!, however, <:aUld be <lone (and in ract are being do",,) on • Jimjted buis
at ceriai. locations and Sp<--"" ""er time. If funding were provided by formation d
assessmclll distric:ts, wider areas coold be retrofitted in less time.
CPAC Draft IV Transportation Element recommendation TR-2. 0, Page 8 is 10 'Reduce
neighborhood street width and wide. planting strips between Ibe .treet and the sidewalk
as lppropriate ",bea sIRe! changes are made' .nd recommendation TR-2. C1. Page 8 is
It> 'NlUTOW residential local-street intersections. '
3, Dc1ll'1lSl2e ArteriaI(s) from Four Lane. to Two Lanes \Speed)
Coover-OOa of currelll foor lane 'residenlial' (proposed CPAC designation) arterial
roadways (EnlOOcadero. Middlefield; Charlesto. and Ar .. strnlero) 10: (&) • tw<>-lane
roadwa)' with I continoous center !uno lane or • b!ldscaped median; (b) bike lanes; and
Co) 00-_ parlcing. (while maintaining current laDe confIgurations at majol'
iDfersecIions). could possibly bave the effect 0( reducing travel speeds by &boo! S mpb.
Changing I foor,lane artcriallO two lanes would require substantial implementAtion eo<ts
and likely result in no6ceable lrOlfic-relatcd consequences. Therefore. there slloold be
a clear understanding and ockno .. 1edgemel!! d the reee!its and negative impacts 10 be
derived from such actions, before they are instituted.
Traffic-reWed "'g&tiv~ impacts ,",ould be specific '" the I'by.tcal features and traffic flow
chanocteristics of each site bul may include some diversion. increased delay. red""ed level
of service. iocreased congestion, ,.orsenlng lir quality and erratic driving behavior.
I'q_D at 3i
,,'
" For example, resulting Itaffic conditions on Embarcadero R""d (about 2S,OCQ vehicles
per clay), would be similar 10 those OIl University Avenue (ll"'.,tween Middlemld and
Route 101) and Sand Hill Road (both 0( which carry similar volume. of traffic) where
traffic crCep$ a100g in stap and go ruruon <luring several bours of ea.:h day. Reuled
consequences. durin, such periods 0( peak travel, include inc","ased trlIvel delaY';
degradalioa 0( air qualil)t; some tnffic diversion 10 p4IlIllel streets; increased rear end
accidents clue 10 iD&!lcJltioD 0( drivers; Ind some limitaliol1 0( access IoIfrom odjaceot
dlh'eWllys due 10 reduced gaps in the traffic flo..,.
AI II1Ide-of!s for the lane redue60n. vehicle 'pePAS would he substanlially lower during
the peak periods (SlOp and go) and about 5 mph slower during oiher times. pedestrian
envitonmenI would be somewhat improved by increasing the lateral distance 10 moving
!nffic and bicycle lane. could he provided throughout, thereby providing s'lfer bicycle
Invel
The basic: caoIlOIution 0( restriping the pavement 10 creale I N<>-Iane roadway (willi I
c:ootimIous center IlIrII lane) is about $! 00,000 10 $150,000 per mile. unless it can be
dono iD conjunction willi • scheduled street resurfacing project.
AI aIternalive so!u6oo 0( providing. continuoos, fuUy landscaped median would improve
Ihe aesthe!lco ,md pbysical environment for all USctS, reduce non-permeable surface,
rcsIric! acteSS 10 n:sidenlial drive ..... ys. reduce optioos for emergency vehicles end cost
about $650,000 10 $I million or mon: per mile 10 impIemeot (pIUs 00 going landscape
maiot.enance cosIs). Costs would be substantially higher if enanges 10 curb and gutter,
storm lines, DC utilities were required.
A rough COS( estimate 10 reSlripe (continUO<is center tum lane option) the fulllenglh 0(
Embarcadero Road (2.2 miles) is $250,000; • roogh C05l estimate for • funy landscaped
center median option would be $15 nullioo.
Givea the possible consequences of downsizing exisling arterial roadways, as well as the
substantial costs involved. staff does no! support suell ac6on. unless there l1'e clcsrly
identifiable and compelling benefits 10 be derived from sud! actions.
CPAC Draft IV Transportation Element recommendation TR-3, E3, Page 10 i. 10
'Change four-lane residential arterials 10 two lanes (plus. center IUOl lane), unless it
Wlllrldicts I demonstrated safety need or gridlock: condi bons" M ainlain existi ng signalled
inlcncction widths 10 accommodate peak boor stacking and!or dedicated ~"r. lanes.'
CMR:W:9S
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... Support Reponal Market Bawd Pricln& Strategies (Volllme)
MarIzI~ased pricing mechanisms lhal accurately reflect the costs of tn.vtl cboice. c",,1d
ligoificamIy change travcl mode cimices and reduce tilt volu me of auIOID<lbi1e. during
!be peak periods .. !be coocepl is OlIO wherein individuol. pay roc the cost imposed by
their dwice 10 """ • particular sySll:m. They relaiD the ability 10 choose among various
opclom., based on the cost of .acl! a1t.orrultive, rather than regulltOf)' approache. wherein
choices are made ;0< !bern.
The cbjectlve is 10 help balance supply And demand by Iccurately pricing producb and
service&, rather !han """tinuing 10 Iry and serve unrestrained demand resulting from
subsidized <:OSIs_ The 1amC concept is a!ready an integral and re3diJ-l accepted pI!rt of
daiI)' Ii!e u""", persoo makes choices about se ... ices provided by lelephone, ""aler, gas,
electric, airline. and • host of oIher companies.
Slatr beIievcs that • market -based approach, albeit controversial, is tilt oo/y 13tiooa1
means roc seriouoly addressing the myriad of tn.nsporIJition issues -cboice, lie wilily ,
acceasibility. equity. safety. intrwsion, coogeolion, delay, air pollution, financing, ele.
CPAC Draft IV TransporWioo Element recommendation TIt-I, 81, Poge 3 is 10
.CooI!uct educaliooaI campaign.< 10 increase public awarene" ol rdl the cost (e.,., time
lou. doIlan, poIlulioo). and recommendation TIt-I, B2. Page 3 is Ie 'Support and
porficipale in regional stale-wide L'ld federal market pricIng efforts, including pilot
progralils if appropriate ••
Ou MarclI13th,tIlt CO«nciI did DO( include Program TIt-IBI in the proposed plan draft,
bY!. 4ld include Progrs.m TIt-IE2.
5. Develop Loca\ Transit [Ma..-guerite-Type1 System (Volu_l
A local area (Margueri!e-type) small bus system serving neighborhood ar .... and major
dcstinalioo points could reduce the number of automobile trips ill Palo Alto. Sucb.
system .. ouId have stops 1II or near schools, community cenlers and ccmmercial
cIesIlnatioos and connect .... idential areas I<> inter-modal tn.n,it slatioos and selected
communi!)' destinations. lA serving the OO..,n[o",o area, ;t may also provide some benefi!
mletlDJ otreduction ill parking demand. Service levels should include Creq<Je[]f service
in both au-ec:tions (maximum wai! 12 mir.ules).
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lIued 00 StanfonI's Margueri~ servke, which is pro.;ded 1-y an outside contractor, the
approJ<imale annllol cost would be $100.000 foc one bus, including driver and relaled
scnices, operating 10 I>ours a day. Based upon. ~ level el. 12-minure beadway
ia eadl direcIioo,. citywide loop would COS! approximately 51 mHlion pet yeat_ One of.
!be .maIleI" scale neighborhood loops at I 12-minute headway in each .llJ"O<:tion would
each cost opproximBrely $400,000 per )-ear_
The idea el sud! • servke is readily supportlible. However, the magnitude of ,uclI 00-
JOiaI CQsIs preclude its practical implementation without the escablishmenl el some major
funding source{J) (e.a:., parking chatges, in-lieu parking fee, traffJC impact fee, general
fond, UJe1Smcot, esc.).
CPAC Draft IV Transpoctafion EJemenl recommendation TR-I. 12. Page 6 is \0 'Develop
• Marguenre-fYpe local tnnsil sb u!tle system Implement cO.'lsiSlenl frequent .h uttles i.e
boll! ~ uound • city-wide loop. with .tops at or near schools. <:omm unily cenrers
and commetclAl cSestinatioos. Designed for • maximum wait <If 12 minute.. Collaborate
willi OIlIer local jurlsdictioos as appropriare (e.g. Stanford).·
(hi MardI l3111, the Council Iccepred the Planning CommiSSKm recommendation to
modify Program TR-In 10 'evaluate and lest' n!her than 'develop.' The Council Wo
a=pftd !be Planning Commission recommend.tio. to add (Wo related prognms
re,prding potential shu:tle bu. service 10 Stanford Shopping Center. betweea map
emplD)'DlClll centers aoo busine,. districts. and merge these programs inlo TR-U2.
6". Pursue Extension of Ught Ran Transit from Moun tain VieW Iofthrougll Palo
Alto (Volume)
A1I exJcrmon ell1ghllWl Transit from Mountain VJew through Palo Alto 10 Menlo Park
oloog El Camino Reaiwoold serve a number el destinations and ~lared trips that would
<>lhcr.oise be made by autOmobile. It would also provide Ille possibility for • strong
emphasis Of] transil-oriented development along EI Camino Real ill conjunction with the
leD or so .1aIlor .. lhat would be pari of the LRT system, thereby accommodating fu!u~
development without t11e.same traffic-relate<:! impacts and parking requitemeols associated
wid! tradifiona1 oon-transi! development.
Light IWl TraIIS;t costs about $25 million per mile \0 implemeDl (rail line, stationa.
equipment) plus on going annual operating costs. A 6.5 mile eKtensioo 10 the University
Avenue Inter-modo! Transit (C.lTrain) Station would cost 81 Ieasl $160 nulliOlL
~. "
Typically. projects 0[ this size and nature, if approved, are funded through. combina!loo
of kdersI, stale and local sources, with local funding corrJng from some broad taxinB
base, and ody Iimlted contributions coming directl~ from local dlles. A local city is
IIIOre libIy 10 have llarger financing role i. some of the earli,,"" feasfuility, pI.rdng L'ld
WWIl project devel""",,,\! wo<k as l means of gairJng local, stale and re.h-..I
IIlIden!anding and support for Il>e project.
CPAC Draft IV Transportation E!emenl recommecd.!loo TR·I, 11, Page 6 is 10 'Support
exlensio<l of lighl nil line from Mountain VIC'" through Palo Aho 10 MenJo Parle. along
III Comino Real. '
On March 13th, Couocil accepted !he Planning Commission recommendation to modify
Program TR·Ut to 'evalu.re' rather than 'suppo<1.. ,
7. Reduce ALLOWABLE COMMERCIAL VElUCLE Weight LimIts llIId
Cbange Designated Trucl< ROIlIes (Commercial Vebicles)
Policy issues related 10 commercial vehicles include the j>O<sible change in allowable
.. eight limits and !he acldition of Oregon Express",.y as an ea.t/west Througb Truck
Route.
current regul8.uo.'lS permit tru-.oks of 1 IOns (maaimurn gross weight) oc moe. 10 use only
designated truek routes. Tmcks less than 1 IOns are not re.tricted. The question has
beeD ...used IS 10 whether oc not !he 1100 limit should be reduced 10 a lower weij!:ht limit
(e.I .• lIOns). The question of lowering lIle weigilllimit raises the ad<fitional que.!loo
of ... hether it could be effeotively enforced.
Several cities have I weighllimlt of 3 lollS (others use 4, 45, 5, 7,« 8 Ion.). They also
have • correspoadingly larger number of st=!s designate& .. truck roule. wmel! make
it rcasoaabIy direct acd collvement for trucb 10 reach their destinations.
Recluclng the weighllimit from 110 3 foOOS would affect many mere t.--ocb and could
likely have .... egative impact on the downtowo business district. Potential impacts
included increased deI:'Very charges, additi-onal traffic volume crea!>"..d by lIle necessity for
IIKlre de!iverie&, and aswei,ted increased air pollution. A lirr.lted survey 0( trucks on
University Avenue, at Middlefield Road, iildicated lIlal 10 percent were under 1"",., 63
percent were between 3 and 11011$, and 21 percent were over'} tons.
Poe' 11 01 .lO
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Givea the limited resources thal &R available foe c<>mmerclal enforcement. it is mo;"C
effedive 10 focus enforcement efforts on the small .. propor<.ion of commercial .elIicles
t!I8I cau>e the m<>St ~ (those that exc=! the 7 ton limit), rather than the larger
propor1ioo of vehicles th.t would exceed I ) 100 limiL
Current nogWatioas designale San Antonlo IS the only e&St-west true'" route betwteB
Rcute 101 and A1ma1E1 Camino. Oregon Expressway may be used only for deliveries
10 the M"ldtowD commercial area. While Embarcadero and University are nOl designated
1rIr.l: routes, they ue \!sed as such by some truckers l!l •• ubstitule for San Antonio
Road_ This raises !he Quesli<><! regarding the possibility cl designating Oregoo
ExpRsswayas an oddilionaltruc1, route if (I) tile 1 ton weight limit is reduced, or (b)1he
7 Ion weight limit is maintained.
When Oregon E~,".)' "' .. constructed (late SO', 10 early 60's), one of seven!
primary c:oncerns of the public ,.. .. tJ-", possibility of Oregon Expressway becoming I
Throop Truck Route. AI lhat lime the City and Cou nty signed an agreement thBl
i"..',,""", among od>er lhings, I .upulation lJIa" Palo Alto would provide enforce"",nI on
Ibis aeaiOll of Coun:y Expresow.y. Therein lie. the a" tbority whereby the City
cstabIlshN a regulation, thlll conlinues today, which limiu the ~se ofOregoo Expresswa)'
10 only lJIose trucks rhat serve the "fldtowD commercial ","ea.
Coosidora!ion of !he possibility of designating Oregon Express..,.y .s • Throogk Truck
Route. if purstJed. sbould be supported by the preparation of • study repo<1 and public
prooess Iha! idenlilies and addresses all issues and concerrs_ This would reqtlire
CO<ISUltallt resources estimated at $50,000.
CPAC Dnft IV Transp0rt3lion E.lenvent recommendation YR-3, F, Page 11 is 1<> "Review
Palo AIto's Through Truck Roules and gross vehicle weighllimits 10 consider differences
between Palo Alto and !leigbboring jurisdictions, ~Dvir""mental and economic effects of
the OLoreol11on limit vs. 3 Ion limit. IWD levels of ifOSS vehicle weight limits {e., .• 3
Ion genenI aod 7 Ion on Oregon Express",.y, and minor, if any revisions to through
rouleO foe heavy trucks.)
I. Full Vehicle Grade Separation!s) (Carrrain)
AI oItemative foe addressing the CalTrain safety issue. would be 10 <ons!roc! full
vchlcular vade separations at One or more of the cxh!ing foof ~ross-'treet localions
(CIIlWeSlOD. Meado .... , Churchill and Palo Alto [Alma]). This could be done os • fun)"
I'a&' 18 of J'
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cIeprc$oed cross-slrecl ~nder-crossbg, 0< one where C.ITrain is partially elevated and the
c:ross-street is only partiaIly depressed.
Give .. tbe proJdmiIy of Alma and tbe consequent need ~ include grade sepa. .... tion for
boIh Alma and CalTraiD as weD as !he visual appearance 01. partially elevated CalTrain
011 • raised emb&nkmeDl, !he fully depressed cross-street is less problema!ic than !he
panW upldoWIl option.
The costs for such an a1tanalh .. "'" wb<tantial (SI 0 10 $20 million per cross-street plus
right-of-way eost) and t:1e impacts. in lenns 01 <&> residential property acquisition, (b)
alten:d and restricted access. 10 some adja<:eot residences, (0) visual appearance 01 such
• map physical struct"re, .. .:I (d) traffic diversion are likely 10 be substantial and render
such lD altemative impractical.
Aa altemative 10 full vehicle grade separations is the provision 01 pedestriJllllbilco grade
aeparatioDs. with vehicles remaining at grade. Council has a1:eady approved. Capital
IlJllll'OY"melll Projed {19S02} foc a feasibility study litat will use .. the various options
for providing pedestrian/bike grode sepa .... tions including functional designs, costs, rigbt
ol~'lla.Y. uti1iz.ation~ e.nvironmental issues. traff~ impacts. economic impacts and
emergency response impacts. RelCntion 01 a consultant for this study is oow underway,
and work on the .~Jdy is expected 10 romn1ence in July 1995.
CPAC Draft IV Transportation ElemeDl recommerdation TR-l, H I, Page II is 10 • Study
proje<:ts to depress bilcefpedestrian waIJa under Alma Street/tall crussings; implement if
feasible_ •
,. Un~d CalTraiD (CalTrain}
One alternative dlat is often mentioned for pennanently resolving CalTrain safeI)' !<sues
would be 10 undergrourd the system. This would have the added advantages 01 solving
noiae...-eIated ccncerns. as wen IS Iraffic delays incurred whITe .:rossing gales are do"",.
It wooId also provide • wonderful opportunity fo< creative reuse of the surface foc any
Dumber 01 possible worthwhile uses.
The cost 01 sud. an alternative. however, is very high ($750 million ioe 45 miles and
2 1IaIions; equivalent 10 aboo! $30,000 per household i~ Palo Alto). and "'ould DO( be •
realistic possibility until such time that it .. as part 01 some broadly based regional transit
fwxIi.aa program. If, for example. BART were ever exlended through Palo Alto, the
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1)'1-would liteIy be proposed !O be clevaled and paid for Ihroogh • regional fuoomg
prosnm. AI chaI lime, Palo A110 may wish 10 consider the possibility of placing ~
.ysttm IIJIdct&fwnd, willi the incremental cost fuly 10 be borne by Palo Alto.
<:PAC Draf\ IV Transportation ElemenJ. recommendation TR·9, 0, Page 18 i. 10
'ParIiQpeIe in. regional study 0( cost. feasJbility, and funding 10 depress CalTraln righ!
o(-""-y below grade, and 10 all<JlII level crossing' 0( Iocel and arlerial streets.
STRATEGIES uyIEWED. BUT NOT RECOMMENDED
As DOted eIrlier, slaff reviewed some other strategies, but [« various reasons are Il()(
recoounoDCfing them foe Cooncil ccnsideration.
1. LImit Do .... lowD T.".,k Delivery Tunes (Commercial Vehicles)
AI tile present lime. the only regulation affecting trud, dellverio. in the dawDlO"'" area
is 0<lC that prohibits !rw;b from double parking during the boon 0( 11:00 a. m. and 6:00
p.m.
Truck deliveries in ~ downtowll area cooJd be resuicfed in • marmet" rur prohibited
deliveries during c:cr!aln hours o(the day (c.~., 1l:OO a.m. 10 6:00 p.m. 0<" later) in orde.
\0 ellminate \be effects <>f "".leI< travel, park;ng, and loadingrunIoadill& on \!Ie pedestrian
environmem. IrafIic flow. parking .nd safety during the more intense periOOs of the
~retail business day.
ReaIisIicaIly, IhiJ is occuning 10 some e~tent. on • voluntary basis. Some majo< stores,
-..i1h regular deliveries, are knowu \0 schedule ~\eir deli".rio. oo\side of the midday
period. Jlestaorar.ts, as weD. are very likely I<> fCbeJule deliveries prior I<> their busy
DOOD-lime lunch period.
The imposition 0( suek restrictions could bave .n adverse .ffe ... on deli"eries thar cannol
be easily rescheduled because they :lte part of a rnulti-<lelivery roote system. Also, if
.ucIt restrictioos were applied 10 medium size truck!, entire businesses (e., .• PedE",
UPS, eIG.) would be adversely affeded, as would Ibe bu.itlesses \!ley serve .
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1. Utilize Adult Crossing Guards at More lDt.rsectiol1!l (School Commutes)
The Cily cI Palo AIIo supeMses &I'd fund. the Adult Crossing Goard Program.
Curmltly, !here are adult crossing guards at 11 intersections during the morning and
aI\crnoou sclIooI commule periods. Training and field supervision are pt<Mded by the
Police Department, and the ",ages for the adult crossing guuds (S1,OOOfyearfpersoo) L"e
iDcl\ldc<I in the Poli". Department" budgeL
Requesu for changes oc additional crossing guards are submitted \0 the CilylSchooi
Traffic Safety Committee for review and recommendaOOn. Criteria for evaluating the
ncecI for III adult crossing guard include consideration of: (0) !he number of ck:~nwy
scI!<>oI-aF pedestrians per hour (20 minimum), (b) appropriate use of. sarety Potrol, and
(o} vehicle volumes.
ODe option for improvjDg school commute safety woold be \0 in=~ the number of
adult crossings guards. The basis for expanding the Dumber of adult crossing guuds
could be: (a) \0 mooify (redure) the criteria "sed for evaluating !he need foe adult
<:rosSin, guards oc (b) \0 pro-acCiveJy survey poIenCiallocations 10 sec if !bey meet the
ailiOria, ra!her Ih ... refy upon specifJC requesc..
Tbeemting criteria was round)' JDO<lified and is generally similar 10 .tale guidelines,
albeit somewllat 10 .. stringent. The process of relying upon specific ~sta 10 identify
Joc:aIions for evaluation is a ",od,able mechanism for aIlocation of limited resources.
Radler thaD creating a separate program thaI would pr<>-actIvrly survey po!entiallocations
10 see if they meet 11'", criteria, the ccocera an<! need foc odult erossi ng guards could be
iden!ificd and incO<porated into School Commute Cocridor studies.
SIaff believes Iha1 !he current p;oced= of evaluating specific requests for adult crossing
JtWds sbouId cootinue Ind that consideration of adiL60nal crossing guards be
inrorpon.ted We> future School Commute Cooidor studies. Staff does 00( recommend
modification of existing criteria or any sep!!l"ate focused p;ogram 10 pr<>-aetively survey
poteOOalIocations.
l. Infonnational Leafletting (Accident .. )
Tbe dislrl>ution of informatiooalleaflets, in theory, could occur near inrer .... -tions ",be ...
I bigbeT than avenge number of accidents occur. Handouts, informing the public of
areas will> !he greatest number of accidents and the prima.')" collision factors associated
,..,.31 of Ji
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"';II! \lie w:idcllls, could be distributed at wety checkpoint>. Howe .. ", Ift¢r reviewing an c:wrcnI infcnnadoo, visiting po!entialloca6cns, and based "poo past experience with
disIributionof leaflct> foc speed reduc60c educational campaigns ronducled 00
Embarcadcto Rood I!Id Univenity Avenue in !he 198Qs, this st<a!egy would no( be very
effccIive for !be foII<>wing reasons:
a. A comprehensive !ea/letfing program would 00( be prac6cal or safe jn proximity
10 the III'e8! where the highest number of accidents related I<> traffic congestion
occur. The leaflctting would most probably cause furtller traffic congestiQn and
could resull in additional accidents.
b. A .raW!ical review of ) 994 accident and citation records ind"lCItel !hat only 32
percenl of reported aecidenls involved Palo Aho reside nlS and only 2S percent 0{ an citations were issued I<> residents. ....Itemative metbods such as mailing or
indusion of information in ub1ity flyers, would reach • limited number of residents
in a much safer manner.
The problems associated with I IeafletIing effort far oulweigll !he possible benefits.
4. Use of Bon Dots {Speed)
u-of ......n white raised bubons (BOIi Dots) installed on roadway pavements across
travel laDes have been suggested ~y residents IS • means 10 hell' rcdoce tn. .. et speeds.
," ·Typically, Bott Docs have been used 10 Ikrt drivers 10 I pending change in condilion,
sudJ IS the approaclIlo • sharp curve, or I stop sig. or other condition in an unexpected
IocaIiott. Wbile!.'Iey <;all be an effective means \0 alert drivers. it i. DOt evident that \lley
are ~ffectiv. '" reducing speeds when !here is 00 evide!ll subsequenl cooditioo requiring
speed -"'CIuction. Aoo!IIer coosideration is that the unpleasantnes, of driv'.ng over !he Bot!
Dots it inflicted on every vehicle thai !ravels !he roadway. no matter whal speed !hey are
!raveling.
Past experienoes wid! the use of Bot! DotS in Palo Aho have prove. I<> be problemalic.
in thai !lie noise created by tires running over thorn has bee. sufficienl !<> generate
CODCerII and c~ainls from residents and businesses in !he adjacent area.
r.,. II '" 36
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s.. PHOTO RADAR (Speed)
The pboco ndar system IlSCS a camera in conjunction with a radar speed <!elector. Whe"
a vdUcle iJ detcctod by radar 10 be exceeding the predelennir.ed allowable speed, Dsua1Iy
11 mph over the posted speed limit, " pboIograpb is taken of the violator vehicle. This
phoIogrtpb includes the li<:ense plate of the ve~Jcle and the driver. O!l(:e the pboIogntph
is developc4, the registered owner of the vebi<:1e is thea mailed I citation for the speed'!JIg
vioIalioo.
The lIIOSI obvious benefit of pboIo radar is the high Dumber of speeding citations that
could be i,sued daily, with a minimum of police personnel. Cities using pboIo radar have
experiellCed' a lowering of genera! .peed. OIl the .treelS !he units are used, due 10 tbe
public', fear of getting caught by the machine. Thls has also lead 10 a reduction in
a<:cideDls in Ibese are.... The City of Campbell lias repocteJ I reduction ill the aVenlge
DW1Iber of $pOCding violations per hour on s!ree1S where photo radar is used from 49
vioIaIioru 10 18 violations per hour. The City of Parodise YaIJey, Arizona experienced
" 42 perce1ll redUC1loo in accidents caused by speeding on roadway .... bere photo radar
..... Used over I tWI> yoar period.
However, the photo radar system is boon<! by the same rules and regulations as fllodler
" ndar enfon:ement. The Dnit could be used only on roadways wiL~ the posted speed 5mi1
set in occ:ordancc wid! a currenl speed survey. Roadways thaI bave not bee. surveyed
or wfIere the posted limit is DOl supported by • survey, such as Channing. Embarcadero
Roed and Middlefield, woold be ineligible for the pholo radar uniL The photo radar unil
must abo be operated from I vehicle wid! police marJcings. The ~se of Illis ~nit from an
unma:ted vehicle is illegal,
There are I number of other negative aspects associated with the use of poolo rndar. III
rescIoJ'chlng tbe manufacturers of pho;" radar units •• Iaff delermined iliat U.S. Pobllc
TecImoIogies Inc., based in San DiegD, California, 10 be the I!lOS! reputable and widely
used company in the ""tion. They offer two operaoonal plans for their photo radar unilS.
The fust plan enlafu the actual purchase of L'Je complete unIt al a COS! of aboot $100.000.
nm price includes the photo radar unil aoo the vehicle necessary II) transport.nd boose
!be equipmeaL After the purchase of the unit, a proces,ing contract is the. requked foe
development of the pholographs and maJling of the citations. AR additionol service
contract ($3,000) is also required fo< the ongoing mainlenance of the radar and camera
equipmenL
, ." .
The seccf!d and IIIost commonly used plan is • 'turnkey' s)!Stem, whereby the entire
!}'OIem is loaDed 10 the departmeGl and Jraintained by the company. The p<ocesnng
c:ontnlct coven developmeOl of the pbotographs and themailingofthecitaOons.This
proceuing contract is llSUlilly based on a nte of SI5-S2Q per paid Ofallon. Currenlly.
the City receives only $1~$lS po< paid dtatioo based upon L"" a1rreD! percentage of the
base line fannula mandaled by Slate law. U.S. Public Teclmologjes stipulates thot their
«lit per paid citation cannot exceed the lOla! percentage allotted 10 t.'Je City per cill!llon.
& • result. the Cily would send 100 pem:DI of any revecue generated by pOOIo radar
citations 10 the company.
Both pI8lIS require the pboto radar unit 10 be operated a • inimum of 3;0 heun per week.
la order 10 meet this requirement, as ",en is the associated in-house Placessing and
inevitable court requirements. one fun-time person and One balf·time pe~ would need
10 be usigned spccific~) 10 the pbolO radar program. Pe, current state law. if assigned
staff weR community ...... ice ~11. Council would need 10 enact an ordinance
authorizing community service officers 10 SSU< speedi ng citations.
The bouom line costs foe .ither program ,",ould be between $100.000 10 $150.000 per
year.
]a addition 10 the IIt<laCflIry costs, agen<.ies which bave used pboto radar in the past report
• oegalive public rea<:tion. A. & result of the lack of police contact with the driver" the
lime of the citation is issued, publk: .. noment afteQ ranges from anger 10 resentment
wIleD ciIaIioos are received iD the mail seven.! weeKs after the C.CL This creates a
significanr Jiilblk: relations problem.nd often results in increased complaints. The same
problem' "xlsts ",be •• registered owner receives I citation when be/sbe was nol I.""
driver. Vt1ille there ;. • p<ovisioo 10 remedy this legal problem, tJ-.e negative public
..,laIloos image remains.
6. RADAR DRONES (Speed)
Man)' driven use radar detectors in order 10 be fore" .. ned of die use of police radar.
Radar drones emit I nodar signal that sets off die de",,-"\OCs causing most dri'e.rs 10 slow
dow. because they thlnl< poIke are operating actual radar units. The droiles are attached
10 CiIy power poles and could be moved 10 differenlloc,tions.
1bere is !lilt any way 10 measure the effective ness of these device,. The assump6o<l that
• driver llSing I radar de!ectcr slows dGwD if the delec\Or goes off is based on common
...,.340136
"/.'
:.. -
o
_. However, iI is also Iogicollo assume 11>.1 if the driver', deteclor activates at the
wne ioca!ioo lime afttr lime w;lbout 1IIy sort of poIke pre senee. it would DO! take long
for the driver 10 determine that • drone was lb. c.use of!1>e activation .nd not In OCilla!
radar unit.
It would be very lflfficulilo ~.tity speed reduction results which might justify the cost
of the putclwe ollhc drones .. "Ill staff lime =ssary 10 relocate the units periodically.
The cost of eacll radar drone is about $700. Initial installation and subsequc!ll change ol
location would be Ihc respon.ibility of the City Utilities Department, who would chuge
the rill: 01. $50 per boor fur !lie ",loc.tion 5eMce.
A mdloss expensi."e alternative wOIlld be 10 use an empty marked patrol car with the
n4ar unit turned on foe I g1veo time period. TIIis approach would set oI.l radar deteclo ...
beiJIg Ilsed ill !he area and would sh<lw I paf= pcesence os well, while using a limited
IlIIOUDI of police resource.. The patrol cars can be easily and fr"'jUently moved.
7, RED UGIIT CAMERA (Accidents)
Red light CIIlmras are camera units tied into cnffi<: signal systems at ir.~. Aftu
IDe uaf& signal turns red, the camera unit lakes photographs of vehicles running the red
fight. The photograph show. the driver and !be license pia'" of lb. vehicle, just os the
pbdo radar system does. The registered owner of the vehicle is thea mailed a cilxlioo
for the red light violation.
'This cys'.em is designed foc problem intersectlons ... ·itlt & IUgb .... te 01. injury &ccidenls
<ansed by red light viclations. For !be past five years, only 7 perceD! ol !be acddenls
ill Palo Alto are ca~sed by red light ,ioI.tions and DO! one intersection stand. out os being
problemalic.
Staff Iw delermined thaI several age ndes in soullte .. California have used these devices.
Based KpOII their experience. it appears Ibat the devices are cost efketive only when
instaIIcd at intenectlons where. significant number 0( accidents ore caused by red light
violations.
The cost of !his system is $50,000 per intersection, plu, pcocessing of the pboIograplJs
and mailing of the ci!8tiol'..... Based upon staff's research, companies who manufacture
these systems operate under the same premise as those ... bo man~faclure photo radar units
;
· -'> .,
,"' j. :~..,...,
and IIlipclAie receipt of til citation revenue. II is predictable Illal negative public reACtioo
similar \0 1hat associated with photo radar .... ould resuIL
8. Crossing Guards (CaITraiJI)
The WIC of croosing guar<l$ during !he morning and aflernoon ",000; commute peri;)ds,
aI I cost of $1,000 per year per i."XIividual, is another allerMliv. 10 addressing CLlTrsiA
safety. Each CJ'05S-Street would require >lwo crossing guards lI!he Lrain tracks, AI I coot
of $14,000 per year per cross-slreel. Expanding Illi. concept 10 include IwO additional
crossing guards at Alma as ",en as II ColTrain, !he IOta! coo;( per cross·streel location
........wd be $28.000. Capitillized al S percent interest, $28,000 per year requires a one
time investment sctaside of $560,000. This level of investment is sub>unlially less Ill."
any physical/SIructure based solutions are h"ely 10 be, but offer a measure of imp<oved
proICCIioo only during !he primary bours of travel 10 and from "boo!.
The inotanation of pedestrian> ••• es and related fencing have receotly been added at
CalTraift crossingJ. Therefore. staff recommends L't.1 Ille possibility of add"mg crossing
guards be ~ only if and .... beB Ihe feasibility of pe<!esttianJboJ<e grade
separations is shoW!! 10 be imprBcticaI.
smrs fOTU1WING APPROVAL
DiJection oo"!he recommendations Ihar Council wishes staff to pursue is roquesled. For
Ihose recommended (non-CPAC related) strategies that require fund"mg. as indicated
earlier, staff would ret""' during lb. upcoming budget prxcss with specific requests.
F"" \bose Itrate~, whlcb staff h .. recommended that majl be implemented immediately
and without any additional r.&OOrces, staff would propose 10 begin imple=ntation as
soon IS possible.
ATfACHMENTSiExmBITS
AflacluroClll A: Recommended Slrategies
Al!Jichment B: CPAC Related Issues
AttacIImeol C, &nItegies Considered, But Not Recommended
Attaclimen! D: Current Radar Survey.
CMR:439:94
.. ',
, "
,1-;
, \.
"
\. ;, "-\
"
. "
" , ,
'/
Aftl\OlOlBll't A ~ __ .. lOllS
®
Rri.f
D •• llr1DtioD
Radar EnforOe.bl_
Sp .. "" Lim1 t.
MotoX'oyol •• (5)
'l'f0 Additional
Traffic Otficar.
Fl •• hing' I.lghta
Inorea8e !I\toroeme"t
at High Aocident
LooAtions
IIoighl:>orhood
Speedwatoh
Trattia ... ret]'
I!!sua til
Spee"
A.U
sp •• 4. Aooident_,
School Commut •• ,
COmmeroial Vehicle.
Sp .... d,
school commute
ACoidenta,
Sp"'''
Spa.do -co ... "' .......... , Commute Educa~ion p~~~9~r~a~m~B __ -t ____ .~~~~~"":
Junior safety Patrol
(Z>. Safety Ch.akPoin~.
City Vahiel ..
Silt. O:l'ivil'lg
P~~Am
sohool COltl.blUt..
sp.ed, SOMel
Commute, AOOident ••
Commaroial V.hicla.
Vahiel ••
Spaad
La".l of
---~
1
1
I 1 I
2
2
2
2
I , I
2
2
I ~"'val of ~"pAc;;1;-Q" tr"Uio laM"a, 1" Hl\1l1 2-lIed1 ....
Estimated cost, ·Oo~. n~t inclUde &ny aa.ocl.ted .~.tt tl ...
lI.t1loa_ ---. ""." Ctttgitt ••
$19,500 policy , servic ••
$1'/,000 Po11oy , servio ••
$i45,OOO Finance
$12,000 policy , servle ••
*Mini ... l policy , servic ••
$400 polioy , Servioa.
k:Y:/ . " .. ;'<' * P01~ sarvie ••
* I PoUey , Se""l.,.,s R ., " ' • _. I ,,' I' ',-,'...
>Minimal polioy , Servie ••
I l' " H"
*Minll101 POlioy , Service.
'f',,,
~ "
, ,
J.. NO.... to LoW
.'
A'1".I'ACIOUIiIT* -QaQ ULAorlO X .. VBII
~~~~4"n Tntfio .,,'e", . _1 of
ft. beud
NOI1qhborhoo(l Volume, sp •• <l, .
2
Traffia Studl •• Aoold ..... t.
Reduction spee<l ~
R".A<lanUal
Street Widtll ®
Dovn_1r.a spa.., 2
Art"rillla
Mark..t-bAalfl~ Vol ..... e
priOin9.st"-rat .. gy 1
t.ooal 'l'r"Mit Volwna 2
sysl::ern
ti9h~ Rail volume 2
, ,
Truolt Routel VOlum. 1
Weiqllt tirn1t. Comm.ro1.~ Vehioles
Grade separation CdTrain 1
\In(\,,rqround CdTtain 1 o
'--. Cal train . ------~ '<
.. "
, .
'.-",,'
,'.'
~ -,
~
m'\ ~
»d.r
1! •• ~iIlU!nl
t1>ft1t 0"""1;"",,
Tru(l~ Deliveri ••
A4,,1t C"oa.~t19
Gluarda
XA"rtott1n'1
Bot.ta Datil
Plloto Ra<laJ.'
~ade.r DrOhe.
~.d tiqht CAmara
Cro •• 1!'9_ Ouard*
"'l"1'_ C ~ IT».'tBeXU CQIIIXO_, IIIJ't lIO'II ~110
::."ut;10 satety Io ... el of .atblate4
JIIHS2:t , $UL
C01IIOtoJ.'(l~,,~ 3 0
SOho"l COlIlIIute, 3 $7,OOO/'lUard
Acoid. .... t.
Aoo1d.al'!t. 3 .. .
Spe"d ~ $500,por looatian
speed 2 $~OO,OOO-,
. $150,000 I
Sp •• d 3 $700 per ,
AOoidanta 1 $50,000 t)er
CdTrain 3 $ 7 LOOO l,)uarcl
,
"J:
", -' . '~<.~/
· "". -, -..
. -.
o '. CORRDIT ODD 5l111~nS
8ftSll'l' POSTBD 8l111VBY DATil:
8~B8D DA'1'1I: BDIUS
LIMIT
Al ... 3S mph 9124/9<:> 9/24/95
(~tween 5ah Antonio ~ Churchill)
oregon Expressway 35 mph 3/21/94 3j21/~9
~~tween Al.a & Middlerield,
Or89QJ> b:pcessny 35 .. ph 9}24/90 9/24/95
(~tween Middlefield , US101)
Page lIill P_08d 35 .. ph 3/21}94 3/21/99
(between Alma i Hanover)
page Mill Road 35 mpi> 9/24/90 9/24195
(between Hanover , Foothill)
~~ Antonio Road 35 IIph 3/21/94 3}21j99
(between E. Baysh¢re , AI,...)
E 1 Ce.aino Rea 1 40 mph 5j1/91 5/1/96
(between Al~a ~ Stanford Ave.)
Fa-clan 30 IIph 9/24/90 9}24195
Hill'View 35 :IIph 9/24/9r. 9/24}95
(between Foothill , Arastradero)
HillvieW' 30 IIlpl". 9/24/90 9/24/,5
(between Bano~er • Foothill~
Ha;nsen 30 IIph 9/24/90 9/24/95
(between ECR • Page lIil1)
Hanover 30 ",ph 9/24/90 9/24/95
(between Page lIill , Hillview)
Sand Hill Road 35 lIIPh 9/24/90 9/24195
Churchill 25 .. pi> 3}21/94 3/21/99
(between ECR , AlJOa)
Colorado 25 .,ph 9/24/90 9j24J95
(betwe~n Middlefiald , Louis)
universi.ty 25 IIph 9124/90 9J24/S5
(betveen Xiddle[ield , Woodland)
Embarcadero 25 mph 9/24/90 9}24/95
(between Al~a i ECR)
Welch Road 25 mph 9/24/90 9/24/9"-
(between Pasteur • QUarry)
West Bayshore ~~d 30 mph 9/24/90 9/24/95
(Oregon Exp. to Amarillo)
3"195
.--
TO:
nOM:
AGENDA
DAm
REQUES'f
HONORABLE CI1Y COUNCD..
CITY MANAGER
~ ""'. ~ ; ,
~ •... ",J'-".
DEPARTMENT; l'oIice
Ia MardI 1994, the City <Auncll requested llIaI staff scl>cdu!e a Council Study Se!:;o" on
Iraffic aafely due 10 roocems IhaIIlOl enough efforts 10 assure Iraffic safety in !he Cir-j were
beinB coosidercd and/or implemen!l:d, Staff was cflt'ectN 10 ptOseD! s!rategies and suggest
policy aIternotives for pos.,"ble Council consideration.
RI:lX)MMENDADONS
nJi io III inf<ll'llWiollal report and 00 recommendations are ptesen!l:d at this lime,
POllCY IMPLJCt\TIQNS
Over \be last year, Cooncil member> re<:eived considerable feedback from citizens regarding
a perceived deleriocation of generollnlffic safety Iluooglloa! !he communiry. Specifically.
!he cooc:ems fOCl!Sed 011 !he speed at wbicll vehicles were !ravelling. !he failure 10 OOey !he
ruks of !he road, and an increased risk 10 pedestrians and bicyclists. As, resuit of these
concerns, Council direcled staff 10 revic ... cumnt srrategies Ihat are being used 10 address
InfIic safely and suggest potential other ideas foc increasing safety in the commur.ity.
Since receiving the assignmenl. Transportation and Police Department ,raff have ga!hered
a coasiderablc amount of infotmatioD concerning traffic safety issues, Sraff has approached
this usignmcol from & two phase approacll. Tbio report and !he discussion represents !he
tint pbasc. Based upon !he feedback and cftrection received from Council, staff would
..... 10(3
~.\.,:
· ~~"
o
reIutll ill pIwe two will! specif.c IU~ re<:ommendations and more detailed information
abcloIt SInlcg;e. !hat <:OOld be ~.
For Ibc JI'IIPO'CS of dW rcpor!, 'traffic safely' refers 10 the safe and orderly flow of
pedestrian. bkycle and vchiculJ!r traffic. The informalioo, provided ia !he &iIAChed
cIocumt.nlatiotl, lias bee .. divided inlO six major Iopict: speed, traffic volume, accidenls.
scbod COOlIIlIIf:, (lomtllercial vehic1e;. and ColTw. grade crossing •. For each major !<>pic,
a list of gencnl public pezuptions ;., presented. The list of pe.-cepli.. ...... were developed
from 1etIen and felepbooe c&IJ !hat M.e beu received <>vet the last year repnlin, trafIic
<>OIIIjlIaL"1!s. Fadual data .... &5 obtained from Police and Tran..<pOrtatioo records u well &5
SIaIe informalioo. The list of eldsnn, stralegiel includes all !he programs and proced~res
lbat ate wmmIy used in 1be Cily. Per Cooncil 0=600, olaf{ has pravldcd • list of
polen.,' other stralegies. II;" important 10 DOle !hal these straregies are presented .. ithoot
dbcussioa oboIIt Ihcir feasibility, coot, practicality, ele. While I ronsiderable an...;ul'ol of
informatiost ;., provided, s!aff believes Chat ir is important fer Council 10 bave tlm
infOl1ll8tioo as a basis for discussion and possible future ou-""tioo.
FISCAl. IMPACT
AJJy fiscal impact .... ouId be dependent upOD the ClteCtion L'tat Council may wish 10 pursue.
Whik there are environmental issues Chal are associated with many of the potenUal
-sks. the specific &sseMments .... ould be presenled CD & case-by-<:ase basis.
A'ITACHMENTS -Dat.a Document
PREPARED BY: .Joe Hernandez, l.ieiltenanl
Malvin Overway, Chief Tra~~·tion Official
Lynne Johnson, Ass; I Otice . ilier
AshoIt Aggarwal. Eng1neer
DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: ).-L-
CHRlSDUlOON
Police Chier
!'Ifelol )
,..,.)01)
FORMAT
~.
Each of 14v.r&1 topics/issues to be 4iscu •• ed.
A .tatu.ent 0<" 4 .. ",,1pt10n coneerD1nq Wbat we think 15 the
percsptiClrl of the public r89ard!nq th~ topic.· NUlIbers in
parsnths ... refer totaetual data associate<! and/or stratS9)'
l~onoat1on 1t_.
Data. lnforaatlon. profe.slonal opinion, that helps provide
bacltqrOW14 arA understancSinq of \:he topic/isoue.
C ~ pIniNG STJU1£GIES;
~
JdenUf ication and kid description of .. etbods/proceduras
currently used to address the topic/issue, Includinq
en.torceaant, pbysical, and education measures ..
D. PPTDrl'IAL OTHER $TBU£GIls;
Identification and: brief description of methods \:hat aight be
possible.
I. ~, "8111)
IlII.I! -'!'be rate at wb1ch vehicles trovel ""/thrOUgh City
street.
!Taftic gen.rally travels toe f.at within and
througb the City. (82,83)
People are not obeying the posted spe£4
UaUs. (B2,B3)
Speeds ar. increasing. (83)
There is inSUfficient traffic enrorcement and
police. are not visible enouqb and, AS II
r.sult~ people continue to speed. (BS)
Speed enforil:eaent is not a priority for the
police "department. (B5)
Posted speed
(B2:,BJ-.. B4 .. B7)
a.its are enforceable.
City vehicles are habitual offenders when it
comes to exceeding the speed limit. ('88)
Increa.l~ the. posted speed lilllit increases
the. actual travel speed. {S6}
1. Radar enforceable speed. lbi ts are based upon
Ule 85th percentile spee'" (tbat speed bolo ...
whiC".h 85 perce."l.t of tl':Ie traffic is »eYing) ..
Thi:5 Is based OIl the premise that !l5 percent
of the people are able. to accurately assess
features of the roadway an4 characteristics of
the adjacent area and will adjust their speed
accordinqly to what is reasonablec and safe ..
Speeds higher than the 85th percentile are not
considered reasonable and safe.
2:. Speed survey data from a sample of arterial
and collector streets is as follows:
2
art.ri,l Street.
Alaa (3 _actions)
Hillvhw
or~
Page Mill
sand Bill (2 .ectlons)
l1lIiverd ty
Collector street.
COlo .... 40 (2 8ect!onsj
Fabian W.y
ttanover
Hillview
LoU Verda (l 8ections)
LoUi. (2 sactior'll
Meadow {3 .ectlonsl
Hewell (2 seetio~.)
Welch
we.t Baysbore
(3 .ectionsl
85th
Fercentile
~
42/43/44
43
4l
U
40141
33
3]/]4
39
35
39
33/34/34
34/34
l4JH/J3
32133
3C
19/U/U
Posted
Speed
J.J.nt
35
35
35
35
35
25
Z5
30
]0
30
25
25
25
2S
25
30/35/ ;5
,. Travol!ll, speed. data aonitored at sever-al
locations indicateS insiqnificar.lt cbanqes over
a. per 100 or 13 years.. as shown below:
85th Percentile Speed Posted
llll llH un Ull Lila.l..t Vnlv!I!ra!ty 36 35 35 33 25
west -of Bale:
Kiddlefield 41 37 40 :15
Wo. of ~trose
Kiddlet1eld 38 35 35 25
No. of J(inqaley
Kiddlofield 38 36 35 25
SO. of Hawthorne
Embarcadero 40 CO 41 40 25
at !!orton
~rcadero 41 36 )9 37 25
East of Cowper
4. Legal li.ita~!ons on speed entorcement:
Seetion 223;0 of the Vehicle Code. the -Basic
Speed Law,· says no person shall drive at a
speed that 15 unsafe "for the roadway
oonditions~ This section makes no reference
t<> I2.l<ceedinq the posted speed limit. When
3 •
. ~" -'." .
testifyIng i.n cou.rt., an cfficer :IIuat prove-the
QP4e4 wa. unsafe, nat just in eXC.S5 of the
po&te~ Ii.it. This lav applies to any speed
above c>r belov the posted a.it in relation to
the sat. .peed dictated by the roadway
cone! i tions •
section 323.' of tho Vehicle Code, the
-Kaxbu.a Speed Li.1-t .. -allY. no person shall
drive h.ter than 5S -.ph. Tbi. law applies to
city surface atr •• t., •• well •• the freeway.
Due to this !!Iii d.ietaUng the BalCi"UII speed
nail:, r69udle .. of rc>a<\way conditions, any
persc>n driving fa-tar than 55 -.ph is in
violation.
Section 40a02 of the Vehicle Code, ·Speed
Trap,· defines bow spee.d entorc~ent can be
conducted. This section. prohibits the use of
tille dbtence calculations to ~ete ... in2 spud.
This section also requires .. speed ii.it to be:
deter.lned by an -engineering and tra~iic
survey-In order to us. radar to ent'orce a
sp.e4. llalt. There .re exceptions to this
requirUlant sUCh •• school .!:ones with children
in th~ area and non-federal aid local streets~
5. Durirl9 fiscal year 1991-92.# the Palo Alto
Police Departaent issued 1 1 351 spee~-related
cit.ations. In fiscal year 1992-93.. 4,124
speedirig citations 'Vere issued. The number of
speed-related citations has decreased over the
last. three year. a. a. result. of the:
d.epart.ent '• cba"ge of t.ratfic anforc:.elDen~
tactics. In fiscal year 1991-92. emphasis was
placed on qroup radar Rnforcement.# sometimes
as often a8 three or four t!~es a day_ Group
enforce.ment results in more citat.ions beir,q
issued in shorter periods of time. In 1992-
51), the 4epart.lllent's focus beqan to change.
Enforcement ellpbasis vas directed to areas ar.rd
int-ersectlons with the hiqhest n,um.ber of
accident.s. Additional hours 'Were SpeJ'lt on
safety presentations at elementary and middle
schools and additional atte.ntion vas qi\ren to
achool 10-:1e5.
In 1993-94, the Traffic: Teall began devotirJ9
acScUtiona1 hours to commercial Vehicle
enforcement and inspectlens. due to the n\llllber
of trucks being stopped with serious equipment
defects. Also ~urlnq that time, tbe Traffic ,
Teaa ~ked yith only one .erg.ant 6n4 thr ••
officer. (irult.ad of one aerg"ant ancl five
otficar.). This 1l •• the r •• \llt of a hiyher
than noraal number of injuries (five officer.
4urill9 • ten-month period) within the
dapartaent whIch .ff.ctod ainiRua staffing
requirement. on all pauol ahIft.. Traffic
Te .. officer. vera al.o a •• ignea to .uppltlllent:
dally pauel po$itla"a for injured offl.e ....
throughollt the year.
• 6. Tec!".nical· .tudiea and expertenco in other ky
Area col!UlU..,lties indicateo that rddng posted
.peed 11-.ita to cont ..... with the .... "lts ot
prescribed Er'Jineerlng and Traffic survey.
doe. not result in a correapondiDq incr •••• in
overall speed.
,. It is =ealistle to set arUfic:l&lly 10 ...
spaed limits and expect a &6jority of the
drivers to naturally accede to such limits.
It is equally unrealistic to expect ~.t
t.hrouqh entorceaent., a majority of drive.r. can
be forcelS to conform to artificially low .peed
lulu.. Furthermore 6 exper i ence has shown
that artificially low posted speed li.it signs
have little, if any, aignificant lntlu~~ce on
drlver behavior.
8.. The City Manager has reinforced wi th
Department Heads the importance of city
employees driving City vehicles accorclinq to
the speed lbi u.
c • ulall.1ft 'Da.."(j:IU t
1. Speed Enforgement
General traffic enforcement is conducted
by all patrol otficers.
Tbe Police Oepartmentls Traffic Team is
staffed by five officers and: one
sergeant. The primary responsibility of
the Traffic Team. is to deal 'W.ith all
traffic-related problems within the. City ..
Traffic Team members regularly ~ork
daytille h<XlZ's, but occasionally adjust
their schedules to address traffic
problems during: evenings and weekends.
Officers target areas known to· bave
apeed-related I>rt>blems ancI eon4"",t high
profile enforcement in efforts to r.~uce
8p401Id .. ancI eccidents. Officers condu<:t
ap40ed-entorC-UIent in three ..... y.:
In4ivi4ul ral!:ar, grOUI> r~dar an4 1>&01n<}.
Individual ra~ar enforcement i. vben an
officer" workinq alon • ., u..... radu to
obtain a violator'. speed ~ then .top_
the vehicle and issues the driver a
citation.
GrCQp radar 1. ¥ben ~~e officer operates
radar froa a ltationary location "-"><I
radio. to other oft Leer. clown the road.
TtI.S8 other officers _top the violator. ~
ancI i •• ua citations.
Plein<} i. conduete4 by offieera in marked
patrol cars and requires thea to drive
behin4 .. violator. 'I'be officer aust
reach the viclator's speed and th~n
maintain the pace for a B~tflc~~nt
distance to prove in C'OUIt. the actual
violator'. Bpeed~ Be.cauS4!! of safety
concerns" the pacing method is used on a
lidtecl b8sia an<! I;lsually only durin<}
periods of light traffic.
Officer. also concentrate enforcement
effort. in araas that bave bell-It reported
by citinns ubavln<} speed problems.
Depending on the loeat.ion and resources
av&il~blel the ~st appropriate
entorcement method will be used ..
High protjle enforcement stops are also
used by the Traffic TeaM to educate
citizens. The purpos~ is to qive verbal
warnings and e4ucate the publIc about
\.heir unsafe drivin<} and to qive a
"police presence-to the problell. area.
Phantom cars (empty marked patrol cars)
are parked on tile side of the road in
proble. areas.. to aqain.. give a police
presence ~itbout depl.ti~ starfing.
The mobile rada.r trailer is placed: at
different locations t.hroughout the City
to advise motorists of their actual
speeds.
6
a • BRAeS IlvlIP PrQgru
1.
1n un, Palo Alto esubli.h~d a Road Bu .. p
PrograJl~ Tb.. purpo •• of the progru is to use
road bWlpl to lover speeds on local
r .. identl.l atr •• t.. The program ident!ti ••
criteria <bule, nelqhborboOd support, and
operational) that .Wlt be >let and standarc!s
tor tbl locati"" and dea!qn of road b\mlpe.
Road bump. OOlt ab<>ut $5, ~ per bump an<! are
often installed! ......... rl •• (\f two or .or •.
The only loe&tloruo at which roa05 bumps (8
tOUl) have been iNltalled to 4ate are O>'!
COwper, COlorado and MAr ion in tbe Midtown
area.. Ftw., if ar;.y, collJ1ent..t favorable or
unfavorable ... have been reee!,· .. d req-a.rdinq the
Ixiotlnq road bump ••
City Vehicle Pace Car Program
All city vehicles could have -I drive the
LDllT-bUmper stickers.. Includ.ed on the
sticker cou14 be a phone number for citizens
to report hoW' the City v-ehicle .... as being
driven.
2. speed watch hoarU
8ell~~e, Washington and Portland. oregon have
volunt~er-ba.ed Neiqhbcrbood Speed Watch
Proqraas. These public awarene.ss prograJDs are
intended to make drivers aware of resi~ents'
<:oneerns reqardinq th.. impaet of &peed inq OIl
r.eiqhboihood safety and livability. ~bis
awareness occurS by send inc; 1 attars to the
r~lstered -owner-I of speeciinq vehicles noted
by·residents. fbe cities provide radar guns
and traininq to participants; pertieipants
collect license plats numbers and vehIcle
lntcn~;ation on those cars traveling in e~cess
of 5 mph over the speed lhdt.; city staff
obeains owner's names and addresses from
Department of Motor Vehicles and sends a
le.t:te.r to the v-ehicle.'. owner~ The p~ogriUI is
used only for lower volume. t.o-lane streets
and not on busl.r four lane streets where it
is OIOro "iffleul t to record infonoation and to
use radar to properly assess a vehicle's
speed..
7
." ,
3. Hs'ghhorhpod TrAffic MaoAq ... nt Program
A n_r of ciUe .. bave fonaal nei9bborhood
traffic aa.Aa9.-nt prograu to •• rve a .. II.
... n. to acSdr... nalgh.borb004 resll!ents'
~B about 5peed, oatety and other traffic
relat.d i •• uee. While Palo Alto 1n fact has
hed sucb & proc ••• for aany year5~ it lae~.:
a.. the formal .tructure aDd presentation
meterial.,. and
1>. an annual CO<\IIi tIIent of dollars tor
implUl:Rtation of physIcal aea:B\,Ires ..
characteriaed by the c~ent bi9ber
profile BOdel .. in other cities.
4.. ,.auctlon of pefgbborh22d street. Width
one of the factors that inlluencE.s driver
perception about 'Wb.at is a rea60nable and r3fe
speed J Is the width of the travel lanes and
the presence and pro!!iai'ty of objects along
the side of the travel lane~ For example~ ~
driver bas a very different sanse of wh~t ,is a
reasonable and safe speed on the quite narrow
5treats with on-street -parking in the
Southgate neiqhborhood. as compared with the
wider stree.t8~ rolled curbs", cars parked in
driveways or up on the· curb/sidewalk that
typifies some resIdent!al ar.as in Palo AltQ.
One strategy to reduee speeds could be to
narrov existi1l9 vide streets. '!'his could be
done on a full bloclc-by-bloclc basis or at
periodic locations (e.g.. use ot bulbouts)
along e block~ Either approach could be
accompanied by significa..nt road'oiay draina.qe
L~ design considerations.
5~ QDvnsilie Arttrial tIl froD Four Lanes to Two
ldUW!
~verslon of current four lane -residential
(proposed CPAC designation) arterials
(Embarcadero__ Xlddlefield__ Cha.rleston and
Arastradero) to:
a. a two-lana roadway
center t.urn lane
landscaped median),
8
with
Cor
a continuous
an optional
b.
c.
bike lan .. , and
on-street parklll9. >lbne _intainl119
current lane conliquratlons at major
lnter .. .,Uoruo. 001>101 possibly have t.ho
effect of rllducinq tn·/e! epeect. by about
S mph. A rouqh coat. .. t.i_te t<> reshipe
(oontln~ center turn lane option) the
full len9t.h of _reader .. _4 (2.2
al1es) Is $3S0,OCO; .. rouqh cost .otimate
for a fully landscaped center median
option yogIc! be $1.5 .illion.
6~ ,.(.ty CheckpOint.
,.
Off Leers uslll9 the qroup enforcement metbo<l
cOIlllS vork hi9h volUlle rO&cl,. for aafety
vl<>lationa. These violatior.. "0<>115 inchlde s~at belts. chil~ safety seats and ~echanie&l
violaUons.
Os. Of Pbotp Badar
This device is si.ila~ to the CitY#B current
Radu Tral1e.-r; however ~ the. unit cou.ld be
hidden and equIpped to take pbotoqraphs of
violators., their vehIcle and license plate.
Cltations would then be mailed out to the
reqistered ~6r with the photo of th& clr iver.
8 .. Radar Orones
Radar drones <:culd be installed on city power
poles. These drones 'itfould transmit a radar
sIgnal which would in turn set off a d~iver'$
radar detector. onee a driver uai~ a radB~
det*Ctor thlnJta radar is belrl9 used in the
ar~# he/_he would presuma~ly slew down.
9. Poliee Motprqyc1es tot' TraffiC! Entorcemant
Motorcycles could be u~ed t~r working heavily
congested are~s such as downtown and
intersections along EI~ caaino Real ...
t.mbarcadiero and Alma. Kotor;cycles are smaller
and much quicker than full-size patrol ears,
and allow officers to quickly and safely enter
tr&ffic 3 catch up to, and stop violators. In
addition to beint; used in heavily congested
areas, sotorcycles are effective in less
co!>g'este;:S areas due to their slialler size-.
When .. patrol car is parked in a proble.z a.r.a,
9
_t 4rlVU8 ... e the vehicle and obey the
laws. liben drive-rl don' t lIee a patrol car,.
they may be le.o prone to follow the rule. of
the road.
10. Ilt§blilh Beall&\lcIBadar Enforceable Spaid
. Li.it.
In order for the police 4eparue...,t to u.e
radar tor _peed enforcement. the speed 11alt
...... ld be post ad In accordance vith an
.nqi".erlnq and tuttle .urv~y a. required by
the e&l1fornia Vehicle COcle. While postlnq
opeacS l1alta per survey requirements may
.result in b19ber posted _peed liaits, studies
indicat. that travellinq speeds do not
increase and it provides a Jlleana tor police to
enforce opeed H"Us in a coot etfident and
safer ma.nner.
11. Increasa !lumber of Officers Dedicated to
Enforcement
Increasinq the size of current Traffic Team is
anothe~ option. C\.1rrently one sergeant a.nd
five "9tficers York Jliondays throuqh Fridays,
6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p ••• , (times <Jf day arA-days
()f week adjusted trom till. toU.e]. 8y
increasing the size or the Team, there would
be. more officers to focus on enforcement of
all vehiela COde requlations. incre.ase the
cumber of commercial Vehicle inspections, and
dedicate t1-. to routine traffic complaints.
This would also allow tor the Team to expand
enforcement efforts to a night shift and
weekends »Ore frequently. While increasing
the .number of officers dedicated to traffic
enforc.ement would result in more citations
being issued and 8. ~orr~spor~inq dec~ease in
Ute number of a.ccidents. no guarantee exists
that the number of violators would decrease.
10
----
Il. ~, 9OL1IIII
ys>Llllgu -' n6 bu:al>er of cars travdl1t\9 on and throll9h city
.tr •• u.
~.. 'D'7"TQU:
!'be vol.,.. ot Y~lcl. traHic is too hl9h.
(Il,JIlI,83)
na yoluaa ot Yehicles i. Incre •• inq rapidly.
(81,83)
A .1gnlficant portion of traffic volume is duo
t~ non-palo ~lto reo14ants. (84)
'i'ha city ia not 401r<9 lIuch to control the
Increas. ~n traffic volume. [al~B2.Bl,B4J
1. In the past 25 years, traffic vo11!ltl8s on ~e
major roadways in Palo Alto bave been
increasing at an annual rate ranging from 0.5
percent to 3 percent. citywide traffic volume
flaw maps ror 1969 end lS93 are p~ssented in
Appendices A and 8.
2:. 'l'ypieal t.ra.ftic volume ra.nq8s for various
type. <'.f .treets are ... follOWs:
Freeny. ana
expressvays
Arterial streets 10 ... *0-45",O-CO
Collector streets 1~~O-lO.l'OOO
Local atreats 100-2.~~
vehicles/day
vehicles/day
ve.bicle.s}day
3. As part ot the foUowup to tbe Cit)"Wide Land
Osa and Transportation Study, trartic volumes
at. 11 lIIajo-r intersections in Palo Alt.o-are
.onltored on a one-to two-ye.u-cycle.. The
<lata collected in 1985, 1990, 1992 and 199)
Inc!icates the following:
a. 1992 p .•. peak hour traffic volumes l at
all but one intersections were less than
the previous recorded volumes (li90), and
b. 1993 p .... peak ~Jrs traffic volumes at
all 11 intersectiOlls are leas than or
equal to yal~es anticipated and approved
a spart of the Citywide study. •
11
4. C~n.u. data (1990~ provides SODe helpful
indicator. ~f travel ebara,teristics.
... The total lumber cf vehicle t:r-ips i.
about ~GO,OOO/day.
b. About 10 pG"cent of vehi~les are just
pauiD9 through the city.
e. The r ... lnd .... b ~l1t:
-" 45 perc~nt attributable to Palo
Alto/Stanford ~esidents and
45 percent attrlbUtabla to non-Polo
Alto/Stanford residents.
d. The U perC4"t palo Alto/st&nford
re:aldents portion is about:
25 percent within t.he Palo
Alto/Stentord area and
20 percent outside the Palo
AltojStar.ford area.
c. DIST'" SnMICUIjI,:
1. Land use Polletes 'bit Reduce Growth potential
In 198', the Citywide Land Use and
~ansportatlon Study resulted in actions by
the Ci"t:y of Palo Alto to address commu... .. J.ity
vide concerna about increasing traffic
coDgestlon resultinq froo continuing
colDerc::ial aI\CI industrIal development. At
that ti •• 6 development potentIal was reduced
from 25 BIllion square feet to 3 2illion
square feet. The 3 .11lion s~~are feet
represents an 88 percent reduction in
development potential and o.nly a 12 per-cent
increase over existing development in 1987.
2. Trip Reduction Ordinan;;;e
Palo Alto adopted a Citywide Transportation
Demand Manaqeaent (TOM) ordinance in 199~1 as
one of five. -Golden Trian'gl.e Task Force
cities in Santa Clara County. Recently, the
Bay Ar~a Air Quality Manaqement District
(SAAQMDJ adopte~ Regulation tJ, Rule 1, ,"Trip
Reduction Requirements for Larger Employers-)
which supersedes all local city and county TOM
ordinances. 'rhe rule applies to all public and
private employers with 'Work sites of 10.0 or
12
aora .employees.. The a':le.raqe: vehicle r1d .. :r--8hlp
(AVltj perfo"",,,,, .. objective. for the tone in
whieb. Palo Alto 1s located, 1ncre.a.es tro.
1.10 in 1~93 (110 employoes/IOO vehicles) to
1.35 In un (US ... plcyuo/l00 vehicles).
Tbi_ represent. a 23 percent reduction in tha
nu:aber ot private vehicles drIver.. to wQrk,
~e4 to 1993 condition ••
3. stanford po{yara""y Effort' tp RedUS' Single
2rCYRont YOb ie1e •
Stanforolo I1niveraity has, and continues, to
JI8lte notable effort,. toward red~lnq aingh
occupant .utomobile use thouqh a variety of
transportation-related prog-r... and service-.
(incentlves and disincentives) that influence
travel .. ode choices. As part of their 19U
Santa Cl.rB County General Use perait (C~~ty
lands), there 1a a requirement that new
development cannot contribute any new
autOlr.>bile trips beyond the number aHowK ,i"
In8. 1'1010 is monit<>red and repe>rted on by
Stanford on an annual Msis and, to date-" they
bave met that requlrement~
4. City support. tor Alternative TrAnsportation
!I2!l.!Ui
Pe.lo Alto ba. lonq-standinq policies and ..
notable. l;ecor4 or actiON; and achievements
that emphasize. encourage and facilitate the
us. of alte.rnative modelS to the automobile
(valkinq. blkinq. car/vanpools. transit).
Thea:e palla!... and actions" consistently
applied! over an extended period of time. have.
made a favorable difference in the utilization
.of several transport components and"
therefore. have resulted in lover volumes of
traffic.
D. l2J1lf'l1A!. OTIIR SD),.TIGllli;
Suppprt Regional Market Pricing
Karket-base~ pricing sechanisms that
accurately reflect the costs of ~ravel choices
could significantly change travel mode choices
and reduce the volume of automobiles d·uring
peak periods.. The same concept. is a lready an
Integral part of our 4aily lives as we 2ake
13
•
choice. &bout the \lSI!: of talepbonell..-Yater,
pow&r~ .1rline tr«vel, etc.
2. t>ay,'Qp 1.gs.1 Tronsit Marguerite-Typo Syst,cg
A lcx:a1 aro" I!ar'lURrit.o-type small bus syst ...
• ervill9 neigbborbood ar... and major
cSMtl""UOll pointa CO\lld reduce ""e nWll>er of
.ut~11. trip. i~ Palo Alto.
3. fJ.&UU' RxteMiOO pf Light; Ball TrAn.l1; (rp1I
Mountain vi.w toltbrOUSh pale Alto
All extension of Light Rail Transl t frOll
Hountaln vi.w through Palo Alto to Menlo Park
along 11 camino Real would serve a nuaber of
destinations arod related trips "".t would
otherwise be made by autcmobile. It would
also provide the possibility lor a strong
empha.is on transit-oriented davelopsent alpng
E1 Caalno Real in conjunction with ~~e ten or
so .stations that would be part of the "LR?
.yates..-thereby accommodating future
4.velopment without the same traffic-related
impacts associated with t.raditional non
transit devel~ent.
JQCtRJI7I. Motor ~ehlcl. versus motor vehicle, bike
ver.~. motor vehicle, pedestrian versus motor
veblcle.
I.. PPC'"XOI'!
Palo Alto .tr~et. are unsafe And are gettlDi
"or ••• (B1,B2}
AcCidents are nonoally caused by excessive
speed an<! a diareqard for traffic control
4ev1c ••• {BS}
A sericus accident has to cccur before the
city does oI"",othlnq to prevent accidents.
(IIl,B6,C2.C3)
Etfectlv. traffic enforcement reduce. the
buabar of accidents. (BS)
~
ne City can engineer &nd eont~ol safety
thr0U9b the use of signs and other physical
devIces. (Cl,C5)
City streets sbould be safe for children to
ploy in. {54j
An. inez-elise in t.he number of vahiclea
increases -the nUBber of accident., especially
more pe~estrian involved accidents. (B7)
1. Bet"'.n 1989 and 19n, th" bjwry accident
rate in Palo Alto-has. remained relatively
unchanqed (average of 5~7 accidents per year).
OUriDq the sUle period, the fatal accident
rata in Palo Alto has remained at three per
ye.ar ... ex:cept in 199() ... when there were six.
(See Appendicaa C and D)
2" The surveyed Bay Area cI ties show •
siqnlficantly lowu per capita "nd injury
accident. rete when compared: t.o the state
accident rate as a Wole. The. fatal ar..d
injury accident rates for the state have
decreased Qver the last five years. This can
be attrlbutecS in part to t.be lIand.atory seat
belt law" vehicle supplemental restraint
systems (air bags). ~andatory motorcycle
15
.' "'"-
."
bet..t law, bicycle belmat 1.w~ .rid .trieter
DOl enfo:cuent.
3. Listed h!low are the ... ven areas with the most
tr6ffic accident. In the la.t five year.:
100 bl~ 11 caBino Real (SS accIdent.);
29 OOCIirri"'1 at the stanford Sbopping
center entrance ..
lOO-~O1) ""iur.tty Av."". (36 accidents).
2600-3000 Middlofield (33
accI':ent.}.
400-600 MIddlefield Road (32 accIdents);
12 occurring at the In~ersection of
B&~ilton Av~nu.~
500-600 ERb3rcadero Road {32 accidents};
11 . occurr 1 nc; at the intersect ion o~
Middlefield ~oa~~ ~
&00-600 Alma Street (Uoccidents); 11
occ\:ZTln.g at the intersection of Hamilton
Avenue.
800-900 University (31 accIdents).
4. Street. are ~esigned tor vehicle tratfic~ not
for childre.., to play In.
$. F~ the past tvo years, the single higbest
cause of injury/fotal accidents is violation
of the biosic .peed 1a",. (Appendix E)
6. IIational Biqh,...y Traffic Safety Adsinistration
studies have shown that effective traffic
enforcement reduces ~~e number of accidents at
specific locotlons. It is to this end thot
the Police DepartJle.nt has cbanqed enforcement.
taotics and focuses Its etforts at
intersections or &reas with the bi9hest nurober
of accidents ..
7. There. is no current factual data to support. Qr
de.ny the. perception that an increase in t.he
nt.mber cf vehicle.s increase.s pedestrian
involved accident5~
16
•
i. Annull Higb Aocidant Lgeation Maly.l.
2.
Periodically, .taft porto"", a .yot_tIc
review of locations where the high •• t nuaber
of accloknt. occur. !'otal n_r of .cci~ants
ar._d.t.ra1n~, accident rates are calculated.
and the ten highest locations are .tudie~ in
detsl1. Suell .tudy includeo preparation of
collloion dl&gr..... illustrating the typo of
aocldent, direction .of travel, tim. of day.
etc. and field inveati'1atIon and evaluation of
each location to d .. teralne contributing
factor.. Specific action. are th~"l idenUfied
end iJopIemented and theae area. are InclU<1ed
in t.arqet..d en.torcem:ent loea'tions a
Tlxgat Are, Enforcement/High Accident
'«"i9;1'
The Traffic Tea. focuses Enforcement eftc=t5
On locations end inter •• ctlons with the
highest accident rates.. Tea. members give
warnitiq8 and citations in these tarqe~ areaSa
Patrol ot'ficers are alaOo directed to these
location ••
J:~ Aec;;ld.r,t InvtBtigat:ion and Analysis Progeduref
Police "ffLeers inv ... Uqete all reported
traffic accidents. TWo type. of report._~e
used. The 1:lOre involved report Is ti$ed vb,en
Cif1.e or .ore of the follOV'ing factors are
present::
injuries
more tban two vehieles involved
unlicensed/suspended drivers
pureults, reckless driving-or speed
contests
drunk drivers
hazardous material spills
baz.rdous mechanical violations
prosecution tor eve violations(s) is
sought
A briefer form of report is an -Exchant;a of
Into-raation Re.port. -It. summarizes 1:I.inor
property da.mage accidents ",hen the abcve
criteria are not lI.et~ Exchange of Information
Reports serve Insur~nce. purposes and are not
17
.-:..
.a~t to the .tat.vl~e reporting sy.tea.
Partie. receive a copy of this report at the
IQana ot the accident.,. a..n;S a copy 1 •
• a1ntalne:S by th .. PoliC<! Department.
~be 5pocl0110ed ~rattic Accl~.nt
Recoruotruct!OI1 hall respon4. to asdot with
tatal aM aajor injury accident.. 'rile teaa
collecte evidenc., pbotoqrapbs tIl.e ocene and
recon.tructc the accIdent. The t ...... eks
prohCUUOll throIlqh the District Attorney"
otfiee when appropriate.
Accident dota i. computerized and plotted 011
an accld:ent pin up accorcU!Ig to type an4
locatio!! •
.to. Ed1X:at,{on
'l'h .. n-aftic Te .. works in cooperation vitI> the
d~partment7. SChooljTraftic safety Comzittee,
t..lJe Fire D-epartment, School Resource Otf';'~er
and sChool principals to educate students on
bicycle on4 ped~strian safety. Early in the
school year, the Police Oeparb::lent provides
aiddle an4 elementary schools ~ith high
visibility traffic 4irecti~.
5. Phy,;lC'al ,I:Iproypents
In response to requests and complaints and as
~ result of other investigations and
.valna~lons. physical improvements are _ade at
various locations to address specific issues
at such locat.ions. These physical
lmprcvement. include: parking restrie~lons,
restrio::ted t.urns, increased slgbt distapce.,
stop siqns# traffic signals, ~tc.
D... PO'fQTilJ, onp IiDATlGiUI
1.. tntgn;.at1onai Leaflet.ing
Inforeational leafleting could occur near
intersections 'Where il greater num:t>er of
accldQnta occur. Handouts qiven at safety
cbeckpoints. 'WOQld info~ motorists of the
problem and would solicit ooope.raticn relating
t~ sata drivih9 techniquas. The checkpoints
would be advertised in the ~eekly ..
18
~. Ingre.s04 EnfoXS .. ,nt
Int.rl.et1on'
It; High "geld:Jnt.
Due to current W'orltload demand., Traffic Tea.
_. d."ote t.lae at five ar"'/ilItcr8~t10N1
vi th the vr •• t .. t number of aee iCl""ta in the
last .ix-lIODth period. Tht. n\.lJlber co"lcS "
lIOC!ifie4 to incl...s .. the top e1!Jbt or tM ... en
in .th. l •• t thre. aonths. Patrol offica ....
frOB dl thr.. shifts =,,14 be a ... iqned. to
aonltor the •• area. for a .et UlOUnt of t1ae
cSur inq eacb 5hitt encS ba v. their U.. logqecS
as .. call tor eervice.
;,-.-
I'he trovel to and from .choold by
students.
A. ZIBCIPJIOII'
It La unsafe for children to va llt and/or bike
to achool. (!l,B2)
There are an inadequate nUJlber of adult
crossing <;uarda. ·(83.B4)
There ia insufficient traffic ~forcement in
.~l Eone..s#· especially c1urlll9 school hours ..
(8S)
B. DS!'fU» RAD 'UlO)lQTxOI a
1 • Aec ldent. at pr Ilea r SChoo' $
Curing the last five yE\ars, there. have. bec....i a
total of 27 reported accidents (eiqht with
injuriea) involving students" bicyclists a.nd:
ve.hicles in school parking lots end/or
adjacent to schools on the roadway.. Twenty of
the 21 accidents ha~ ... e oeeu.rred in or around
-Gu'lL."l Hiqb-SChool (.l3.J! 5 with .injuries) and
Palo Alto High School (7, 2 with injuries,.
2. Accidents Involying School Children
Duril19 the last five years, there bave been a
totol of 320 injury accidents Involving
childr~n between the ages of five and 11:
a. UBi -65
b. 1990 -57
c. 1991 -57
d. 1992 -79
e. 1993 -62
Break60wn cf their involvement by age 9roup:
(See AppendIx F)
l. There are currently 11 adult cro551nq quards
working at 11 specific interse~tions [Appendix
C) d·urlng the :mornir.q and afternoon school
commute per iods.
c. There are ~I Children se.:-vinq as traffic
patrols at 13 specific intersection (Appendix
20
· C, dud.... the IIOminq and afternoon .ehoo1
co_uta per lod.. Tvo of the 1 n ter.ect! ons
also have adult guards.
c. IUS"" ''flUt%'GJU'
1. cltyJ$sbQQl naftic; Stfety Cogitte.
The C!tY/SCboo1 Trattic Satety Committee
•• rvel al • forua and focal point tor
Identify!nq. evaluati~ and •• ~Ln9
... COlIIIIendaUons to the Cl ty Ilanager and the
5<:1>001 District superintendent reqardi ....
• chool tr.fflc aafety 1.5u~s~ rhe .~ven member
Coaaittee 1. ccaprieed of representatives from
ths city (2). the School District i2) and the
PTA Traffic Safety &card (3).
2. Adult crossing Guards
!'he city of Palo Alto "upervise. and funds the
Adult. cross1.... Guard Program. Requests..re
oubloitted to the City/School '!'raUic safety
committee for review and recommendatIon.
Criter1a for .v.lu~tlng the need for an adult
crossInq vuo?d include consideratIon ot: the
hWllber of el ..... ntary "chool-alle ped.strians
par hour (20 minizUD), a~ropriatenes. of use
of • Junior Traffic patrol l arA intersection
control and vehicle volUlD:8 warrant5.
currently, there are adult crossing guards ~t
11 intersections durlnq the _rn1"9 and
"fternoon school COIIIlIIllte perLods. Tr .. ini ....
and (lald supervision are pro'lieed by the
Police Department" a.nd the adult crossIng
vaards v"lIes ($5, O<HI/year/person) are included
in the .1'011" .. OepartJoent's budget. At. the
present time" there are req~ests outstandinq
for adult crossill9 quarc!s iilt two additional
Intersecti~s ..
3.. JunIor trAffic satety Patrols
!'hI! Palo Alto Unified School DistrIct
acSministers the Junior Traffic safety Patrol
Proqru .. The purpose of the prograll is t.o use
traine" students (llenerally Sth llraders! to
aaslst pupils in safely crcs~inq streets near
the school. Currently. there are 28 cbildren
serving a5 patrol m~~rs at 13 Int~rsections
during the morning and afternoon school
COIUIIute periods ..
21
",',.-
.... School BiU Sat.ty Inst.ruCtion ProgrA.
'!'he school bike I5O.fety instructl"" proqram is
un4er the directIon of a Fira Department
captain. Each yen, he ccndvcts bicycle
satety classroom pre.entationa for all third
and fifth <p"aaen. He abo provides beth
_idale schools with a yearly alide and vid~
~ety presentation. Each tall the Fira
captd" coordinates a Bicycle Rodeo to promote
bicy"le safety and awareness for children.
'!'he Fire captain also ccndl>'=ts the j\lvenile
bicycle offender program~ Juveniles who
receive their firlt citation attend a bicycle
~&fety cla.. In lieu of having the violation
appear on thair r.cor4~
5~ Rg§pqnscl tp Site-Specific Issues and RQguest$
CIty It"ff routinely responds to requests frO!!
the Palo Alto Unified SChool Dis.tr~..:t:,
City/SChool Tr&ffic Safety Committee.
indIvidual scbools, and F'l'A groups throughout
the year on a variety of traffic safety
issues. Tbese fire c;enerally site-specific
issues relAted to traffic circulation and
parki~.. safety patrols, adult crossing
quards, traffiC controls, etc .. , in the.
vicinity of individual schools.
6~ SclJ991 c9l.JlUU C;OZ'ridor Studieslbctlogs
'!'he XeacScwJCbarluton SChool Corridor Safety
Study wa_ cOlIphted in early un. '!'he
purpese of the study was. C 1) to take a.
coaaprehensive look at traffic saf<ety issues
and concerns related to the safety of students
trsvelinq &1009 publIc streets bet1l.'een J .. L ..
Sta.nford Kiddle School and the B.srron :Park
Neighborhood and (2) to develop consensus and
support tor • proqraa of Ih<>rt-ter. and 10"'1-
terlll: re.commendatior.s. The study identified 26
individual actions vIth support for
implementation. Kany of these actions have
already been completed and most of the _others
are in process, either as current p~ojeets in
the City's Capital Improvement Program -or
throuqh aqreements with Cal trans for El Caai..10
Real.
At Cour~il's direction, staff has ~orked with
22
the awropdatc parties (City/SChool Traffic
Safety Comaittee, principal. and PTA
"presentative.) to Identity lesueo end
consider alternative l!'P<"oacbes tor pre><:eadinq
with additIonal scbool comaute safety otudi •••
rhe consen.al.l. of opinion is to rft""'...ollUllen4
proceadinq ,dth a tv" part area-wide atudy
proce •• rath.~ than a focused .i091e corridor
atudy. a1aUar to tho Kead""JCharleston Study
. (Appendix &).
7~ Enfqrc.ptnt
Entorceaant ~lorltle& ~r. generally direete4
thrOU<]bout the ..,boo1 year in consultation and
, disc:u .. i.,.,. bet" ... , the City/SChool Traffic
Sefoty COlIIlIIittee and the P"lice Depo.rtoIent.
Th. Pollee Department also responds to
requests froll Indiv.1d,ual sebocls on specific
traffic-safety concerna as well.
a.. InfoDlation '.stet, Proyided prior to Scln,Ql
Opening
Ev~ry August, the School Dist~ict .end.
parents a packet of materials ybich includes
in.toraatlM reqarding school commute safety
lssu.s. including bike route maps.
9. Annuol Maintenance
Each year, prior to school openinq, the City
repaints all sChool cross-walks and pavement
legends" a.s well as maintenance of school
related Signa on and along City streets.
o. tsn!:l7laL WID ItpTGIl'
1. Intersect!ons vbicb m~et the City Council
adopted ~ic!eli" .. s tor eml'loyinq .. ddiU~l
crossinq quar~s at intersectIons use~ by
elementary ~ge students ($l,~~O/YE~r per adult
~ardJ could be proactively surveyed.
2. Student sahty patrol prograJ!ls could be
expand:ed to include all 11 elementary schools.
3~ Education progra3s could be expanded tor
parents and students rsgarding traffic safety
i.sues specif1e to individual school site ••
•
.... meT • .!, ygIc:LU -!nK:ka and ot~ber lllrgil vehicles carrying
gooda and equ1p1Mnt and. aaltlng deli varies/pick-ups in tho
City.
&'1 rllClZUOlIlt
~.. nuabe.r of t.rue,lc route violators i.
increa.1ng. (89)
Tltere 18 insufficIent enforcelI)ent of trucll:
route violations. (81,82,8l)
I'bere 1. art increase 1ft the speed of
coaaerc1al vehLeles. (87)
When coczerclal vehl~les
accIdents, the seriousne$s
increases. (88)
B,re invc-lved in
of those. e:x-idents
Commercial enfo~cement t!el~ ac~ivities cr~4te
additional traffic hazards. (el)
rho allovable veight Ibit is too h1gh for
P.lo Al~o street$. (84,BS.B6}
Kenlo P&rk and Stanford commercial tr«ffic is
being diverted through Palo Alto due to
differences in the citie.s' ve19ht li.lts.
(BS, 88)
•• QC1plaL pAD! IJI7OM1'lIO)l~
1. The felice Depart*er.t has three CHP-certified
COII'ISercial Vehicle Inspectors. These officers
are assigned to the Traffic Team and are able
to. adju&t. their work hours t.o address any
problea. areas. On average. a. total of 60
hour. per week is devoted to commercial
enforcement.
2'.. While the Traffic Team officers concentrat.e on
co~ercial violations, all pattol officers are
trained in basic commercial enforcemen~.
Areas of enforcement include truck route
violations, aovi~ violations, mechanical
violations and driver safe~y violations, such
.s the numt-...er of hours a dr i ver works in a
qIven day. The pale Alto Police Department
works closely with the CHP and other ~y Area
law enforcement aqencies involved with
commercial vehIcle enforcement.
3. DuTi"'l' rie",,1 Year 1'93-94, the Traffic Tea.
I..,ued UI cItation. and dur1"'l' rie=l Year
1"2-'3, "2 citatIons tor co .. erelal
violaUons.
•• current r.gulation. r ... trlct trucks ot 1 t.ons
( ... ><1&_ groea -".J.qht) or .ore to use only
designated trudt rout ••• ~ka veiqhinq 1 ....
than 7 tONI are not. r .. trlcted. oeo1qnated
trv<:l< rout .. are Ulustrated I" Appendix Z.
5. oata fro. a .u...-vey of truclta on onlveraity
Aven~. j~.t saot of Hiddlofleld Road on
July 15, 1'93 1 •• a tollow:
'.
a. During-a U-bour survey period (5: 0-0 a ....
to-5:0G p •• ~J~ a total of 328 commercial
vehicles vera counted, 1" westbound and
152 eastb<>und.
b. Tbe volume of cOImIerclal va..'llcle. variec!
t:hroughout the 4~,'1~ a5 illustrated below,
vi t.h a low of 10 In the early morninq and
• hiqh of U in the late morning period.
Volume at Commercial Vehicles by Time of
I2U
5-6 II ••• 10 11-12-a.m. 3S
6-7 a .... 20 12 !>OOfI-l p .•. 37
7-8 a .•• 23 1-2 p ••• 3C1
8-9 a .... 35 2-3 p .... 25
9-10 a .... 34 3-4 p ••• 21
10-11 a .•. U 4-5 p ••• 13
e. The. police obtained unladen (no earqo)
weight in!oraation for 183 (56 perc~nt)
o~ the total number of 328 vehicles. The
re1Da.inder could not be successfully
.atche~ t~ OMY records due to incomplete
or incorrect reoorded ti~ld date. Since
th~ recox'ded 'Weiqhts a.re. unladen. weights,
tha c:ommerc.1al vehicle officers added
probable carqo Ye.iqhts to deteraine laden
(full cargo} veigbts for each vehicle.
These are summarized below:
C01~a~clIJ Yebicles by Laden Weight Ifull
25
e&rqgl
und .... 3 to.,.
Tr"", 3 to i tONI
OVer 7 tona
U vehicle ..
115 vehtel ....
., .vehlcl ..
It hi iaportant to point Ollt that tile
.. t>ov. data is baBed upon an ".5l,!JIption
that Ncb truck b fully loade4.
ReaUsticaUy, not all of the va.,,>!cl ..
noted aa being ".over 7 tons-ar. illegal •
• inca a aioabl. proportion could be
.... rrying onl}' a p&rU.o1 load at that
point I" their delivery sched"le.
d. During tho U-I>o<lr s=voy period. fo"r
westbound vehlel •• ware observ~ turning
right at Middlofleld Road and proceeding
nortb into Menlo Parlc. lihU .. there were
mo-re "il'estbouncS vc-hlc12a that aid turn
rlgbt on the Middlefield, they .I~o made
a l.ft turft tro~ Middletield onto Ly~~cn
and proceeded vestbound = LyttOll.
6. Information from othar CitIes
aa Mpunt;Iin Yi«y -The City of )fountain View
de~ine. a truck a. 3 tons or 3Ore; bas
desiqnated truck route. (unrestricted
weiqht) in the north-south direction
sl.llar to Palo Alto; 4r.d deslgr.ated
truck routes (cnrestricte~ v.lqht) in the
east-~e.t direction at both ends as well
as the middle of the City.
ba spnto Clara -Santa Clara has no weiqht
Ii_it exc~pt for li.ited segments of fiv~
existing street. whicb haYe a 3-ton
veiqht lbit.
c. SunnYVAle -The City of Sur.nyvale defines
a truck as 3 tons or .ore.; has a
substantial north-south and east-west
qrid ot designated unrestricted highways
and supplement .. l designate!i truck traffic
routes ..
d. Benlo Plrk -Menlo Park has 1) no weiqht
liait on several roads (Sand Hill Road,
AlpIne.. El camino Real.. and roadways
serving the industrial area east of
83yshore Freeway; 2) a 3-ton li.it for
26
trucks no-t serving Xenlo Park,
unrestricted we19ht liwlt it servinq
Ifenlo Park, on santa. cruz,. oak Creve.,
Unlver.ity, P~nlo Avanue, Ravenswood and
Kiddlefield; and 3) a 3-ton welqbt lLiit
Cor trucka sarvlnq X~~lo Park .nd total
prObibitlon of ~ aervinq Palo Alt~
on Willow Road betw."" 1I1ddletiald and
R""te 101.
Xounta1.. Vi .. " and Sunnyvale define a
truck as 3 ton. ~ have a rea.onable
grid of ,designated routes Cor trucks to
use. -
By comparison,'Palo Alto defines a truck
I.. , tons AlIX> ha,s a reasonable I1U!Dber of
desl9llAted routes in the north-south
~irect.lon:, but not in. the east-west
direction.
'J. There Is no cu-rrent factual data. to suppor~-or
deny tl1e peJ'ceptlon that ther-e is an increase
in the speed of commerical vehicles.
8. There is data to support the perceptIon that;
accidents involvinq commercial vehicles are
usua lly serious. 'l'his is in luge part due to
th. difference in 810e and wei9ht bet" ... "
trucks/tractor. and passenger vehicles.
Though there is tactual data from the .. t.atE to
.~pport that truck accidents make 'up 11
percent of total s~ate aoc.ldent fat.alities and
four percent cf total state .!occident injuries,
we do not have accident d4ta for the city or
county to ~re with the state information.
9. Citatl~~. for truck route violations for the
last two fiscal years ba~e totalled 193, and
199 respectively.
C.. PleTxla 'TBATUIIB J
1. CopmercI,l Enforgem@nt
comaereial vehicle. enforcement ranges. from
officers finding violations during regular
patrol, to tb~ use of CKP-assisted commercial
cbeck~int&. These checkpoints often involve
up to .even other agencies, includinq the
Public utilities commission.
27
DuriDq a co .. ercial vehicle enrorceaent atop,
a coaplete nfety inspecti<>n ie conducted 0"
the vehlele. the driver'. licensing, medicsl
.,.,rtUiC"tiOD and tiooe on the roa<S are all
1Dveatl'iated. OUe to the fact that co .... ercial
trucka are very la.rgo_ vehlel e.., otten on road.
not deaigned for such "i.ad vehicles, traffic
COft9"stiOl! can occur at the d te of •
COlIIlercial inspection. The proper use of
cone. and signs ensures a sat~ IMe tor the
off leers to work. and shows a larqe pc 1 ice.
pruence t.o not o..,ly the general public, but
to the commercial drIvers as well.
The Police Depertaant re.pond_ to coaplainta
frca citizen. on trvck route violations,
oomaercial vehicle »eving vlo13tions and
reported unnte loa". lleabeu of t.he 'l'r~ftic
Te .. have &lao worked with citIzen groups t~
better educate them in regard. to weight and
size llloits.
2". rremgercill Ed1l<FltioD
In an attempt to liain compliance from the
truckinq industry~ the Police Department
provides ... truck route Ilap to drivers and.
trucking c .... ~niea explaining how they co."
l .... lly operate wlthi" the city. Safety taU.
and vehicle inspectiona for compani ... vi.hing
to be in complIance are also provided.
Tbe Police -OepartBent lias instrumental in
developin,. the SOUth Say commercial Officers'
Group. "!'hi. 9rouP of COJII:!!I;ercial officers ..
frOll. sever.. South Bay aqencle-s# works together
to enforce commercial violations throughout
the qreater Sou.th Bay ~ith a regional
approach ..
The. Police Oeparblent is in the process ef
purchasir.q portable scales to bett.er work
weight violations.. With the.se scale&:" not
just total vehicle weight may be determined,
but individual axle weight as 'Well.. Many
safety violations regarding welqht do not
involve t.otal weight, :tnJt rather imp["~rly
positioned loads~ These portable scales
enable a better determination of such
violat.ions.
D. POTU'll» OTJIP STRATEGIES =-
28
A r<t4uction in th. \/eight 1 bit deflni tion tor
~. VId/oo: chanqe in deciqnated tl"\1Ck
r""t .. could be_de. If the \/ei<;ht It.it in
Po 10 Alto ..... to be re4uced trOll 1 to 3 tono,
thereby atf.ctL~ aany laOr. ~., urlous
conaidaration abould be .. lvL~ to deslgnatinq
addltlond ... t-v .. t route (o) .. truck rout ..
( ..... , ore<JOl' "",,1d be one ouch possibility;
Zllbareac!.ro Dr I1nlverdty would be another) •
. 2.. l,t. it; pown3j.ovni Tiue1c: De) [veric,
Truck deliver i •• could be limited in the core
ol the downtown area to certain hours of the
day, (e .... , 11,00 p ••• to 11:00 a .•• J in order
to red...,. the e{teet .. of truck travel, parltinq
aDd loadinq/unloadir~ on pedestrian environ
.e...~t# traffic flow, parking, and safety during
the .ore intense and i~rtant periods ~f the
comaerclal/r*tail buo!n ••• day.
29
nrmp C!loalI,,'IJlGU or DJI -Location. libere CalTrain
railroad tracks ~ ro&4vay. eros ••
A.. rO£R7!IOD'
'l'h. eroaB1l1g's of cal Train .. iqllt of "'''1'0 sra.
unsat. Cor pe4astrians and ~lcycli.ts. (82)
lIeasur.. .:an provide tall.ate solutloris to
prtvent &oei4onts at these locations. (St,B2)
It is \:l\a.t. for students
arterl_l. and rail crossings.
... I&CTPAL paUIIVlo .. .'0.,.I9I'
to cross
(B2)
.. ajor
1. calTrain servico presently is comprised of 60
train trips per day. CUrrent proposed plans
eall for electrification elf the system and
service increases up-to 120 traIn trIps per
day. Longer rang. IOU<>rtS to replicate a i!!ART
type service would result in 16G or more train
trips per day.
2. There have ];;een tour train accIdents (I·urinq
the last five years. one fatal accident
inv~lvlnq a j~venil. ~icyclist (11/6}91) and
three train/auto accide.nts with no injuries.
Information confirmed between Palo Alto Police
Departllent Amtrak records.
3. Vehicle, and pedestrian[bik. data:
Daily
Traffic Volume.s
CharI e &to-n
Headow
ChurchIll
AlIIa
COl 'Ul71119 'nAtUIES;
16.000-
9,0%
11,000
30 ... 000
1. operation Lifesaygr
Pea.k Hoer
PedjBike Volumes
All .Ell
7C) 40
l!;O 130
california OPERATION LIFESAVER is a nationwide
proqra.m directed at. the prevent.ion of d.ea th
JO
and injury at nUr",," grade crossing ..
thrOUShout tile country. rl:ie prcgraa 10
admfnister6d by the california Office of
Traffic Safety in conjuncUonvitll e broad
.pectrga of representation fro.
tzan.portatlon, lav .nf"orcem ... ·l.t.. and parent
teacher Ori&n11&tlon.~ Annually,
np" •• entatlvea frOli Operation Lifu<lver visit
local school. to provide training ancS
education to .tudenb on t.he dangers and sate
practice. ~ot train track cro8ajDi aaiety.
Pedestrian crossing 91tes have been in U5e at
tile Churchill at-grade crOSSing tor .any
years. Kore recently, pedestrian crossing
gatea were a6ded at the Headov and Charleston
at-grade croasinqa. Il'1-conjunct.ion with the
peda.trian crossing qate .. , ~h .. ln link ter..-clng
has been used to. cbannel pedestr lans to the
safe crossing point and away froa unprote~ced
areas at the _tree't croa.al.nqs.
3~ Pedestrian/Bike Grade SeparAtion feasibility
~
As part of the In4-9~ Capital tmprc>v ... ""t
Proqram. 'the council approved a project
C19SQl) for a feasibility .tudy to asse •• the
various options tor provldinq pedestrian/bike
grade ... eparations at the Joint Powers
Board/CalTrain railroad traclts and AllIIa Street
at four ditter~t crosa-street l0C4tlons~
Charleston Roa~, Meadow orive# Churchill
AV9DUe """ Palo Alto Avenue. The study vill
identify and develop information iJ>Cluding
functional designs, costs, riqht-ot'-way,
utl1ization 6 environmental issues, traffic
impacts, eoonollic illpacts and elllerge~y
response impacts for various optIons.. SUbject
to the tincSings of the study and subsequent
Council direction, desIgn aDd constructIon of
.. p~oject: at one or mora locations Ilay follow.
Work on the feasibility study .,ill commence in
October with th .. fonoation of a study advisory
colIJI.ittee, toll owed by selectIon and retention
of a consultant tea. .
.(.. Crp§liins Guards
An adult crossing 9Uard monitors t.he
KIIsdow / AI,,,.
crossing.
intersection and r.ailroad
1.. tjnd,rgrqund c.1Traln
One dtainat1ve that b otten .... ntlOlleCi for
peraanently rssolving Calrrain •• fety iS5U"
would be to Wlderg-round the ayet... i'bia
woul4 bave the added advantag'e. of 501vlng
noiae-related concern. •• yell a. traftic
ddays incurred vhHe crossing 9atao are down.
It would a180 provide 5 vonderfgl opportunity
to-r creative. reu.se of the surfAce for any
number of possible ~ortbwhl1e use.. The cost
of such an alternative is very big!> ($750
.illion lor 4.5 .Ues and 2 stations), and
would not be a re.listic possil>iHty uotil
oUch t:be that it was part of some broadly
. basild reqiooal transit fu.ndinq p-rogra.a ..
~.. lull Vehicle GrAde Separ,tfonCsl
Another alternative t.hat is often. .. ention~d
.for addressing the Cal TraIn safety issues
would 1>4 to construct tl.Zll vehic:ular ijrad.e
separations at one 01" more of the exlstinq
four cross-street locations. This could be
dome as a fully depressed road~ay under
crossing, or one Where calTr&in ia partially
elevated 1!Il'16 ·the. roat!vay Is only partially
. aepressed. Given the prolel.! ty of Alaa and
the consequent need to inc lade qrade
se.paration tor Alma, as yell as the visual
blight of -. partially elevated Calrra!n on a
raised embankment. the tully depressed cross
st.reet option is less probleaatlc than the
partial ur/down oytion. The costs of such an
alternative are sgbstantlal ($10 to $20
aillion per cross-strut. plus rlght-of-".,.y)
and the impacts, in t:e.n1$ of resldenti!ll
property aoquisitlon. altered and restricted
aocess to some residences, visual appearance,
traffic diversIon, etc. are very siqnificant
and render such 6n alterhatlve impractical.
3. Crp§Bing GuArds
Another opt.ion.
volunteer parent
assist at the
J2
would be to initiate a
crossinq quard program. to
Charleston/AIm. railroad
cro ... inq. 0... to the .Hsproportic",.tely ..... 11
number of students tbat u._e thl. cro •• ing,
avallabl. r~.ource. are currently 4evoted to
other location. Wbe:r'e the combination of II.
liuch lar<j'u i>umber of student. and ..
oignificant danqer axiots.
U .... of croninq c;uardll dur Inq the BOrninq and
aftern<>on .c:hool commute pe:<"ic4a, at a cost of
$5, OllO per year per In41vlduo.l, is another
altarnative. Eacb cro •• -.tr •• t would reqalre
tvo cro •• ing ~cSa at tbe train. tracks, at •
co.t of $10 .. 000 pt:r year per cross-atr •• :t.
Expand!nq thi 0 concept to include two
.. Mitional cro.sing 9Uards at Alaa .s veIl,
the total cost per cross-street. locstion VQUld
be $20,000 per year. Capitalized at 5
percent, $.20,000 per ye.er requires a one-time
investment of $400~OOO per cross street.
])
CJT l'
* ~ YOI..UlrIIE ~ DCliS "-O'T iJI£I"LECT ~
C""'OU
.... w..'T'EJI: 'IIOWft,j[ • 0(lt.S IrCi IIII~ECT 'StAS01IriII.I.
C>WoG<&
.rA
1969-MAJOR TRAFFIC flOW ,e I".oua C.OUMIS
..
-1Io'YoP ..o..~..s ~f.:! -:!It>$Ott.ta..
_ ...... hQ.(5. ,ue: 0It't 1I[F1.f:T(O
~"""lO'JoU4·~'Q.s.:::Al.!
C 11:" -0 J 'Pal.O Al10. C,t,1.UOIlIljT&
1993 -MAJOR STREET TRAFFIC FLOW
;<~----
Por.ona xnjuro4 in Trotfi. A~ldant. by City ~ state
(Per 10,000 capita)
Ciliy/popul.atioo' UU lUG un un
Pal~ Alto/S7.32' 553 SU 540 511
U7.0} (U.S) (94.7) nOlo 9J
Menlo Park/2',401 228 30; 341 392
(78.6) a06.E} i117.6) InS.2}
Mt. Vie .. /70.0n 767 7a4 728 737
(109.E) f112.0) (104.0} (lOS.3)
LOs Al tos/n. 040 lEi] 167 171 159
(60.4l (H.'] {53.3) (58.5)
Redwood CitY/",91? 709 731 148 668
1101.3) 1113.0) tlOG.S} {95.4)
San Mateo/n, 355 SH 976 S62 e95
(100.41 1109.71 /96.9) \100.6)
Santa Clara/S6~J61 1035 10S9 SlB 770
(107.S) [110.3) (85.2) {SO.2)
Sunnyvale/122,149 . 1088 lCS4 1003 100S
. (89.2) (86.4) (82.2) (82.6}
State of ~alifornia 353,"',5
1989/28,670,502' (126.U
State-of California 365,758
lSlSl~/29,'B-'.l2,?2_2 !l24.0J
State of California 350 • .068
19.511/30 .. 3-S~", 0291. .us.:;)
State Qf California 336,154
1992/30.990.8U' [109.1)
State of California
19~3/31.C36,259'
~State Controller·s Office
un
Sf)
195.3)
3U
(~20.3}
7(9
(107.0)
.01
04 .• )
674
(S6.)'
721
~Sl. 7}
81S
(84. S)
824
167.S)
'!
315,154
{lOO.2J
AFPDiIlIl! D
Per.~. 111104 in Traffic Accident. by City ~ State
IPer 10,000 capita)
City/popu.latl.oa.' un U9~ UJl. 1992
Palo Alto/57,JU 3 (O.5) 6" (1.1) 3 (0.5) 3 (0.5)
Menlo Park/29,401 5 11.7) 2 (0.1) 1 (0.3) 2 [0.7j
Itt. Vie.,J7o, on 4 10.6) 1 11. 0) 5 (0.11 5 {0.71
~ Altosj21.040 1 (0.4 ) C 0 1 (0.4)
ledwood Cityf6,,~11 2 10.3) 1 .10.1) 0 5 {o.n
San Mateo/n.3SS 8 (0.9) 1 (0.1) 3 (O.3) 5 (0.6)
Santa Clara/",3'l 12 (I. 3) , (0. 'l , (0.6) 4 {O •• )
Scnnyvale/122,l49 4 (0.3) 3 (0.2) 4 (0.3) 6" (0.5)
State of California 5,381
UU/2S."o,soa' (1. 3)
State of California 5,173
1990/29,4e9.272' (1.8 I
State of California 4,649
1'91/3Q-,3~1 ... 0291. 11.5)
State of California ',185
l'92/3~.990.B24' n.4l
State of California
1-993/31.,.436, :25S.""
l.St:ate Controller· s Office
'.,..
un
3 (0.5)
2 (0.1)
1 (1. 0)
2 (0.4)
3 {O.t)
4 (0.4)
S 10.5)
6" (0.51
-
4,163
11.l)
,".
"
Al»PI,tND~X E
Cause of Injury/Fatal Accidents
July 1989 tQJune 1994
• ~O.'lolpl,l.LI l'?'
~~;~>t."@7\~:!';"e~II~IFu" .. r'I.'" .h.ngo ,% ~Y_ .... ".,;<" /~~,." ,~,",' _ ,". -~ ~-.,,:. 0pl1n vohdlJoraulIlI.Ilrll!l 2~
• MillU oltwr 10..,
1'1111 on ritM •• Col), )i.e,
®
• MlaaaUt"(loul
lIito flIquil'uLl IU rKia 00 'aYlO lido
Drib, aul ot .. dJ .... 81.ftl
Vllllwtul ridiDI
Jlywa'l,ipt
'Jlh" ftI'Iuit.d
0 ... waY,lille.
:;I'",,'..a I~ .. aha. (II;tw oC ".ma,atl,)
Unaal. lurn 9~
1'.iI Iu 111°1' II ligltl '1~,
Un .. t. IIllllrt uC 'Yoll ~%
1'.1I lu yioILl/hlta,IO' 7%
4 ...
4')1
• •
Drl"fV' IJ'9T;11 (or lage Groupfprl.arv C911S.icn ,oetor
l\9" Drh.r rotal BicycUst 1P84 .. triaa P ..... .c.q"
101' ~otal/"l' fotal/Pl' ~ot.12
II 7.,46 . '/5 4/1 • -
17 SJjH ./2 2/1 ,
16 44J32 lO/S 1/1 12
1!i '}2 7/6 1/1 ,
14-1(1 -0-57/31 1/5 15
9-5 -0-1011~ 'IS 27 >
Total 171IU. "/65 U/H 11
tAt fault ~or the aocide~t
2passenqer in vehlcle/bicycle involved in accident
TRUFlC J'ATIlOL
@Al'PENDU G
Addi • .", Adeli.on/Middlefield 2
ariOMI Arastraderofcaloumbe 0 1 1 -El CMIlne/Los Robles 0 1 1
I'Nveneck Ale.ter/B~lton 2 l) 2
Al •• ter/oana 2 C 2
Ale.ter/Channing I) 1 1
-NeweU/pan .. 0 1 1
E1 cannelo Lema Verde/Bryant 3 0 J
E1 Carmelo/Bryant -3 0 3
Escondido Escondido/Hidblock 1 0 1
Escoodido/Stanford 2 0 2
Stanford/B~~ver 1 0 1
StanfordlBoYdoin 2 0 2
F aiJ:me.doIo.> H .. dow/C~r 2 0 2
BAYS ltiddle!ield/Embarcadero ( 1 S
£mb~rcaecrolNewell 0 1 1
Boover El Centro/Barroa. 0 1 1
-
JI,S Kea.dow /Allna ~ 1 1
Nixon 0 0 0
Ohlone AmUillc/Louis 0 1 1
JIm .. i110 lScl'>ool 2 0 2
crosswalk
Palo Verde Loci!llXidblock 2 0 2 ! Loui s/'Lo;na Verde 0 i 1
:;~tt~~·i~:'~;(·? TOl'AL -. ~:lB:':; 28 1L :{:'--39. e ..---
5 e.AI tf AQMtN OOQE ABIIQ E 572:
"'SchoaI Safety Pa%rOfs may be used" en!)' at 9lO5e 1oca50ns Where the nature of traffic will permit
safe operafian. The 1ceztions where sc.'1ocl sofety p6t'Ol's ,are used' should be aetermfned by
]o'int agreement between the $C"hool distrld anci the k."'CaT porlee agency.-
8/11194
•
APPENDIX II
T"llRTHEB SCHOOL ·coB.RlOOR SAFETY STU~ rES
In Karch 1"3, CO'.Jncll CQr:zally reViEYed. the Meadoloi,Charleston
School Corrld~r Safety Study Recommendations and airected statf to
(a) proce.ed with the implementation of several.recommended actic:r.s
and (0) to work vith ~ppropri.te partIes to identify ar~ prioritlze
other potential study corridors. In Nove~ber 1993, staff sent an
1nfc:rmaticnal status report (CKR: 599 :93) to the coun.:il reporting
on t.he sixth "J:;Onth st.atus of the implement.ati.on ot recommended
actions, as well ~s the progress being mad~ toward recommendations
on the further st.udy·of school comr~te corrIdors.
Staff has s~nt a letter to the pr inc: ipa 1 ~nd PTA president of each
ot-the 15 fAUS-p schools, requesting their formal input on ~heir
se~l community's concerns about traffic sataty issues 2nd
potential school co·rric!<>·r study issues~ The. ~road rafl9E .of isslJes
the schools haVE id.£ntified inclode siqninq, stripinq, 5t~ lI:!et
maintenance needs, en-site. tr~ff!e circulation problems., lI'i!.jor
street corridor safety concerns., motorist cehavior proble~s~ £nd
requests tor safets petrel .fond a~·ult crossi.ngs guards~
Staff h.as wo-rxed 'With th~ -city/School Traffic Safety cOIl',m.ittE:e to
review thE lIst of issues identifled by tbe scbools and consider
alterna.tive approaches for proceeding vith further study.. This
process bas involved several da)"time meetings <,vet: a four-rr.onth
peri~ as ~ell as onE nignt meeting. to encourage more partici
pation by school ~riQ FTA representatives.
The .alte.rn.etive study .epproach possibilities incluce: {~} a fOC~5SQ
sinqle corridor study, similar to the MEado*/Charl~ston Study, (bj
an area-vide cor-ridor study., and ee) a comprenensive city..'iee
's~Ild:f.. 'The: consensus of opinion at this til'.e is t.o recororne:;d
proc~edin9 with a t~o p~rt area-_ide 5t~y process. P~rt A would
address the needs of schools located in the area north of Oreoo~
_and Part a Would ad~ress the needs of schools located in the ~rea
south of Oreqon. A.~onsultant vould be hired to do only Part A
with the provision that if t.he City decided to proceed with Part a.l
SUbject to the satisfactory work of the consultant on Part ~ th;
City could choose t.o neg<ltiate a contract for Part B., ... ifhQi.l.t
havil'l9 to repeat the conSUltant selection procedur-es.
'l'lle scope and conduct or the study 'WO'.J.ld be similar for each part,.
and would include the following elements:
• Issue Identification/Verification
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Evalua~ion of Alternatives
• Con:clusions and Recommendations
• Actic."l Plan.
,
ClIP OF PALO ALTO, CAll5WRNIA
TRUCK ROUTE MAP
CosQter 10.48 P.A,M,C.
~ ..
~~
l£'£~~
---~-PALO ALTO CIJ'( \'N.!t$
THROUGH TRl./'CK ~iE
lIPP=lX I
----'tDCAt.. TRlJCK 1.0l)Tl' ('?A..lt.f, ''',¥.OnI11
................ srfCIlIiI. 'TRIJ(:It 1;0\"."1'"[ {2.4 Ht-t.,.~J1
ffZ::~.~.:..,<~l MUl..TLPLE DEUVffilY 20NE Pa1. Altc Police Dep.rtmeot
lr.ffic CiYision: {4151 329-2587 o EN1R't-[lHl .PQlN'T
•