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Home My WebLink About1986-06-03; City Council; 8498-1; Alga Road Speed Zone Review Enforcement Efforts Traffic Study. '° U'I r-i ct') . 0 z Cl.I (J i:: 111 i:: -rl '"Cl 1-1 0 '"Cl Cl.I (J ::, '"Cl 0 1-1 ~ i:: •r-l r-1 •,-! (J i:: ::, 0 c:.> '° 00 I M I '° ~ ~ ~ C 1JJ > 0 0::: a... a.. ~ z 0 ;:: 0 ~ ..J 0 z ::, 0 0 Cl]-~OF CARLSBAD -AGEND1c--,~BILL AB# 3~ o/ K-•I#'/ TITLE: MTG.M/0.-3/-8.6_ DEPT,-E-NG~-- ALGA ROAD SPEED ZONE -REVIEW OF ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS AND TRAFFIC SURVEY RECOMMENDED ACTION: DEPT. Ho.£h1J- CITY ATTY V ft3 CITYMGR.~ By motion, introduce Ordinance No. 3/9 6 to revise the speed limit on Alga Road, from El Camino Real to El Fuerte Street, to 45 mph. ITEM EXPLANATION On January 28, 1986, staff presented a recommendation to the City Council to establish a speed limit on Alga Road from El Camino Real to El Fuerte Street, Based on the traffic engineering survey, as required by the California Vehicle Code, a speed limit of 45 mph was recommended, To be able to legally enforce the speed limit with radar, the roadway must be posted in accordance with the survey. Any other speed limit must be enforced by pacing (following at the sa~e speed) to determine the speed. Council voted unanimously to have the Police Department enforce the current speeds by pacing for a period of ninety (90) days and to report back to Council on the effect of this extra enforcement. During the period from February 15, 1986 to April 4, 1986, the Traffic Division of the Police Department provided extra enforcement for Alga Road (see memorandum from the Police Department, Exhibit 2). The Traffic Engineering Division conducted radar surveys before, during and after this enforcement period (see Exhibit 3). The results of these surveys indicate a slight reduction in speed of from two to four miles per hour during the enforcement period. Immediately after, speeds resumed former levels. The ninety day enforcement and review period substantiated common traffic engineering principles. The principles are (1) that speed limit signs do not significantly affect driver behavior, (2) that most drivers will travel at a speed determined by their perception of roadway conditions and their own abilities and (3) police enforcement is the only means to reduce speeds and has only a temporary influence. Test cases have shown that when roadways are posted at a speed be,low the 8 5th percentile the frequency of accidents can increase. This is because there tends to be a wider dispersion of speeds which creates more conflicts thus rrore potential for accidents. In conclusion, forty-five miles per hour is a safe, reasonable soeed for Alga Road and it will enable the police to provide enforcement for the area in an efficient manner. FISCAL IMPACT None. ,. ., Page 2 of Agenaa Bill No. fL/9f-rl/ EXHIBITS 1. Location Map. 2. Memo from Carlsbad Police Department 3. Speed Survey Results. 4. Letter from Alan Spousta. 5. Ordinance No. 3 I 91.D to revise the speed limit on Alga Road, from El Camino Real to El Fuerte Street, to 45 mph. .... l.OCATION MAP - ~K16~~ 0f~ \...i,-ni~ -ex~) PROJICT NAIii 5PEEO LIMlT ON ALGA ROAD FROM EL CAMINO REAL; TO E.1.. FU!RTE. 7 7 ' I N,r.,S. L .. PROJ. IXHIIIT NO. i ...3 --- MEMORANDUrJI TO: Chief Jimno DATE: April 14, 1986 FROM: Lieutenant Shipley SUBJECT: Alga Road Special Enforcement Detail BACK GROUND In January the City Council directed the Police Depart- ment to establish a special enforcement detail on Alga Road. The in- tent of this detail was to attempt to reduce the critical speed on Alga Road. The Traffic Division and the Traffic Engineer established an enforcement and survey schedule to permit the completion of the de- tail and preparation of a report for the City Council within ninety days. This portion of the report deals with the actions taken by the Traffic Division and other observations related to the detail. ENFORCEMENT TECHIHQUE The Traffic Division worked Alga Road as a pri- mary enforcement area for 47 days. During that time the Division is- sued 278 traffic citations on Alga Road. Over one-half of the hazard- ous citations issued by the Traffic Division during the 1i1onth of March were written on Alga Road. Officers used vehicle pace and radar to determine the speed 'of violators. All of the speed citations were written for speeds in excess of the current critical speeds with a majority of the violations for spe- eds in excess of 55 M.P.H. The officer's daily reports indicate that radar was used as the primary evidence in approximately 97% of the speed- ing citations (only 7 speeding citations were issued based on a vehicle r,ace}. OBSERVATION The Traffic Division generally attempts to work enforcement in an areas which are have the most severe accident problems. This pro- cess is refered to as selective enforcement. It is a principle of traf- fic management that enforcement in an area will have a positive effect on the accident rate. The accident rate for Alga Road dropped from lac- cident per month in the last-half of 1985 to .33 for the first-quarter of 1985. Unfortunately, the time used on Alga Road had to be taken from other primary enforcement areas. One of those areas was Rancho Santa Fe Road. The rate for the last-half of 1985 on Rancho Santa Fe Road was 1.8 accidents per month. The first-quarter of 1986 saw that rate rise to 5 accidents per month (8 accidents were recorded in March}. CONCLUSION The Alga Road Special Enforcement Detail saw substantially more resources invested than anyother.similar detail since the formation of the Traffic Division. One positive result was the apparent reduction of the accident rate on Alga Road. As for the objective of the detail, the Traffic Engineer will soon be completing the speed surveys and making his report as to the changes in the critical speeds. 7n.zs4~ M. J. Shipley, Lieutenant TRAFFIC DIVISIO~ EXHIBIT 2 i DATE 09/17/85 09/17/85 DATE 03/07/86 03/07/86 03/07/86 DATE - 04/29/86 04/29/86 04/29/86 LOCATION E/Cazadero W/Alicante LOCATION W/Cazadero W/Corintia W/Alicante LOCATION W/Cazadero W/Corintia W/Alicante ALGA ROAD SPEED SURVEY RESULTS BEFORE ENFORCEMENT 85TH PERCENTILE 50 mph 52 mph DURING ENFORCEMENT 85TH PERCENTILE 46 mph 54 mph 50 mph AFTER ENFORCEMENT 85TH PERCENTILE 48 mph 47 mph 52 mph 10 MPH PACE % IN PACE 42-52 mph 62 44-54 mph 61 10 HPH PACE % IN PACE 34-44 mph 53 42-52 mph 59 42-52 mph 65 10 MPH PACE % IN PACE 40-50 mph 72 38-48 mph 65 40-50 mph 55 EXHIBIT 3 ,,___ Mayor Mary Casler City of Carlsbad 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, CA. 92008 Dear Mayor Casler, i--~ £sturion Court Rancho La Costa, CA. 92008. 14 February 1986 I have followed with great interest the events surrounding Alga Road from El Camino Real to Alicante. When the recently completed widening of this portion was being undertaken, the 15 or so residents whose property fronted Alga complained bitterly that the street should be wide enough to accommodate bikers as well as provide visiting automobile parking heading east on the street etc. etc. etc! These requests were accommodated and after the street was officially re-opened I'm sure all of the La Costans using Alga were wondering when the speed limit would again return to the 45 mph speed limit. We certainly got our answer in the recent article appearing in the La Costan 30 January 1986 (enclosed). I'm certain the 15 phone calls came from the same residents whose homes lie between El Camino Real and Alicante and isn't it coincidental that the four letters received as mentioned in the article is EXACTLY the number of residents whose perscnal driveways are designed so that they must BACK out onto the street. All other driveways in this area are designed as semi-circular in shape (drive in one end and drive out the other).It is virtually impossible to maintain 35 mph going down hill unless you use a lower gear or constant braking. I feel its a much more dangerous situation than return- ing to a 45 mph speed. I am not an engineer but I personally feel that Alga Rd. and its boulevarded design now is even safer than La Costa Ave and it is currently 45 mph and certainly has more residents along that street who must BACK into the street to exit the:i:t: driveways. I strongly concur with the statements relayed by Kent Sears and Police Chief Jimno in the article. The necessary and fact proving surveys and tests have been completed and I feel the speed limit should be raised to 45 mph as soon as possible and not wait for the expiration of the 90 days to 11 try and enforce the current limit". It is not efficient patrol duties for an already over- burdened poli~e department; the street is safer now since its widenjng than ever in the past; and why penalize the majority becausa FOUR residents must BACK out of their driveways? Thank 1ou for your attention in this matter. ~/4Y submitted, Allen F. S s a Copy: Mr Kent Sears, City Tr Police Chief Vince Jimno Encls RECEIVED FEBlB i986 CITY OF CARLSBAD ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT EXHIBIT 4 / J. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ,,.,,,.....\ GRDINANCE NO. 3196 ----- AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, A~ENDING TITLE 10, CHAPTER 10.44 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE BY AMENDING SECTION 10.44.090 TO REVISE THE SPEED LltHT ON ALGA ROAD. The City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, hereby ordains as follows: SECTION 1: That Title 10, Chapter 10.44 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended by the amendment of Saction 10.44.090 to read as follows: "10.44.090 Alga Road. Upon Alga Road from El Camino Real to its intersection with El Fuerte Street the prime facie speed limit shall be forty-five miles per hour .11 EFFECTIVE DATE: This ordi~ance shall be effective thirty (30) days after its adoption and the City Clerk of the City of Carlsbad shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance and cause it to be published at least once in the Carlsbad Journal within fifteen days after its adoption. INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a regular neeting of said City Council held on the 2!!_ day of _J_u_n_e ____ , 1985, and thereafter PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Carlsbad City Council held on the 10th day of _J_u_n_e ___ , 1985 by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Members Casler, Lewis, Kulchin, Chick and Pettine NOES: None ABSENT: None ATTEST: ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ, City Clerk (SEAL) Mayor 7