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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-12-02; Traffic and Mobility Commission; ; REGIONAL TRAFFIC CALMING PRACTICESItem #4 Meeting Date: December 2, 2019 To: Traffic and Mobility Commission Staff Contact: John Kim, City Traffic Engineer John.Kim@carlsbadca.gov, 760-602-2757 Subject: Regional Traffic Calming Practices Recommended Action Receive an informational presentation providing an overview of traffic calming in the region including best practices, standards and programs. Executive Summary On June 11, 2019, a Minute Motion was proposed by Mayor Pro Tem Bhat-Patel, seconded by Council Member Hamilton, to perform a comprehensive traffic calming analysis to include what types of traffic calming measures are currently used in the region, research new approaches to traffic calming and report what measures are commonly used in the City of Carlsbad. The Motion carried unanimously 5-0. On November 19, 2019, staff presented to City Council an information item providing an overview of traffic calming in the region. A Minute Motion was proposed by Council member Schumacher, seconded by Mayor Hall, to present this item to the Traffic and Mobility Commission and to receive their input. The Motion carried unanimously 4-0. Discussion The Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program (CRTMP) outlines the strategy and procedures to reduce the negative impacts associated with vehicular traffic by providing traffic calming on residential streets. The program was developed in 2001 and revised in 2011. The goals of the CRTMP include: • Improving quality of life in neighborhoods • Creating safe streets by reducing collision frequency and severity • Reducing negative effects of vehicular speeding • Utilizing features that are self-enforcing. The CRTMP utilizes three phases to address speeding concerns on residential streets. The purpose of these three phases is to provide a best value, cost-effective approach by incrementally increasing the magnitude of applied solutions as needed to achieve the program’s goals. Phase I is initiated when a resident contacts the city to express a concern regarding speeding on their residential street. Transportation staff, in close collaboration with the Police Department, utilize engineering, education and enforcement efforts to address the concerns. Phase I focuses on the human element of driver behavior and leverages strategies such as education of the public, police presence and police enforcement to help reduce speeding. The engineering tools available in Phase I include speed limit signs, warning signs, pavement legends and temporary speed feedback signs. The temporary speed feedback signs serve a dual purpose: collection of speed data and as a speed reduction feature. Phase I solutions are usually implemented at the staff level and may include work orders for installation of signs and pavement legends. Depending on availability of temporary speed feedback signs and the type of work proposed, Phase I can last between four to six months. If the Phase I solutions do not adequately address the reported issues, Phase II of the CRTMP can be considered. The threshold for Phase II eligibility is a minimum critical speed of 32 miles per hour (MPH), determined by using data collected during Phase I. This threshold was set so that city resources could be most effectively allocated for the highest priority traffic safety needs. The critical speed, otherwise known as the 85th percentile speed, is the speed at which 85% of the drivers drive at or below. The critical speed, as described in the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD), represents one standard deviation above the average speed and is used for speed zoning purposes. Phase II of the CRTMP is initiated when speed measurements indicate a critical speed of 32 MPH or higher on a residential street. Phase II utilizes cost-effective physical traffic management devices such as speed cushions and tables, high-visibility crosswalks, narrowing travel lanes with striping, and neighborhood signs. Please note that although they are included in the 2011 edition of the CRTMP, stop signs are no longer considered by staff as a viable recommendation for traffic calming, based on the CA MUTCD guidance that stop signs should not be used for speed control (Section 2B.04, Paragraph 05). In situations where a traffic calming feature is desired at an intersection, staff will consider such features as a traffic circle or speed cushion instead of a stop sign. Per the CRTMP, consensus support of the community is required before Phase II measures can be implemented. The first step toward establishing consensus is a neighborhood meeting. Residents and property owners within the project study area are invited to attend a neighborhood meeting organized by staff. At the meeting, staff presents traffic calming strategies and options tailored to their individual street. Input provided by the meeting attendees is used to develop a preferred concept plan for traffic calming. A mail survey is used to quantify neighborhood support for the traffic calming plan developed at the neighborhood meeting. The surveys are sent to all residents and property owners in the project study area. The CRTMP requires that at least 50% of the mailed surveys be returned to constitute a valid survey and that a support rate of 67% or more is required to indicate positive community support for the proposed plan. If these support requirements are satisfied, the proposed traffic calming plan is brought before the Traffic & Mobility Commission for their recommendation and then to City Council for project approval. If City Council approves the traffic calming plan, the project enters the design phase, which will result in a set of construction plans for implementation. It can take between 6-12 months to complete the Phase II process. Traffic speeds are measured after Phase II implementation to verify the effectiveness of the implemented solutions. If the Phase II solutions do not adequately address the reported issues, residents can request moving to Phase III of the CRTMP. Phase III utilizes more expensive physical traffic calming devices that change the character or nature of an intersection or roadway and includes traditional traffic calming features such as traffic circles, center island narrowing, curb radius reductions, raised intersections, mid-block chokers, lateral shift in lanes, chicanes, intersection bulb-outs, realigned intersections, forced turn channelization, median barriers and traffic diverters. Eligibility for Phase III is determined using a Phase III Qualification Criteria to be conducted by staff. The criteria consider such factors as travel speeds, traffic volumes, collision history, absence of sidewalks, proximity to schools and presence of marked crosswalks, and utilizes a points assignment system. A minimum score of 51 points is required for candidate streets to be considered for Phase III. With the three-phase CRTMP, the city has a comprehensive and efficient strategy to address speeding issues on residential streets. In 2018, the CRTMP resulted in construction of traffic calming improvements on Corintia Street, Daisy Avenue, Cadencia Street and Harbor Drive. The measured critical speeds after implementation (Corintia Street - 29 MPH, Daisy Avenue - 29 MPH, Cadencia Street - 30 MPH and Harbor Drive - 23 MPH) indicate the successful application of Phase II measures on these streets. In 2019, the CRTMP process has been active with ten streets currently in the Phase II process including Amargosa Drive, Basswood Avenue, Hillside Drive, Avenida Diestro, Estrella de Mar Road, Harwich Drive, Segovia Way, Avenida Pantera, La Golondrina Street, and Cadencia Street (Lower). Neighborhood meetings for these ten streets have been completed. Due to the success of Phase II measures, Phase III of the CRTMP has not yet been implemented on any street in Carlsbad. Traffic Calming on Non-Residential Streets In certain situations, traffic calming features may be considered on non-residential streets. Since most non-residential streets lack single-family homes with direct frontage upon them, it would be difficult to obtain consensus using the methodology outlined in the CRTMP. Another consideration is that most of the traffic calming features previously described have been designed for relatively low speeds and may not be appropriate for higher speed/higher volume roadways. In the past, staff has implemented traffic calming on non-residential streets on a case-by-case basis as projects of the CRTMP. Examples of these include the recently completed project that installed speed feedback signs on Jefferson Street, State Street, Tamarack Avenue, Alicante Road and El Fuerte Street and the road diets on La Costa Avenue and Avenida Encinas. Traffic Calming in Other Cities: As part of this report, staff has investigated the following cities in San Diego County to determine and compare traffic calming practices, methods and features: • Chula Vista • Coronado • Del Mar • El Cajon • Encinitas • Escondido • Imperial Beach • La Mesa • Lemon Grove • National City • Oceanside • Poway • San Diego • San Marcos • Santee • Solana Beach • Vista Table 1: Traffic Calming in the Region Carlsbad Chula Vista Coronado Del Mar El Cajon Encinitas Escondido Imperial Beach La Mesa Lemon Grove National City Oceanside Poway San Diego San Marcos Santee Solana Beach Vista Established Program            Speed Humps Only    Program is Confirmed Active       Program is Confirmed Inactive    As Table 1 shows, of the 17 cities researched for this report, 10 have formalized traffic calming programs that can be reviewed and compared. Agencies that have generalized descriptions of traffic calming on their website without specific recommendations (Chula Vista) and agencies with limited, speed hump-only policies (Coronado, Del Mar and El Cajon) were not included in the following analysis. It is interesting to note that three agencies that have established traffic calming programs in place have informed us that their programs are inactive or suspended (El Cajon, Oceanside and Vista). The traffic calming programs of the 10 compared agencies are focused on residential streets with only four agencies (Encinitas, Oceanside, San Diego and Solana Beach) allowing consideration of traffic calming on arterial roadways. As described previously, Phase I of the CRTMP utilizes features that are relatively inexpensive and easy to implement. Table 2 shows these cost-effective features and how they are utilized regionally. Table 2: Phase I Features Compared Carlsbad Encinitas Escondido Imperial Beach La Mesa Lemon Grove Oceanside Poway San Diego Solana Beach Vista Education        Police Enforcement          Regulatory/Warning Sign          Non-Standard Sign     Pavement Legend      Speed Feedback Sign           Neighborhood Monitoring     Looking at these features, we note that Carlsbad does not use non-standard signs. Some agencies have chosen to deploy signs that are not compliant with the CA MUTCD such as KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25. Although Carlsbad does not support usage of such signs in the public right-of-way, we do not disallow the use of these signs on private property as long as the sign complies with the city’s sign ordinance (Carlsbad Municipal Code Chapter 21.41). The bulk of traffic calming tools that Carlsbad utilizes are found in Phases II and III of the CRTMP. For comparative purposes, these have been divided into four categories: vertical deflection measures, horizontal deflection measures, diversion measures and other measures. Table 3: Vertical Deflection Measures Compared Carlsbad Encinitas Escondido Imperial Beach La Mesa Lemon Grove Oceanside Poway San Diego Solana Beach Vista Speed Table/Raised X-Walk         Speed Cushion          Raised Intersection        Table 3 shows the variety of measures that use vertical deflection to slow down vehicles. Please note that there is variation in the design and implementation of vertical deflection measures for each agency. It would be accurate to state that Carlsbad utilizes the full range of vertical deflection features that are used regionally. Table 4: Horizontal Deflection Measures Compared Carlsbad Encinitas Escondido Imperial Beach La Mesa Lemon Grove Oceanside Poway San Diego Solana Beach Vista Median          Curb Radius Reduction       Traffic Circle          Mid-Block Choker        Lateral Shift       Chicane         Intersection Bulb-out          Re-aligned Intersection         Roundabout      Table 4 shows the different types of horizontal deflection measures that are used regionally for traffic calming. Although roundabouts are not listed as an available feature in the Carlsbad program, staff does not consider this an omission since traffic circles can be considered, in the context of residential streets, as equivalent to roundabouts. Table 5: Diversion Measures Compared Carlsbad Encinitas Escondido Imperial Beach La Mesa Lemon Grove Oceanside Poway San Diego Solana Beach Vista Turn Restriction via Sign          Forced Turn Channelization         Median Barrier           Semi-Diverter       Partial Diverter     Diagonal Diverter          Street Closure     Many traffic calming programs, including Carlsbad’s, include features that are more appropriate for addressing cut-through traffic rather than speed reduction. Table 5 lists the diversion measures offered in the region. Since speeding has been the primary concern of residents who have contacted the city and, since all of the diversion measures in the CRTMP reside in Phase III, no diversion measures have yet been implemented in Carlsbad. The only diversion tool that is offered regionally, but not in Carlsbad, is street closure. Table 6: Other Features Compared Carlsbad Encinitas Escondido Imperial Beach La Mesa Lemon Grove Oceanside Poway San Diego Solana Beach Vista Residential Stop Sign *    High Visibility Crosswalk      Narrowing Lanes/Striping           Neighborhood Warning Sign    Textured Pavement    Entry Treatment         Driveway Link  Woonerf  Pedestrian Hybrid Signal  The last set of features that were compared are those that did not fit the prior categories. Table 6 above shows these miscellaneous features. As previously noted, Carlsbad no longer utilizes stop signs as a traffic calming tool. There are a couple of interesting features that are specific to Encinitas only. The Woonerf is described as a public right-of-way space that is shared by vehicles and people in cars. The Driveway Link converts a two-lane street into a winding one- way street over a short distance, connecting residential driveways. Escondido offers the pedestrian hybrid signal as a traffic calming feature in their program. Since the pedestrian hybrid signal requires consideration of specific factors as described in the CA MUTCD, Carlsbad chooses to analyze implementation of the pedestrian hybrid signal independent of the CRTMP. Based on staff’s analysis of traffic calming in the region, the CRTMP can be considered a complete and efficient program that features a full range of traffic calming measures that compare favorably with what other agencies are using. Next Steps Utilizing the available resources, staff will continue to analyze and consider new and innovative traffic calming techniques as they become known. Staff will formally remove stop signs from the program in a future programmatical update to the CRTMP.