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Home My WebLink About2014-03-03; Traffic Safety Commission; ; Revise the prima facie speed limit upon Alicante Road from Poinsettia Lane to Gateway Road.CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF: March 3, 2014 ITEM NO. 6A LOCATION: Alicante Road, Poinsettia Lane to Gateway Road INITIATED BY: City Traffic Engineer REQUESTED ACTION: Revise the prima facie speed limit upon Alicante Road from Poinsettia Lane to Gateway Road. BACKGROUND: DATA: The establishment of speed zones in California is governed by the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) pursuant to the authority granted to Ca It rans in Section 21400 and 21401 of the California Vehicle Code {CVC). The 2010 California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) implemented changes to the procedure for setting speed limits in California. These changes required that the posted speed limit be established at the NEAREST 5 mile per hour increment of the 85th percentile speed. The 85th percentile speed, often referred to as the critical speed, is the speed which 85% of the drivers are traveling at or below. The passage of California Assembly Bill 529 in October of 2011 allowed agencies the option to round speed limits, up or down, to within 5 miles per hour of the 85th percentile speed. This change is reflected in the current 2012 CA MUTCD, which was adopted on January 13, 2012. Alicante Road north of Poinsettia Lane serves residential and recreational uses and is 0.96 miles in length (see Exhibit 1). The road has a curb-to-curb width of 40 feet south of Town Garden Road and 48 feet north of Town Garden Road. Street lights have been constructed on both sides of the road. A non-contiguous sidewalk is provided along the east side of Alicante Road and on about one-third of the west side of Alicante Road. On the west side from Town Garden Road to Gateway Road, the sidewalk is contiguous to the curb and gutter. The remaining west side is served by a non-contiguous walking trail for pedestrians. The subject segment of Alicante Road is currently posted at 40 miles per hour based on the Engineering and Traffic Survey dated June 9, 2008, which showed the 85th percentile speed to be 46 mph. Page 1 C COMMISSION MEETING OF: (continued) CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT March 3, 2014 ITEM NO.GA Alga Norte Community Park was opened to the public at the beginning of the year and is located on the northwest corner of Alicante Road and Poinsettia Lane. As part of the roadway improvements for the park, bike lanes were painted on Alicante Road in both directions from Town Garden Road to Poinsettia Lane and ALL-WAY STOP control was installed at the two park driveways on Alicante Road. The lane narrowing resulting from the installation of bike lanes and the installation of ALL-WAY STOP control at two locations on Alicante Road were intended to change the character of the roadway and decrease vehicle speeds. Traffic volumes on Alicante Road are shown on Table A. These counts were obtained on Alicante Road on January 14, 2014 to determine the two-way, 24-hour average daily traffic volume. TABLE A 24-HOUR TRAFFIC VOLUMES FOR ALICANTE ROAD 24-HourADT Date Location NB I SB Total l/14/14 South of Pyrite Avenue 1,475 I 1,258 2,733 Staff conducted a speed survey on Alicante Road on January 21, 2014 to determine the 85th percentile speed of vehicles and is shown on Table B. As stated previously, the 85th percentile is the speed at which 85 percent of the vehicles are traveling at or below. A sample of 100 vehicles was measured to calculate the critical speed. TABLE B SPEED SURVEY DATA FOR ALICANTE ROAD Critical Pace Survey Speed Speed %in Date Location Direction (MPH) IMPH) Pace 1/21/14 820 feet s/o Pyrite Ave. NB/SB 33 26-36 84 The pace speed is the 10 mile per hour range of speeds that contain the highest number of observed vehicles. Generally, the critical speed is in the upper range of the pace speed. Staff reviewed the Police Department collision reports for the one year period from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2013. There has been one reported collision on the subject segment which was speed-related. Page 2 C COMMISSION MEETING OF: (continued) CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT March 3, 2014 ITEM NO.GA Sections 22357 and 22358 of the California Vehicle Code authorize local authorities to establish a prima facie speed limit on the basis of the results of an Engineering and Traffic Survey. The Engineering and Traffic Survey considers such factors as the number of collisions that have occurred on the road segment, roadway features, adjacent land uses, driveway locations, traffic volumes, pedestrian volumes, critical speed, horizontal and vertical alignment, stopping sight distance, and conditions that may not be readily apparent to the driver. The Engineering and Traffic Survey performed for this portion of Alicante Road indicate that the 85th percentile speed has decreased from 46 mph in 2008 to 33 mph in 2014 after the installation of bike lanes along the length of Alicante Road and the installation of ALL-WAY STOP control at driveways to the newly opened Alga Norte Community Park. Based on this reduction in the 85th percentile speed and the revision in the 2012 CA MUTCD that allows local jurisdictions to round down to within 5 miles per hour of the 85th percentile speed, staff is recommending that the speed limit on this portion of Alicante Road be revised. RECOMMENDATION: Based upon the results of the Engineering and Traffic Survey, the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee recommends revising the prim a facie speed limit upon Alicante Road from Poinsettia Lane to Gateway Road from 40 to 30 miles per hour. NECESSARY CITY COUNCIL ACTION: An ordinance will be required to be adopted by the City Council to establish the 30 mile per hour prima facie speed limit upon Alicante Road from Poinsettia Lane to Gateway Road, as recommended. Page 3 0 i u Iii PROPOSED SPEED ZONE NOT TO SCALE ALGA NORTE COIIMIIUNITY PARK '-. LOCATION MAP N PACIFIC I RIDGE SCHOOL cttr or OCEANSIDE VICINITY MAP • 1 i l i---------------------------,,.......----1~ EXHIBIT l ALICANTE ROAD PROPOSED SPEED ZONE 1 i ! '-------------------------......JL.....----'" C CITY OF CARLSBAD ENGINEERING AND TRAFFIC SURVEY STREET: Alicante Road LIMITS: Gateway Road to Poinsettia Lane FACTORS A. Prevailing S11eed Data: Direction: Northbound/Southbound Date of Speed Survey 1/21/14 Location of Speed Survey 820 Feet s/o Pyrite Avenue 85th Percentile 33MPH 10 MPH Pace 2610 36 MPH Percent in Pace 84% B. A1,1,ident HistorL: (1/01/12 through 12/31/13) Speed-Related Accidents 1 Pedestrian and/or Bicyclist Accidents None Total Accidents 1 C. Traffic Factors: Average Daily Traffic 2,700 -South of Pyrite Avenue (1/14/14) T raffle Controls Stop Sign Control at Gateway Road and Two Park Entrances; Traffic Signals at Poinsettia Lane and Town Garden Road Pedestrian/Bicycle Traffic Light Bicycle Lanes Bike Lane on Each Side On-Street Parking Parking Prohibited on Both Sides Other Bus Route north of Town Garden Road D. Roadwalr'. Factors: Circulation Element Street Classification Unclassified Length of Segment 0.96Mi. Roadway Width 40 Feet s/o Town Garden Road; 48 Feet n/o Town Garden Road Number of Lanes One Lane Each Direction Vertical Alignment Roadway Grades Vary from 1.50% to 9.03% Horizontal Alignment Curvilinear Sidewalks Sidewalk on Entire East Side and Approximately One Third of West Side; Driveways Walking Trail on Remainder of West Side Three Driveways Street Lighting Street Liahts on Each Side E. S11eclal Conditions: Travel lanes are separated by a double-yellow centerline, a two-way left-tum lane, or a painted median. Marked crosswalks exist at Poinsettia Lane Town Garden Road and the two nark entrances. F. Ad'•cent Land Us•s: Onan Snace-Sinnle-Familv Residential. Communitv Park, Vacant Industrial Lots G. Remarks/Conditions Not Readily Ap11arent: Used by school pedestrians and bicycle traffic to access Poinsettia Elementary School. Alicante Road nrovides the onlv access to Alaa Norte Communitv Park. H. Traffic Engineer's Recommendation (Explanation): This speed zone satisfies the conditions of Section 627 of the California Vehicle Code and has been prepared and evaluated in accordance with the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, effective January 13, 2012, with respect to design and prevailing speeds, accident records, pedestrian and bicyclist safety, intersection and driveway spacing, and roadside and traffic conditions not readily apparent to the driver. A speed limit oostina of 30 MPH is found to be a~~ronriate and iustified. I. A11provals: □ Recertification of existing speed zone per Sections 22357, 22358 and 40802 of the California Vehicle Code. □ Establishment of new speed zone. Approved Doug Bilse Date Citv Traffic Enaineer NOTE: Appropriate speed survey{s) Is /are attached hereto and made a part hereof. C: DATE: 1/21114 TIME: 9:45 AM WEATHER: Partly Cloudy & Mild TO CITY OF CARLSBAD SPEED SURVEY 10:45 AM TOTAL VEHICLES: CRITICAL SPEED: LOCATION: Alicante Road-820' s/o Pyrite Avenue VEHICLES IN PACE: OBSERVER/RECORDER: -=-J'-'. G::::a:::.le=---------PACE SPEED(S): SOUTHBOUND DIRECTION OF TRAVEL MPH # % l:# % ¾tile % # 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 58 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 48 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 38 " y 35 " y y X 34 " 33 X " 32 31 30 " " " 29 " y " " " 28 " y 27 26 25 24 23 y 22 21 2 4 4 4 100 4 2 4 8 6 6 96 4 2 1 2 4 4 90 6 3 5 10 8 8 86 6 3 4 8 7 7 78 6 3 4 8 7 7 71 6 3 7 14 11 11 64 8 4 9 18 16 16 53 14 7 6 12 10 10 37 8 4 2 4 8 8 27 12 6 2 4 7 7 19 10 5 1 2 3 3 12 4 2 1 2 3 3 9 4 2 2 4 4 4 6 4 2 2 2 2 4 2 Transportation Department Traffic Division 100 _____ 3~3,:__ ____ MPH 84 % -------=C..:.....---- __ -=.26::__ To __ 3_6 ___ MPH NORTHBOUND DIRECTION OF TRAVEL MPH 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 58 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 48 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 X X 38 35 34 33 32 31 30 X y X 29 28 y X 27 X 26 25 24 23 22 21