Traffic Calming Policy
The objective of the City of Pinole Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy is to improve the livability of our neighborhoods and to minimize adverse impacts of vehicular traffic on residential and pedestrian safety streets through a system of education, enforcement, and engineering.
The Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy has been designed to ensure that each neighborhood with a demonstrated traffic problem has access to neighborhood traffic calming measures. The program requires significant citizen involvement. The policy has been designed to address neighborhood concerns in a timely manner by relying on staff to take the initial steps to address a perceived problem. Final traffic calming measures must be reviewed by the Traffic And Pedestrian Safety Committee (TAPS) and approved by City Council. The level of traffic control measures which may be implemented is subject to available funding.
Goals
- Reduce the speed of vehicles on residential streets, with demonstrated speeding problems, to levels consistent with speeds on more typical City of Pinole residential streets.
- Increase safety by reducing demonstrated accident patterns on impacted residential streets to levels consistent with those of typical City of Pinole residential streets.
- Develop and emphasize focused neighborhood educational programs, which address residential traffic problems.
- Implement selective enforcement actions in neighborhoods with demonstrated, or perceived, traffic-related problems.
- Eliminate, or discourage, non-local, cut-through traffic on residential streets. In implementing the Program Goals, care will be taken to:
- Encourage citizen participation throughout the Program by seeking the input of affected residents and non-resident property owners through neighborhood meetings, written communication, open forum opportunities with Traffic Committee and with City Council.
- Minimize impacts on emergency vehicle response times caused by implementation of neighborhood traffic calming measures.
- Limit the potential for shifting traffic problems from one residential neighborhood to another when implementing traffic calming measures.
- Respond to complaints in a timely manner.
Process
Initial Complaint and Site Review
The initiation of City involvement in mitigating a neighborhood traffic problem begins with a complaint by an individual resident or a group of residents. The complaint generally involves a perception that a significant number of motorists traveling through a neighborhood are violating the law in some way.
Site Review by Staff
Staff conducts a field review of the complaint and responds to the complaint within 14 working days.
Increased Enforcement / Education
In the case of speeding, staff will request additional traffic enforcement by the police and/or schedule the placement of the radar speed trailer.
Traffic Committee Meeting with The Neighborhood (optional)
The neighborhood will meet with the Traffic Committee. This meeting may be scheduled on a quarterly basis (as required) and will provide an opportunity for the neighborhood to express concerns, and for staff and the committee to compare neighborhood conditions to the reasonable expectations of traffic volumes, traffic speeds, accident rates, etc.
The Traffic Committee would provide information about traffic safety to the neighborhood and encourage neighborhood action to distribute this information to the neighborhood.
Neighborhood Action / Education
Utilizing information provided by the Traffic Committee, the neighborhood would begin an educational campaign. Information about traffic safety will be distributed by door-to–door communication, or the homeowners’ association newsletter.
If after an educational campaign, there is still a perception in the neighborhood that only physical changes can solve their problem, the residents can petition the City to request further engineering studies to address neighborhood concerns.
Engineering Analysis
If a petition signed by 60 percent of the renters or owners allowing one signature per residence, on the impacted block is submitted to the Public Works Department requesting additional traffic analysis, a neighborhood traffic study will be prepared which reviews accident history, and conducts appropriate studies. A report would be prepared which summarizes findings and outlines various options.
Review by The Taps Committee
The Traffic Committee and the Public, at a regular meeting of the Traffic Committee, review the report outlining the various options and recommendations. If the Traffic Committee determines that construction of a traffic-calming device is appropriate, Staff will prepare a petition, for neighborhood consideration, which describes the appropriate traffic calming device(s), listing potential benefits and problems associated with the device.
Consideration by The Neighborhood
If a petition requesting traffic calming device(s) is signed by 60 percent of the property owners allowing one signature per property on the impacted block which means one vote per property, is submitted to the Public Works Department, preliminary engineering plans and cost estimates for the traffic calming device(s) will be prepared by the Public Works Department.
Consideration by City Council
The City Council will review the matter and determine if the recommended traffic calming measure is to be implemented.
Plans Prepared and Publicly Reviewed
Upon completion, the Public, at a regular Traffic Committee meeting, would review the plans.
Implementation and Follow-Up
The Traffic Calming Measure is implemented, and then monitored for effectiveness over time.