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File #: 23-1171    Name:
Type: Recommendation Status: Individual Item Ready
File created: 9/5/2023 In control: Transportation & Traffic Advisory Board
On agenda: 9/14/2023 Final action:
Title: Discuss and consider a recommendation to City Council to install speed humps on Ervendberg Avenue.
Attachments: 1. Speed Hump Evaluation Tables, 2. Signatures Received, 3. Speed Hump Layout
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PRESENTER: Presenter

Garry Ford, Transportation and Capital Improvements Director

 

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SUBJECT: Title

Discuss and consider a recommendation to City Council to install speed humps on Ervendberg Avenue.

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DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Capital Improvements

 

 

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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 4

 

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Residents submitted a request for the installation of speed humps on Ervendberg Avenue on the section south of the Union Pacific Railroad and north of the sharp bends towards Gruene Road. Ervendberg Avenue is a local residential street with an assumed speed limit of 30 mph and is not classified on the 2012 City of New Braunfels Thoroughfare Plan. The request was evaluated based on petition, operational and geometric requirements established in the City of New Braunfels Speed Hump Policy approved in 1999.

 

Five signatures were required to meet the two-thirds requirement, and five signatures were received. An operational requirement in the policy is that the 85th percentile speed must be at least 5 miles per hour over the regulatory speed limit of 30 mph. Traffic data collected over 24 hours in Summer 2023 showed the 85th percentile speed of 33.5 miles per hour which does not meet the speed criteria in the Speed Hump Policy. Additionally, the volume requirement in the approved speed hump policy is a daily traffic volume of at least 800 vehicles per day. The traffic data collected measured 1,002 vehicles per day. These requirements are listed in the attachment to this report.

 

The Speed Hump Policy also requires proposed speed humps on a street to be approved by the emergency services departments. The New Braunfels Fire Department and the New Braunfels Police Department have no objections to the installation of speed humps on the requested street.

 

Traffic crash data was found through TxDOT’s Crash Records Information System and shows one crash reported in the last three years.

 

If the request is approved, the street will be placed on the list of streets eligible for speed hump installation for up to three years. Speed hump projects will be prioritized according to the criteria established in the Speed Hump Policy.

 

The Speed Hump Policy also states that the alteration or removal of speed humps requires the same petition process as the installation request, with at least two-thirds of all adjacent households and businesses in favor of speed hump removal. The city will not provide any funding for the removal of speed humps if it is requested.

 

ISSUE:

Residents have requested speed humps be installed on Ervendberg Avenue due to speeding and safety concerns.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The City has specific funding for the installation of traffic calming. This is the first speed hump request submitted for the 2024 fiscal year. Speed hump installation cost including speed cushions, signing and pavement markings at two locations cost approximately $30,000, depending on location.

 

Recommendation

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff does not recommend approval of speed humps on Ervendberg Avenue as it does not meet the speed criteria established in the Speed Hump Policy.