PRESENTER: Presenter
Carly Farmer, Assistant City Engineer
Body
SUBJECT: Title
Discuss and consider a recommendation to City Council for traffic calming on Walnut Heights Boulevard between Broadmoor Drive and McQueeney Road.
Header
DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Construction Services
Body
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 6
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Staff received a request from a resident to evaluate Walnut Heights Boulevard between Broadmoor Drive and McQueeney Road for traffic calming due to safety concerns over speeding and cut-through traffic in a residential area. Walnut Heights Boulevard is a local residential street in the Walnut Heights subdivision. It provides a connection from McQueeney Road into a network of local residential streets in the Walnut Estate subdivision that accesses S Walnut Avenue via Gardenia Drive. The posted speed limit in the Walnut Heights subdivision is 30 miles per hour (mph). Walnut Heights Boulevard is fronted by single-family homes and has sidewalks with standard curbs along both sides of the street. The pavement width is 28 feet.
The City of New Braunfels Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy requires a petition to be submitted with signatures from two-thirds of the properties adjacent to the street segment on which traffic calming was requested. A petition was received and verified to meet the two-thirds requirement. An evaluation of the study area was performed to determine the target speed and volume. Based on the pavement width, presence of sidewalks, and homes fronting the roadway with driveways requiring backing maneuvers, Staff evaluated the study area and determined the target speed and target volume for the roadway to be 25 mph and 1,000 vehicles per day (vpd), respectively. An operational requirement in the policy is that the 85th percentile speed must be at least 5 miles per hour over the target speed. Traffic data collected over 24 hours in May 2026 showed an 85th percentile speed of 26 mph, which does not meet the speed criteria in the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy. Additionally, the volume requirement in the approved Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy is a daily traffic volume exceeding the target traffic volume. The collected traffic data measured 454 vpd, which does not surpass the target volume of 1,000 vpd for a local residential street. There were no reported crashes on Walnut Heights Boulevard between May 2023 and May 2026. Based on the evaluation of the study area and analysis of the collected data, it was determined that traffic calming would not be significantly beneficial to the safety of road users.
The requester has elected to pursue an appeal through the Transportation and Traffic Advisory Board in accordance with the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy. If the Board recommends approval of the appeal, it will escalate to City Council for final determination.
ISSUE:
Residents have requested an appeal for traffic calming on Walnut Heights Boulevard between Broadmoor Drive and McQueeney Road based on speeding and safety concerns due to cut-through traffic in a residential area.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The City has specific funding for the installation of traffic calming. Approved traffic calming plans are ranked for funding according to the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy prioritization process. The highest-scoring projects will be funded through the FY 2027 budget. Remaining projects will be considered for funding in subsequent budget years.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff does not recommend approval of traffic calming on Walnut Heights Boulevard between Broadmoor Drive and McQueeney Road as it does not meet the evaluation criteria established in the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy.