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File #: 25-869    Name:
Type: Recommendation Status: Individual Item Ready
File created: 7/2/2025 In control: Transportation & Traffic Advisory Board
On agenda: 7/10/2025 Final action:
Title: Discuss and consider a recommendation to create Section 126-154 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of New Braunfels to set the speed limit on W Klein Road.
Attachments: 1. Redline Ordinance, 2. Traffic Study Final Sealed
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PRESENTER: Presenter

Carly Farmer, Assistant City Engineer

 

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SUBJECT: Title

Discuss and consider a recommendation to create Section 126-154 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of New Braunfels to set the speed limit on W Klein Road.

 

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DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Capital Improvements

 

 

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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 2

 

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Staff completed an engineering study to evaluate the appropriate speed limit on W Klein Road between FM 725 and FM 1044. The study was completed due to the completion of a roadway widening project on W Klein Road. The traffic study summary is attached.

 

Speed limits on Texas roads, including city streets, are set by statute in Section 545.352 of the Texas Transportation Code. The current speed limit on most city residential streets is 30 mph. The statute includes the following prima facie speed limits:

 

•                     Street in Urban District - 30 mph

 

•                     Alley in Urban District - 15 mph

 

Speed limits are set to inform motorists of appropriate driving speeds under favorable conditions. Regardless of the posted speed limit, some drivers will operate at speeds where they feel comfortable, given the design of the road and development/activity along the roadside. The overall goal of setting the speed limit is to increase safety within the context of retaining reasonable mobility for motorists.

 

Traffic data collection, review of crash history, and a site investigation were conducted for W Klein Road in May 2025 after completion of the W Klein Road widening project. The data collection points were selected to represent the differing adjacent land uses along different segments of the roadway. There were 31 total reported crashes between April 2022 and April 2025, five of which were speeding related.

 

Based on the site investigation and collected speed data, it is recommended that the regulatory speed limit on W Klein Road be revised to 35 mph from the intersection with FM 725 to the intersection with FM 1044. The measured 85th percentile speeds in the 40-43 mph range do not support a speed limit of 30 mph. However, the direct residential driveway access and pedestrian activity around the multiple schools in the area are conditions for which a 40-mph speed limit is not suitable. The median and pace speeds are indicative that a 35-mph speed limit is appropriate and in line with traffic speeds for the majority of vehicles traveling on W Klein Road. The 35-mph speed limit is also consistent with the regulatory speed limits posted on Walnut Avenue and County Line Road, both multi-lane arterials with similar functionality and in the same region of the city as W Klein Road.

 

The only instance in which a city may lower a speed limit without a traffic study, to as low as 25 miles per hour, is if the road is in an urban district, is less than four lanes, and is not a state highway. It is important to note that national and local research and data have shown that reducing the posted speed limit has little to no effect in reducing operating speeds.

 

ISSUE:

The posted speed limit for W Klein Road has been reevaluated due to completion of a roadway widening project.

 

STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:

Economic Mobility Enhanced Connectivity Community Identity

Organizational Excellence Community Well-Being N/A

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

Traffic control signs cost approximately $150 each. Sufficient funding is available in the FY 2025 Approved Streets and Drainage Budget.

 

Recommendation

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends updating the regulatory speed limit on W Klein Road between FM 725 and FM 1044 to 35 mph.