PRESENTER: Presenter
Garry Ford, Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer
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SUBJECT: Title
Discuss and consider approval of the installation of speed humps on Misty Acres Drive between SH 46 and Lake Front Avenue.
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DEPARTMENT: Public Works
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 5
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Residents submitted a request for the installation of speed humps on Misty Acres Drive between SH 46 and Lake Front Avenue. Misty Acres Drive is a residential street with a posted speed limit of 30 mph. The request was evaluated based on petition, operational and geometric requirements established in the City of New Braunfels Speed Hump Policy approved in 1999.
44 signatures were required to meet the two-thirds requirement, and 44 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 on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 showed the 85th percentile speed of 37 miles per hour which meets 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 1497 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 approve of the installation of speed humps on the requested street.
Misty Acres has a vertical curve near the intersection with Lake Front Avenue. The Speed Hump Policy provides guidance that speed humps should not be located on vertical curves where visibility of the speed hump is restricted or on the approaches to these curves. The proposed locations of the speed humps shown in the attached diagram meet this location criteria.
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:
Consideration of the requested speed humps is consistent with the following action from Envision New Braunfels:
Action 7.16: Develop a program and process for consideration of citizen requests for neighborhood traffic calming.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The City has specific funding for the installation of traffic calming. This is the fifth speed hump request submitted for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Speed hump installation cost including speed cushions, signing and pavement markings at three locations cost approximately $25,500 to $31,500, depending on location.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Transportation and Traffic Advisory Board
This item was considered and discussed by the Transportation and Traffic Advisory Board at their meeting on June 10, 2021. The Board voted unanimously to recommend the installation of speed humps on Misty Acres Drive between SH 46 and Lake Front Avenue.
Staff
Staff recommends approval of speed humps on Misty Acres Drive between SH 46 and Lake Front Avenue as it meets both the speed and volume criteria established in the Speed Hump Policy.