PRESENTER: Presenter
Garry Ford, Transportation and Capital Improvements Director
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of the second and final reading of an ordinance to create Section 126-152 to set the speed limit on Alves Lane between SH 46 and Barbarosa Road.
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Capital Improvements
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 5
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
City Council unanimously approved the first reading on September 12, 2022.
Staff received a request from a resident to reduce the speed limit on Alves Lane. Staff received an additional request from a resident to increase the speed limit on Alves Lane.
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 almost always to increase safety within the context of retaining reasonable mobility for motorists.
The maximum speed limits posted should be based primarily on the 85th percentile speed - the speed at or below which 85 percent of the vehicles travel. Other factors that may be considered when establishing or re-evaluating speed limits include the following:
• Road characteristics
• Roadside development and environment
• Parking practices and pedestrian activity
• Reported crash experience
Traffic data collection, review of crash history and a site investigation were conducted for Alves Lane in May 2022. The specific locations and results of the traffic data collection are shown in the attached traffic study summary. There were twenty-two reported crashes on Alves Lane between 2017 and 2021, eleven of which were speeding related.
Based on the site investigation and collected speed data, it is recommended that the regulatory speed limit on Alves Lane be increased to 35 mph. 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.
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.
ISSUE:
Residents have contacted the City with a request to change the speed limit on Alves Lane between SH 46 and Barbarosa Road due to safety concerns.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Traffic control signs cost approximately $150 each. Sufficient funding is available in the FY 2023 approved Streets and Drainage budget.Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Transportation and Traffic Advisory Board
The Transportation and Traffic Advisory Board recommended approval 5-1 at their August 11, 2022 meeting.
Staff
Staff recommends increasing the existing 30 mph speed limit to 35 mph on Alves Lane.