DATE: October 8, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steve Brandau, Supervisor, District 2
Brian Pacheco, Supervisor, District 1
SUBJECT: Pilot program for “Traffic Calming Measures - Speed Humps” Policy
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Adopt Resolution to Repeal Resolution 21-247 and implement Public Works and Planning policy “Traffic Calming Measures - Speed Humps”, as a two-year pilot program.
REPORT
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose not to adopt the proposed Resolution or choose to modify the Resolution as written.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The cost associated with the initial study and survey will be a fee to be paid for by the applicant. The construction costs, estimated to be approximately $7,500, will be recovered by Public Works and Planning through the creation of a $3,750 fee to be paid by the applicant with the remainder funded through flexible Measure C dollars. Sufficient appropriations are included in the Departments Roads Org 4510 FY 2024-25 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
On August 24, 2021, the Board of Supervisors passed Resolution 21-247, prohibiting the installation of new speed humps on County-maintained roads. At that time, staff recommended this due to certain impacts. This followed a trend led by many municipalities and agencies who had likewise banned speed humps in their jurisdictions, including the City of Fresno.
However, following the passage of the prohibition, numerous residents have reported to the County increasing problems with speeding and reckless driving in residential neighborhoods, especially in the metropolitan areas. Many of these residents have become frustrated at the lack of preventative tools available, or the lack of efficacy of those currently available.
It is recommended that your Board reconsider the prohibition on speed hump construction. While the relative merits of Speed Humps must be weighed against efficacy factors, they remain an important and cost-effective tool in certain environments, like residential neighborhoods, were other TCMs are cost prohibitive or incompatible with county neighborhood streets.
The City of Fresno has also reversed course on their prohibition with a pilot program in October 2021, and had not seen a significant increase in negative impacts from their installation and proved to be widely popular. The City of Fresno fully repealed their prohibition in January of 2022.
Public Works and Planning is undergoing a study of possible Traffic Calming Measures (TCMs), which are physical measures installed on roadways designed to reduce automobile speeds or volumes. Examples of TCMs include bulb-outs, raised medians, traffic circles (roundabouts), and speed humps, bumps, or tables. Staff will present these findings as well as a policy to allow for the installation of these measures to your Board at a date later this year. But ahead of that broader policy package, it is recommended the Board begin with the speed hump element of the policy to respond to demand from residents.
The resolution before your Board will first repeal Resolution 21-247, which is necessary to allow for future installation of speed humps. The same resolution will also adopt a speed hump policy as two-year pilot program to allow for the study of the impacts of the policy.
Under the proposed policy, the roadways where speed humps would be permitted would be limited to residential neighborhood streets and then with criteria to make sure installation doesn’t cause safety or traffic issues.
Applicants would begin the process by providing Public Works and Planning with an application and study and survey fee, as well as a completed petition of the twenty neighbors immediately adjacent to the requested location, of which 80% must be in support. If the project is adjacent a school, a written letter of support is also required with the application.
Once the application is submitted, Public Works and Planning will verify the project site meets all required criteria and will perform a formal survey of all properties in the affected radius of the project. 80% support of the affected properties would be required to allow the application to proceed to construction.
If the project qualifies, the applicant would be responsible for half the construction fee cost currently estimated at $3,750 or as determined in the Master Schedule of Fees. The other half of the construction cost would be allocated from the Measure C flexible funding account. Speed humps would be of a standard design determined by Public Works to be cost-effective, and easy to install, repair, and remove if necessary. The estimated cost for per speed hump project is estimated to cost around $7,500 including staff planning and site work and necessary signage.
Under the proposed policy, Public Works and Planning reserves the authority to remove or alter installed speed humps at a future date if deemed a safety hazard. Replacement of future damaged speed humps would require a new application process.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #39, August 24, 2021
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Resolution
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino