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CC Resolution No. 1390 LVJ() RESOLUTION NO. 1390 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, 0- TEXAS, ADOPTING THE BAYTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF. ****************************************************************************** BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, hereby adopts the Baytown Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy. The policy is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes. Section 2: This resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its passage by the City Council of the City of Baytown. INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED, by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City of Baytown this the I Oh day of June, 1999. 1 . -cam (7. PETE C. ALFARO, Iffayor ATTEST: EILEEN P. HALL, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: 9"ee� ejQNACI0 RAMIREZ, ity Attorney c:klh 172\citycouncil'resolutiong\TratlicCalmingPolicy Traffic Calming Policy Process and Procedures urn PM&AAhow Traffic CaWng Program Traffic Calming for safety, security, and livability EXHIBIT A City of Baytown Department of Public Works Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy Process and Procedures Step 1: Identification of Neighborhood Problem If a neighborhood association or civic club exists,an officer of the organization may contact the City of Baytown(the"City")Traffic Engineer or his/her designee(the"Traffic Engineer")to arrange an informal meeting to discuss neighborhood traffic concerns. Should no such organization exist,any representative homeowner of the neighborhood may make initial contact. At the meeting, the staff will provide a copy of the policy and review the following elements: • required applications; • treatment levels available for implementation; • neighborhood involvement requirements; • the petition processes; • data collection; • neighborhood meetings; • funding methods available; • approval by the Growth Management and Development Advisory Commission(the "Commission"); • approval by the Baytown City Council("Council);and • installation, monitoring,and evaluation process. The staff will define the geographic area that may be impacted by the implementation of traffic calming techniques(the"Impact Area"). This Impact Area will not be restricted to those streets for which a traffic calming solution is considered, but will also include: (1)any street expected to experience significant increases in speed,volume, or traffic type(such as more truck traffic)as a result of treatment; and(2) any streets whose access is substantially dependent upon the street receiving treatment. Weekend problems and those created by special events(i.e. Fourth of July and Christmas parades, Little League season, etc.) are not the object of this procedure and will be handled by City staff as any other request for traffic control. Within approximately six(6)weeks, the staff will perform a preliminary survey the Impact Area, identify eligible and ineligible streets, identify potential techniques, and eliminate inappropriate techniques, if possible. The staff will notify the officer or neighborhood representative in writing of these preliminary findings. Such person will then complete and submit the application for a traffic calming project within six(6)weeks, or whatever time deemed appropriate by the Traffic Engineer. This application will identify traffic concerns,the Impact Area, the specific streets on which the actual problem exists, and a Residential Traffic Team(no less than three or greater than five property owners from the Impact Area), and will include a petition of consensus. A sample Application Petition is available from the Department of Public Works. The petition must contain authorized signatures of 50%or more of the owners of property within the Impact Area. Only one signature per property shall be accepted. Only property owners shall be authorized to participate in the petition process. Traffic Calming Policy Page I of 4 Step 2: Data Collection 1 The Traffic Engineer will collect data necessary to determine the presence of a chronic problem. The study will include review of all pertinent data available from the staff files and other potentially effected agencies and City departments. If during data collection,the staff becomes aware of an immediate and substantial traffic-safety related problem,this process will be discontinued and the problem will be addressed promptly by the City staff. The following guidelines will guide the staff in data collection: A. Minimum and Maximum Vehicular Volumes The street must be primarily residential in nature with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour or less. The average traffic volumes between 800 and 8000 vehicles per day or a one-hour volume between 80 and 800 vehicles are required in order to consider treatment on a particular street. Volume studies will be measured and averaged over a five-day period designed to reflect normal weekday traffic patterns. B. Difficulty Crossing or Backing In addition to total traffic volumes,the delay a resident experiences when backing out of a driveway or crossing the street may more accurately quantify a problem. When motorists attempting to back out of a driveway onto a public street are delayed because of traffic on the public street for an average of one minute during any hour,a traffic calming device designed to increase the length and/or frequency of the gaps in traffic may be considered. C. Cut-Through Traffic Cut-through traffic can be quantified by comparing actual traffic volumes to estimates of the traffic generated from within the impacted area. If cut-through traffic comprises more than 25%of the total traffic,traffic calming devices to reduce this traffic may be considered. D. Speed Concerns regarding speeding is considered significant and deserving treatment when more than 15%of the traffic stream is traveling at least ten miles per hour over the posted or statutory speed limit. Speed studies on five different weekdays will be conducted during the time of day identified in the application or at such other time,as the Traffic Engineer may deem appropriate. E. School and Emergency Routes Because of discomfort and delay,only techniques that do not effect buses or emergency vehicles will be used on streets serving a primary school bus route or a primary emergency access route. F. Street Grade and Alignment Roadway modifications shall not be used on roadways where a combination of vertical and horizontal alignment would result in an inadequate visibility of any obstruction that would require the driver to react by stopping, slowing,or changing his intended path in an unsafe manner. Step 3: Residential Traffic Team Meeting and Development of a Traffic Calming Plan When traffic studies have been completed, analyzed,and summarized, the City staff and the Residential Traffic Team will meet to discuss results of studies,confirm the boundaries of the Impact Area, and identify potential solutions. Thereafter, the Residential Traffic Team will hold a meeting to develop a comprehensive plan for the neighborhood using the techniques developed for this purpose. Upon Traffic Calming Policy Page 2 of completion the team will submit their plan to the Traffic Engineer for preliminary review on feasibility and practicality. However, if traffic studies do not confirm that the concerns identified meet the minimum criteria established in Step 2,the Impact Area will be ineligible for consideration of traffic calming devices for a period of three years or until changes in the street usage result in significantly altered traffic patterns as determined by the Traffic Engineer. If the Traffic Engineer determines that the boundaries of the Impact Area are inappropriate,such boundaries will be redefined and additional traffic studies and analyses defined in step 2 will be conducted. Step 4: Neighborhood Meeting The Residential Traffic Team along with the Traffic Engineer will arrange a neighborhood meeting of the owners of property within the Impact Area to allow the Residential Traffic Team to explain what has occurred to date and recommend a Neighborhood Traffic Calming Plan to the property owners in the entire Impact Area. The Traffic Engineer will present the results of the studies and analyses performed. Summaries of the traffic studies and analyses and lists of potential solutions will be made available by the City. This meeting affords people within the Impact Area the opportunity to speak out on the proposal and provide information to the Residential Traffic Team needed for preparation of the Implementation Petition. Representatives of other appropriate departments and agencies such as the Fire, Police, Emergency Management Services,and Legal Departments and of the Goose Creek Independent School District will be invited to participate at the meeting.The success of this phase is dependent on the residents taking the lead in development of a consensus in formulation of a plan that addresses their concerns. The City provides the forum,collects and reports the data, provides an appropriate checking mechanism to ensure safety standards are not compromised,and assists in identification of funding sources, but empowers the persons owing property within the Impact Area develop their own plan. Step 5: Neighborhood Endorsement of the Traffic Calming Plan After receiving input from the neighborhood meeting,the Residential Traffic Team will prepare the second petition. It will include a description of the traffic concerns being addressed,the Impact Area, and the proposed traffic calming measures. This text will be on the back of each official petition form to ensure that those signing the petition are truly aware of the proposal. This text will be first submitted to the City staff for review, and forwarded to the Growth Management and Development Advisory Commission for their approval. Upon approval, the petition must be personally delivered or sent by certified mail, return receipt requested,to all property owners in the Impact Area as indicated on the most recently approved municipal tax roll. In order for traffic calming measures to be further considered for the Impact Area, the petition must be submitted within six(6)weeks after approval by the Commission. This petition must indicate that at least 70%of the owners of the eligible property within the Impact Area are in favor of the traffic calming measure(s) proposed. Only one petition vote shall be allowed per property. All original petition responses, including those signatures in opposition to the proposal, shall be provided to City staff. City staff will verify the signatures using the most recently approved municipal tax roll. If the petition does not achieve the required level of support from the Impact Area, the Residential Traffic Team may(l) terminate the process or(2) return to Step 3, revise the Traffic Calming Plan, and begin a second petition process. Should the second petition also fail the to generate the required level of support, the process will terminate and the Impact Area and/or portions thereof shall be ineligible for consideration for a period of Traffic Cahning Policy Page 3 of three years. If, upon determination of the Traffic Engineer,changes in the street usage result in significantly altered traffic patterns, the three-year waiting period will be waived. Step 6: Project Approval and Funding Upon successful completion of the Implementation Petition phase,City staff and the Residential Traffic Team will explore potential funding sources. Funding may come from one or a combination of the City maintenance funds,City bond funds, federal or state grants,private funding,corporate funding,or any other source,which may be available at the time of the adoption of this policy or in the future. At the appropriate time,depending on the source of funding,and prior to implementation, a traffic calming project must be submitted to Council for approval. If the project is eligible for outside funding requiring the City to make application and/or supply matching funds,the City staff will assist the petitioners in completion of the required forms on behalf of the City. City staff will review the'forms for accuracy and completeness,obtain approvals from the Commission and Council, and submit documentation to the appropriate agency. Examples of outside funding potentially available are the Federal Highway Administration(FHWA)Highway Safety Funds,Transportation Equity Act for the 21"'Century(TEA 21),and Community Development Funds(CD). Step 7: Design and Implementation A priority established by the City Manager for Council approval will be placed on the design and implementation of each traffic calming project based on design and construction costs,funding sources, degree to which the minimum criteria are met, level of neighborhood support,and ease of implementation. If the project is to be funded by the City and is not within the scope of regular maintenance, it will be considered during the annual budget process. If the project is to be financed entirely by the petitioners or other outside resource,the project can proceed as any other private construction job. If construction is required, the petitioners must engage an appropriate registered professional engineer to produce(1)a set of plans of appropriate scale(no case less than 1"=20' scale),with signature block for City departments,and(2)specifications in conformance with City Building Codes. The consultant will submit the plans to the City for signature and upon receiving all necessary signatures, the petitioners will then employ a contractor to construct the project subject to City inspection. The construction contract must be submitted to and approved by the City Engineer. Step 8: Monitoring and Evaluation The Traffic Engineer will conduct studies to evaluate the effectiveness of the project within three to six months after project completion or when traffic patterns have stabilized. If the project is determined to have not met the goals intended or created unanticipated traffic problems for other citizens as defined in Step 2,either in the initial area of concern or elsewhere,the Residential Traffic Team will be advised. Alternative solutions will then be considered on what action should then be taken. However, anytime a project creates and/or shifts a traffic problem from one neighborhood to another,the traffic calming devices will be removed or altered as necessary upon the recommendation of the Traffic Engineer and endorsement by the Commission and Council. Alternatively, should the neighborhood desire removal or significant alteration, the Residential Traffic Team will be responsible for submission of another petition. Significant alteration is defined as an alteration or removal cost of more than 30%of the original installation cost(adjusted by the Consumer Price Index to current cost). This team may consist of the original team or new members. The petition process will follow the same rules set forth in Step 5. Traffic Calming Policy Page 4 of 4