NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Background May 9, 2002, Council study session on traffic calming program presented by City staff Fehr and Peers Associates, the consultant that developed the city of Sacramento’s traffic calming program, was hired to help develop a Neighborhood Traffic Management Program for the City A Project Manager, Susan Gregory, was hired to coordinate the program

Key elements NTMP neighborhood selection: Neighborhoods organized by Lakeview, Seaport, Valley Oak, and combined Civic Center and Park Policing Districts; Goal to select one neighborhood from each of the four areas annually; Initial 60-day filing period to provide an equal opportunity for all interested residents to submit application forms; A lottery to determine order of applicants; and Following lottery, applications accepted on continuous basis ranked in order received. Key element of NTMP neighborhood selection process #1

Key elements of developing a neighborhood traffic calming plan: Staff kicks-off selected area with neighborhood meeting; A Traffic Calming Committee (TCC) organized with 6 to 10 neighborhood volunteers willing to commit to 9 to 12 monthly meetings over a period of 18 to 24 months; Staff conducts a “traffic class” for TCC members; Developing a neighborhood traffic calming plan #1

Staff provides neighborhood traffic data and surveys residents regarding their traffic related concerns; Staff facilitates the TCC’s use of traffic data and survey results to set traffic calming goals, select traffic calming measures, and develop a plan; Staff and the TCC presents plan to residents at a neighborhood meeting; Staff mails plan details to all residents and administers a mail-in ballot process; Developing a neighborhood traffic calming plan #2

If vote unfavorable, TCC determines whether to proceed again with more neighborhood outreach and/or with modifications to the plan; If vote favorable, plan presented to Council for approval and funding; and Staff monitors neighborhood for three to six months after installation of traffic calming measures to determine if goals met and provides report to residents. Developing a neighborhood traffic calming plan #3

Traffic calming measures included in the program: Non-physical measures such as enforcement, radar trailers, lane striping, optical bars, signage, speed legends, botts dots, and high visibility crosswalks; Narrowing measures such as bulbouts, chokers, narrowing/refuge islands; Horizontal measures such as traffic circles, roundabouts, and chicanes; and Traffic calming measure include #1

Diversion measures such as full and half closures and median barriers. Speed humps and other vertical measures are precluded from the program due to their impacts on emergency vehicles and liability issues. Traffic calming measures include #2

Funding Measure K funds in the amount of $250,000 a year are programmed for the NTMP; Each neighborhood allocated $25,000 to fund installation of traffic calming measures; and Remaining $150,000 used to provide staff and consulting services support to neighborhoods as they develop their traffic calming plan. Funding