TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Adam Lindsay, ICMA-CM, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Sheila Thomas-Ambat, PE, CCM, CFM, Public Services Director
Brian McGill, PE, PTOE, Interim Assistant Public Services Director - Traffic Services
DATE: February 24, 2025
RE:
Title
Faison Avenue - Non-Compliant Speed Hump Petition
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
District 5
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal I: The City of Fayetteville will be a safe and secure community.
Goal IV: The City of Fayetteville will be a highly desirable place to live, work and recreate.
Goal V: Be a financially sound city providing exemplary city services.
Goal VI: The City of Fayetteville will continue to have a collaborative citizen and business engagement base.
Executive Summary:
A non-compliant speed hump request for the installation of three speed humps has been submitted for Faison Avenue. Traffic Services and the Fayetteville Fire Department is recommending against installation.
Background:
Residential Traffic Management Program: When citizens request traffic calming measures for their neighborhood, the City of Fayetteville’s Residential Traffic Management Program (RTMP) provides a path to request speed humps. The program has five goals, and outlines policies, procedures, and requirements in the attachment labeled “RTMP_Speed Humps.pdf”. The program’s five goals are noted as follows:
1. Improve residential livability by encouraging adherence to the speed limit.
2. Maintain access, safety and comfort for alternative transportation users on residential streets.
3. Encourage citizen involvement in solutions to residential traffic problems.
4. Appropriately channel public resources by prioritizing traffic mitigation requests according to documented criteria.
5. Effectively address the frequently conflicting, public safety interests of traffic mitigation and emergency response.
When the city receives a request, we first determine if the location is suitable for traffic calming measures, in that it is a residential local street, is not less than 1,000 feet long, and has a posted speed limit of 25 mph or less. If the location is suitable, we proceed to collect data for the specified location to determine if there is a speeding issue, as well as if there is enough volume to justify the cost for the installation of a speed hump.
The RTMP currently requires a minimum value of 100 vehicles in one hour, or 1,000 vehicles per day. The RTMP also has a maximum value of 3,000 vehicles per day for a speed hump to be installed at a study location. The speed threshold for installing speed humps on a road is when at least 85% of the vehicles using the road are traveling seven miles per hour or more above the posted speed limit. If a location meets or exceeds these thresholds, a petition is then circulated among the study area, with the RTMP requiring 70% of the study area approving of the proposed speed humps, and 100% approval from those that are immediately adjacent to the proposed speed humps.
When a study location does not meet or exceed the thresholds, the requester can pursue a non-compliant installation. This can be achieved through one of three ways which are listed as follows:
1. The residents could pay for the cost of the speed hump(s) and the City will provide the labor for a one-time installation.
2. The residents could pursue a Local Improvement District designation.
3. The neighborhood can provide a petition with the needed signatures to City Council and the Council can direct staff to proceed with installing the speed humps.
Regarding speed humps, the majority of non-compliant requests are paid for by the residents of the area, with the City providing the labor for a one-time installation. This is done due to the limited funding the City has, as well as the study location failing to meet the RTMP thresholds and being recommended against installation by Traffic Services and the Fire Department. The most recent non-compliant speed hump installation was in May of 2024, and was for Sunbury Drive. This non-compliant speed hump was installed after residents paid for the cost of the speed hump. To staff’s knowledge, the last time Council directed staff to install speed humps based on petition was for West Orange Street, which predates our current records.
Recently, on January 27th, 2025, the City Council approved through consent the revisions to the community engagement process. The revisions saw the petition process change from the requester collecting signatures, to the City providing ballots to the study area.
Non-Compliant Request: It should be noted that this request for non-compliant speed hump installation on Faison Avenue was initiated, and the satisfactory petition was received by City staff, prior to the revisions to the community engagement process on January 27th, 2025. As such, the RTMP that is attached (RTMP_Speed Humps.pdf) reflects the previous version, and not the current version which was approved on January 27th, 2025, which reflects the revised community engagement process.
The contact person, Mr. Sean Pedigo, e-mailed the City on May 7th, 2024, requesting a speed study for speed humps. On June 4th, 2024, the results of this speed study, as well as the historic studies in this area, were communicated to the contact person by e-mail and is shown in the attachment “Faison Ave response letter 2.pdf”. The results of this speed study, shown below, indicate that Faison Avenue did not meet the thresholds of the RTMP for speed humps.
|
LOCATION |
DATE |
ADT |
85th % SPEED |
AVG. SPEED |
QUALIFY |
|
Faison Ave (705 block) |
7/13-17/2020 |
357 |
34 mph |
27 mph |
No |
|
Faison Ave (404 block) |
5/16-20/2022 |
459 |
30 mph |
21 mph |
No |
|
Faison Ave (604 block) |
5/20-28/2024 |
396 |
37 mph |
29 mph |
No |
In mid-June, the contact person requested a different location on Faison Avenue be studied as the new study location would be on the other side of an intersection which may see the volume and speed thresholds achieved. In late July, the second speed study was performed, shown below, which indicated that Faison Avenue continued to not meet the thresholds of the RTMP for speed humps. These results were communicated to the contact person via e-mail, as well as attached as “Faison Ave response letter 3.pdf”.
|
LOCATION |
DATE |
ADT |
85th % SPEED |
AVG. SPEED |
QUALIFY |
|
Faison Ave (1113 block) |
7/08-15/2024 |
456 |
34 mph |
27 mph |
No |
In September, the contact person requested and received information regarding non-compliant installation through e-mail and a letter outlined by the attached “Faison Ave Non-Compliant Installation letter.pdf”. The petition area, attached as “PetitionArea_20240920.pdf”, indicates the houses considered to be in the RTMP study area and the approximate locations of the speed humps.
The locations of the historic study areas referenced in “Faison Ave response letter 3.pdf” is represented in the attachment “SpeedStudyHistory.pdf” as stars, with the petition area shown as well.
In December, the contact person provided the petition with the necessary signatures, which have been verified by staff. Copies of the signed petition can be provided on request, however it contains identifiable information such as names, addresses, and phone numbers and has been omitted from the attachments for this submission to preserve citizen privacy.
The outline of a typical agenda for a Council Meeting was provided to the contact person in February of 2025, with a goal of bringing this petition in-front of Council for the February 24th, 2025 Regular Council Meeting.
With a proposal of three speed humps on Faison Avenue, this project would cost approximately $12,000 between asphalt, signage, pavement markings, and labor.
Recommendation: As this location did not qualify based on the RTMP thresholds, and this road historically has not qualified for speed humps, Traffic Services is recommending against installation of speed humps. After coordination with the Fayetteville Fire Department, they have also recommended against the installation of these speed humps as this will negatively impact their emergency response time.
Issues/Analysis:
RTMP provides citizens the option to petition Council for speed hump installation, and one has been submitted for Faison Avenue.
Budget Impact:
N/A
Options:
Option 1 - Deny petition and return to requester.
Option 2 - Approve petition and direct staff to install speed humps.
Recommended Action:
Option 1 - Deny petition and return to requester
Attachments:
Faison Ave response letter 2.pdf
Faison Ave response letter 3.pdf
Faison Ave Non-Compliant Installation letter.pdf
PetitionArea_20240920.pdf
RTMP_Speed Humps.pdf
SpeedStudyHistory.pdf