TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Adam Lindsay, 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: January 27, 2025
RE:
Title
Residential Traffic Management Program - Community Engagement Revisions
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal I: Be a safe and secure community.
Goal IV: Be a highly desirable place to live, work, and recreate.
Goal VI: Have a collaborative citizen and business engagement base.
Executive Summary:
The City’s Residential Traffic Management Program (RTMP) signature collection process was requested by Council to be revised. Based on information provided by staff, Council instructed staff to revise the RTMP to adopt a process to collect signatures through mailed ballots which include a QR code providing more information. With approval of this item, we’ll begin to progressively send ballots to the currently open petitions.
Background:
- 8/7/2023 - Council requested staff review traffic calming measures.
- 9/25/2023 - Council received report on traffic calming measures.
- 11/6/2023 - Council received presentation on traffic calming measures and directed staff to return with recommendations for an update to the Residential Traffic Management Program (RTMP).
- 6/24/2024 - Council received a report with responses to comments from the 11/6/2023 presentation.
- 10/07/2024 - Council received a presentation with updated RTMP information and responses to comments from the 11/6/2023 presentation.
- 11/04/2024 - Council received a presentation with recommendations for revisions to the RTMP for community engagement, and responses to comments from the 10/07/2024 presentation.
The City’s Residential Traffic Management Program (RTMP) has a process that allows for citizens to request speed humps and multi-way stops. This process requires a petition for successful implementation of those devices. The signature collection process for these petitions currently lay with the contact person - the person who requested the device(s).
During the presentation on 10/07/2024, staff was requested to review the current signature policy to better facilitate the completion of RTMP requests. Staff returned on 11/04/2024 and presented their findings which were based on a peer review of the state. From this presentation, Council instructed staff to revise the RTMP to adopt a process to collect signatures through mailed ballots which include a QR code providing more information.
During the 11/04/2024 presentation, interest was expressed in “bolt-down” traffic calming measures, and references were made to local universities utilizing them. Staff have contacted the local university that most prominently uses “bolt-down” traffic calming measures and have been informed from the university personnels experience that they are considering switching to concrete at the end of the devices’ lifespan. Within one year of installation, the “bolt-down” devices effectiveness has decreased to the point of being ineffective at some locations. Further, staff reviewed other local universities and found those traffic calming measures on their campus roads to be either concrete or asphalt, except for those found in parking lots. In addition, as previously mentioned in the 10/07/2024 and 11/04/2024 presentation, other municipalities have moved away from the “bolt-down” option due to maintenance, lifespan, and liability concerns.
Upon approval of this item, we will progressively mail ballots to the compliant and non-compliant petition areas currently open. The open petitions currently have approximately 4,100 households across 38 affected petition areas, requesting a total of 68 speed humps.
Ballots will be created, placed into pre-paid envelopes, and mailed to addresses within each affected area. Each ballot will include a signature line as well as pre-paid return postage back to Traffic Services offices. The design, as well as the questions on the ballot, depending on the RTMP countermeasure, are included as attachments to this document. With the mailing of the ballots for the current open petitions, a 60-day deadline will begin. All deadlines and study areas will be posted on the RTMP website, which can be navigated to from a QR code, as well as a website link printed on the ballot card.
Yard signs will be created and placed for each RTMP countermeasure requested location for the current open petitions. These yard signs are generic, with their design included as an attachment to this document. Upon the deadline of the ballot, the yard signs will be collected and reused for future requests, with surplus yard signs used for increased community engagement and replacement of future stock.
As the non-compliant petitions were initiated prior to the ballots being policy, for ease of facilitation, non-compliant petitions will be included in the initial ballot mailing. Future non-compliant petitions require the requester or community to reimburse the City for the cost of the ballots.
We anticipate additional cost with the roll-out of this streamlined community engagement process without knowing the budget; The cost for this program is dependent on citizen requests and engagement. When funds for speed hump and multiway stop are exhausted this fiscal year, the RTMP requests will still be received and studied, and ballots will be mailed to the affected areas, with speed hump installation occurring at the start of the following fiscal year.
After reviewing the results of all completed mail ballots from the above process, the results will be presented to Council alongside information with Safe Streets For All (SS4A), which will provide additional recommendations to the RTMP. SS4A is scheduled to be completed later this year, with RTMP recommendations being presented to Council prior to the completion of the report.
All proposed policy revisions, final versions of policy, ballot cards, yard signs, and a summary workflow of a standard RTMP request is attached to this document.
Issues/Analysis:
The City’s current RTMP defines the signature collection process for requests. Revisions to the signature collection process and community engagement process are proposed.
Budget Impact:
N/A
Options:
Option 1 - Approve Council Policy and RTMP revisions.
Option 2 - Send back to staff with direction.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommend option 1, approve Council Policy and RTMP revisions.
Attachments:
160-09_Revisions.doc
160-09-1_Revisions.doc
RTMP-SpeedHump_Revisions.doc
RTMP-MultiWayStop_Revisions.doc
160-09_FINAL.doc
160-09-1_FINAL.doc
RTMP-SpeedHump_FINAL.doc
RTMP-MultiWayStop_FINAL.doc
RTMP Card - Speed Hump.pdf
RTMP Card - Multiway Stop.pdf
RTMP-YardSign_SpeedHump.pdf
RTMP-YardSign_MultiWayStop.pdf
RTMP-Request_Summary.pdf