Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 20, 2024
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: STEPHEN BISE, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
PREPARED BY: DAVID ROSEMAN, CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER
SUBJECT: TRAFFIC SAFETY INITIATIVES UPDATE
SUMMARY
An update on new and ongoing traffic safety initiatives.
PROPOSED MOTION
Receive and file.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
This traffic safety initiatives update has no action required Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
Based on concerns that have been discussed recently regarding traffic and pedestrian safety, the City Manager requested the Public Works Department to provide an update on traffic safety initiatives to the City Council.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Public Safety
Infrastructure and City Assets
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact generated by this item.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City Engineer presented traffic safety initiatives to City Council in February 2023, outlining a series of safety projects, programs and efforts pursued by staff to enhance City traffic safety including:
new traffic signal timing parameters
safety grant projects underway
grant opportunities
street and intersection safety lighting
school safety investigations
Fullerton Police Department and other traffic safety agency collaboration.
This report provides an update on those initiatives, outlines accomplishments over the past year, summarizes 2023 collision statistics and proposed a 2024 work plan. 2023 Traffic Safety Accomplishments
City traffic engineers retimed 32 intersections to update all-red intervals, extend pedestrian clearance times, provide more green time for cyclists and reduce stops and delays. Most of the retimed intersections are along or near Orangethorpe Avenue. Staff retimed other intersections as part of traffic safety investigations or other projects.
City traffic engineers implemented three new traffic signal operational technologies to improve traffic safety including the City’s first two traffic signals featuring leading pedestrian intervals to give pedestrians crossing arterials a head start before the onset of green signals, the first rest-in-red operation to curb night-time speeding and the first bike signals along the Wilshire Bike Boulevard to provide cyclists with exclusive, protected movement. The City deployed each of these to address a demonstrated traffic safety concern. City traffic engineers look to expand such traffic signal operations in coming years.
City traffic engineers have developed a new sequencing operation for flashing yellow arrow traffic signals. The City has sixteen intersections with flashing yellow arrows and programmed half of those with upgraded all-red intervals and delayed yellow intervals in 2023. This slight delay in onset of the solid yellow arrow indication should reduce motorist confusion about signal operation and significantly enhance left-turn safety.
The City upgraded sixteen uncontrolled crosswalks on arterials with new signs, markings and rapid flashing beacons. These improvements should significantly improve pedestrian visibility to motorists and reduce motorist violations of pedestrian right-of-way. The City also upgraded traffic signals with new countdown pedestrian indications. Countdown pedestrian indications provide a pedestrian-friendly enhancement to and can reduce crash rates up to 25%. Additionally, the City upgraded intersection safety lighting at two traffic signals, with additional upgrades at other intersections under design.
The Traffic Engineering Section perform traffic safety reviews at two school sites annually, which include upgrading traffic and parking signage and pavement markings to latest safety standards, assessing additional traffic and parking control needs, reviewing crossing guard locations, and observing traffic operations during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal periods. City traffic engineers coordinate review with the Police Department and School District staff. City traffic engineers completed four school zone safety reviews in 2003 at Maple Elementary, Pacific Drive Elementary, Acacia Elementary, and Commonwealth Elementary.
City traffic engineers completed two federally funded safety projects which installed rapid flashing beacons and countdown pedestrian indications. The City received $200,000 in federal Safe Streets and Roads or All (SS4A) program funds to develop a comprehensive safety action plan. This plan would build upon the Local Road Safety Plan and identify safety projects likely eligible for grant funding. Staff solicited consultant proposals to perform the work and are reviewing submitted proposals. Public Works staff submitted a grant funding application to OCTA for $4.85M for the Harbor Boulevard Complete Streets Improvement Project. This safety enhancement project would calm traffic speeds along Harbor Boulevard, improve access to recreational facilities for road users, and provide pedestrian and bicycle connectivity in the corridor. OCTA is now reviewing the application. 2023 Traffic Collison Statistics Summary
2023 traffic collision statistics revealed total reported crashes in the City declined 16% over 2022 levels. Staff cannot completely attribute this significant decrease to safety initiatives but is encouraged to see overall crash rates in the City trending down, which many larger jurisdictions in Southern California have not experienced. Crashes involving pedestrians reduced by 26%, however, crashes involving cyclists increased by 29%. The 29% increase represents only ten additional reported crashes in 2023 over 2022. City traffic engineers will focus more on cyclist safety in 2024 to reduce the number of future crashes.
Most crashes were not the typical broadside collisions at signalized intersections, and the majority of crashes in the City did not occur at intersections. 43% of crashes in 2023 occurred at night, significantly higher percentage than typical for an urban area. 30% of crashes occurred on the weekend, matching the typical percentage for an urban area. 23% of crashes were hit and run, and another 21% of crashes involved alcohol. 2024 Focus on Traffic Safety
City traffic engineers will continue with safety initiatives established in 2023 and work with consultants to retime additional traffic signals with new safety parameters. Most of this work will focus on Harbor Boulevard, Yorba Linda Boulevard, and Euclid Street corridors. City traffic engineers will retime the eight remaining flashing yellow intersections and implement leading pedestrian intervals and rest-in-red operations at key intersections throughout the City to improve safety and calm traffic speeds. City traffic engineers will complete engineering design of three traffic signal safety projects in 2024 at the Euclid and Rosecrans, Harbor and La Entrada, and Lemon and Valencia intersections. Each of the intersections will receive safety lighting upgrades in addition to the planned traffic signal work. Traffic safety grant activities will focus on the Safety Action Plan and the OCTA grant for the Harbor Boulevard Complete Streets Improvement Project. City traffic engineers have begun traffic safety reviews for Troy High School and Fisler Elementary School and hope to add one or more schools to that list by the end of 2024.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – PowerPoint Presentation
cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt
Traffic Safety Initiatives Update
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