City of Gonzales
PUBLIC WORKS / CITY ENGINEER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: July 21, 2025
FROM: Patrick Dobbins, Public Works Director/City Engineer THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Traffic Calming Policy
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council receive a draft Traffic Calming Policy and provide direction to staff.
BACKGROUND
This report is in follow-up to staff’s presentation on the development of a Traffic Calming Policy at the May 5, 2025 Council meeting.
As an overview, a Traffic Calming Policy will provide the process to review and consider resident’s requests and “tool kit” of physical and other traffic control adjustments. This provides a resource for City staff to address residents’ concerns with unsafe vehicles in a written process and lists the various traffic measures that could be put in place to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
The current approach to handling resident requests regarding unsafe driver behavior is:
1. A resident contacts City Hall to report inappropriate driver behavior they would like addressed.
Concerns include excessive speed, unsafe driving or pedestrian activity (ie, by schools).
2. Staff discusses the request with the Police Chief and request they monitor and perform traffic enforcement.
3. Public Works staff visit the site to determine what, if any, traffic measures could be implemented to address the issue.
AGENDA
ITEM
18 4. Discuss outcome of the review with the resident including next steps such as increased traffic enforcement and/or installation of traffic control measures.
Having a Traffic Calming Policy will provide City staff and residents with a written procedure for reviewing resident’s requests and list of appropriate traffic calming measures.
REVIEW & ANALYSIS
After the May 2025 Council meeting, staff engaged TL Engineering to develop a Traffic Calming Policy, and their scope of work was:
1. Review traffic calming measures from Caltrans and other public agencies (ie, cities of Salinas and Monterey) that should be incorporated into a “menu” of traffic calming measures relevant to Gonzales.
2. Prepare a draft Traffic Calming Policy for City review (copy attached to this staff report).
3. Prepare a final Traffic Calming Policy based on feedback from other City departments, the City Council and interested residents.
Staff will step through the highlights of the attached draft Traffic Calming Policy at the Council meeting and staff is interested in feedback and direction from the City Council.
Explain Recommendation and How it Supports the Vision
Gonzales will continue to be a safe, clean, family-friendly community, diverse in its heritage, and committed to working collaboratively to preserve and retain its small town charm.
Explain: Establishing a Traffic Calming Program helps residents understand the process to address speeding cars in their neighbor.
Explain how the Recommendation Directly Implements the Mission The City Council and Staff of the City of Gonzales will realize our Vision by providing the leadership, commitment and resources necessary to provide excellent services that enhance the quality of life of our diverse community. X Yes ___ No
Explain: See above Vision.
City services will be delivered in a cost-effective, respectful and friendly manner to ensure the safety and well being of the residents and the promotion of business, recreational, housing and employment opportunities in an environmentally sustainable manner. X Yes No Explain: See above Vision.
Strong fiscal policies allow us to provide appropriate infrastructure for:
• Public Safety X Yes No N/A
• Housing Yes X No N/A
• Recreation Yes X No N/A
• Environment Yes X No N/A
• Education Yes No X N/A
ALTERNATIVES
The Council could direct staff to develop other alternatives for addressing unsafe driver behavior in residential neighborhoods.
BUDGET IMPACT
Blue Zones has provided full funding for the preparation of the Traffic Calming Policy in an amount not to exceed $11,000.
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that the City Council receive a draft Traffic Calming Policy and provide direction to staff.
Attachments:
1. Draft Traffic Calming Policy