City Council Agenda Report
August 6, 2024
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Jesus M. Gomez, City Manager
BY: Glen W.C. Kau, P.E., Director of Public Services/City Engineer SUBJECT: CECILIA STREET BETWEEN ORR AND DAY ROAD AND FAIRFORD
AVENUE - SPEED HUMP REQUEST
Background:
On March 15, 2021, the City Council approved a city-wide speed hump policy for its’ residents to mitigate and improve safety and reduce vehicle-pedestrian conflicts.
The City's speed hump policy was developed through research of other agency policies, incorporating input from the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Fire Departments regarding potential impacts to their services. Additionally, the policy considered guidelines from the Institute of Transportation Engineers and involved cost-benefit analyses of speed humps, including several discussions with the City Council
Following are the highlights of the proposed policy (Neighborhood Traffic Management Program):
Speed Hump Policy Development-
A Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) offers a comprehensive approach to addressing neighborhood traffic safety concerns. It also assesses each resident's concerns and provides practical solutions using a national database established by the Institute for Transportation Engineers. The NTMP provides alternatives to the “one size fits all” use of a Speed Hump. Additionally, insurance agencies and the State of California officially recognized these traffic management alternatives as an official traffic control program, demonstrating that it meets legal standards which can be defended in court.
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4 The NTMP is designed to establish a standard process for receiving requests, assessing resident traffic concerns, and implementing targeted traffic calming solutions. This community-driven approach uses petitions to gain neighborhood consensus on the appropriate traffic calming “tool” to enhance traffic safety. However, these tools should NOT be applied on roads with speed limits over 25 miles per hour (mph) or on roads that are part of the Federal Roadway System (FRS) Cecilia Street Speed Hump Request Process-
At the October 2, 2023, Public Safety Commission Meeting, staff presented recommendations to install speed humps on Cecilia Street between Orr & Day Road and Fairford Avenue was discussed. Residents were allowed to express their concerns during public comment, and a petition signed by residents (living in the surrounding area) was thoroughly reviewed and approved by staff, following the guidelines set by the NTMP. The Commission voted unanimously to present the recommendations to the City Council. However, at the time, it was believed that there was NOT a quorum to accept the recommendation.
At the November 6, 2023, Public Safety Commission meeting, staff informed the Commission that the quorum issue was discussed with the City Attorney, and it was determined that a quorum was convened at the October 2, 2023, meeting. Therefore, the previous vote would carry and this item would be forwarded to the City Council.
After consulting with the city attorney, staff confirmed to the Public Safety Commission that a quorum was convened at the October 2, 2023, commission meeting, therefore, validating the unanimous vote by the Public Safety Commission to accept the recommendation for presentation to the Council.
During public comment, a resident submitted a petition consisting only of residents on Lakeland Road between Orr and Day Road and Fairford Avenue in which staff accepted. The Lakeland Road petition was “Against” the installation of speed humps on Cecilia Street. As a result, this delayed the Public Safety Commission’s recommendation from being presented to the City council for approval. Upon further review and consultation with the city attorney, it was determined that the Lakeland petition was incomplete and did not comply with the City's NTMP guidelines. As a result, it was not approved by the staff.
A review of the Lakeland Road petition can be found in Step 2 of the Cecilia Street Speed Hump Request Process History.
STEP 1 – INITIAL QUALIFYING CRITERIA
Cecilia Street between Orr & Day Road and Fairford Avenue was analyzed using the City’s Initial Qualifying Criteria (IQC) table. The analysis completed revealed that Cecilia Street does qualify for the consideration of the installation of speed humps.
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4 Initial Qualifying Criteria
STEP 2 – NEIGHBORHOOD SPEED HUMP PETITION CIRCULATION
After the IQC was found responsive, staff reviewed petitions submitted prior to the analysis of the IQC. Staff also notified Mr. Garcia that Cecilia Street qualified for the consideration of the installation of speed humps and provided Mr. Garcia direction on the neighborhood addresses that should be contacted regarding the speed hump request.
The data was used to answer the following questions found in the City’s Application Process:
1. Does the street have an average daily traffic volume of 3,000 vehicles or less? •2,532 vehicles per day (vpd) – Yes
•950 vpd eastbound
•1,582 vpd westbound
Satisfied
2. Are 65% of the vehicles traveling on the street exceeding the speed limit? •1,270 vehicles traveling over 25 mph - Yes
•1,270 / 2,532 = 50.2% - Yes
•While the 50.2% falls below the 65% threshold, there is a pattern of collisions occurring on Cecilia Street. In addition, the curves from Cecilia Street to/from Orr & Day Road have been addressed with various signs and markings with varied success.
Satisfied based on engineering judgement
3. Does the reported collision history identify a pattern of speed related collisions over the past 5 years (period 2022 – 2018)?
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4 DATE/TIME LOCATION DESCRIPTION
PRIMARY
COLLISION
FACTOR
#
INJURED /
# KILLED
1* 7/9/2023;
11:47 pm
On Cecilia, 60 ft west
of Dollison (Orr &
Day)
Northbound vehicle
proceeding straight rear-
ended 3 westbound
facing parked vehicles.
Unsafe turning
movement
0 / 0
2 5/25/2022;
3:51 am
Cecilia at Orr & Day Eastbound vehicle turning
left (northbound to
westbound) sideswiped a
northbound vehicle
turning right.
Improper turn 0 / 0
3* 5/26/2020;
6:41 pm
On Cecilia, 63 ft west
of Orr & Day
Northbound vehicle
proceeding straight rear-
ended 3 westbound
facing parked vehicles.
Driving under
the influence
and associated
Unsafe speed
0 / 0
*Information from the City of Downey, Edwin Norris, P.E., T.E., Deputy Director of Public Works •5-year accident rate = 0.65 accidents/million vehicles. This is lower than the expected accident rate of 1.07 accidents/million vehicles1 - Yes •The Primary Collision Factor (PCF) for these 3 reported collisions is not identified as speed related. However, collision #3 does show unsafe speed as an associated factor.
Therefore, based on the descriptions of the collisions, the speed of the vehicles involved were also likely associated with the collisions – Yes
Satisfied based on engineering judgement
1 Caltrans 2020 Crash Data on California State Highways, page 83, Basic Average Crash Rate Table for Highways
RESPONSES TO COMMENTS FROM OCTOBER 2, 2023 MEETING
Public comments were received at the last Public Safety Commission meeting. The responses below are based on general comments from the public.
Q1. We would like consideration of speed hump installation on other neighboring streets (Lakeland Road, Hermes Street, etc.).
•A request for consideration for the installation of speed humps will need to follow the Speed Hump Request Application Process. This request for speed humps on Cecilia Street is specific to Cecilia Street. The Application Process to present a petition to residents on neighboring streets is part of notifying the neighborhood of a possible change in the neighborhood.
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4 Q2.What about installing Stop signs?
•City follows the guidelines in the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) for the installation of Stop signs. The CA MUTCD specifically states that “Yield and Stop signs should not be used for speed control.” The use of Stop signs is to establish the right-of-way at intersections. The guidelines for the installation of Stop signs reviews traffic volumes, pedestrian and bicycle volumes, and reported collision history.
Q3.There are no Stop signs on Orr & Day Road and speeds are a problem. •City adopted the Engineering and Traffic Survey in May 2023. This Survey certifies and establishes speed limits on the primary arterial and collector streets within the City. The Survey also changed the posted speed limit on Orr & Day Road from 30 miles per hour (mph) to 25 mph. Additional selective enforcement will be requested for Orr & Day Road.
City Council Consideration
This request for speed humps on Cecilia Street has completed the City’s Application Process and is now before the City Council for final action. The request for speed humps on Cecilia Street has completed the process as follows:
Initial Qualifying Criteria – Satisfied
Neighborhood Petition (Original) – Total percent of signatures versus addresses = 62 / 90 =
68.9%. The 68.9% exceeds the 65% threshold. – Satisfied Neighborhood Petition (with Lakeland Road petition Against) – Total percent of signatures versus addresses = 46 / 90 = 51.1%. The 51.1% does NOT satisfy the 65% threshold. – Not Satisfied
Data Collection
oAverage daily traffic less than 3,000 vpd – Satisfied
o65% of vehicles traveling above the speed limit – Satisfied based on engineering judgement.
oReported Collision History – Satisfied based on engineering judgement Two options are available for City Council consideration:
a. Option 1: Approve the installation of speed humps on (Exhibit 1**):
•Cecilia Street between Fairford Avenue and Orr & Day Road – 4 speed humps with appropriate signs; and
•Orr & Day Road between Lakeland Road and Cecilia Street – 2 speed humps with appropriate signs.
Direct staff to collect Before and After (at least 6 months after installation) speed and volume data on Cecilia Street and Lakeland Road to determine the short-term impacts of the speed humps.
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4 b. Option 2: Deny the request for the installation of speed humps on Cecilia Street between Orr and Day Road and Fairford Avenue
** Exhibit 1 depicts preliminary speed hump locations and should not be considered the final speed hump locations on Cecilia Street or Orr & Day Road. The preliminary locations shown have not been confirmed and may need to be adjusted based on location of driveways, utility access holes, storm drains, valves, etc.
However, the general spacing (~200 to 250 feet) of these preliminary locations is the model for speed hump installations.
Fiscal Impact:
Adequate funding is available as part of the Fiscal Year 2024/25 approved budget.
Citizens Advised:
Residents were notified about the request for speed humps through the petition circulated in their neighborhood.
Strategic Plan 2023 Implementation:
The recommended action will advance the City's Strategic Goal No. 2: Working in Partnership with Our Community to Achieve Safe and Livable Neighborhoods, specifically addressing Objective No. 1 by reinvesting in existing and aging infrastructure.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that City Council approve the installation of speed humps on Cecilia Street between Orr & Day Road and Fairford Avenue.
Attachments:
Exhibit 1 – Preliminary Speed Hump Locations