City Council Agenda Report
June 16, 2026
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Jesus M. Gomez, City Manager
BY: Albert Mendoza, P.E., Director of Public Services/City Engineer Mario Mera, Engineering Division Manager
Run Chen, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer
SUBJECT: CONSIDER INSTALLTION OF SPEED HUMPS ON BARNWALL STREET AND
PIUMA AVENUE
Background:
On March 15, 2021, City Council approved a citywide Speed Hump Policy as part of the City’s Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) to improve roadway safety, reduce speeding, and minimize vehicle-pedestrian conflicts in residential neighborhoods. The policy was developed following extensive review and analysis of applicable California Vehicle Code requirements, guidance from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and traffic calming policies implemented by neighboring and regional agencies. In addition, the City coordinated with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department to evaluate potential impacts to emergency response times and public safety operations, ensuring that any proposed traffic calming measures would not create unintended adverse impacts to emergency services.
The adopted NTMP establishes a standardized and data-driven process for evaluating neighborhood traffic concerns and determining appropriate traffic calming solutions. Rather than relying on a “one-size-fits-all” approach, the program evaluates roadway conditions and community concerns using nationally recognized engineering practices and traffic management strategies. The NTMP incorporates petition requirements to confirm neighborhood support and utilizes objective criteria, including roadway classification, prevailing vehicle speeds, traffic volumes, collision history, and roadway characteristics, to determine eligibility for traffic calming measures. The program applies only to local residential streets with posted speed limits of 25 miles per hour (mph) or less and excludes streets that are part of the Federal Roadway System (FRS).
City Council June 16, 2026
Speed Bump Requests Page No. 2
1 8
8 8
Under the NTMP process, requests for speed humps are first reviewed by staff to determine whether the roadway meets the City’s minimum qualifying criteria. Staff conducts field investigations, reviews traffic speed and volume data, evaluate roadway geometry and collision history, and confirm compliance with emergency access requirements. If the preliminary engineering analysis supports the request, residents within the affected area are required to submit a petition demonstrating at least 65 percent neighborhood support before the request may proceed for Public Safety Commission and City Council consideration.
Following are two requests for speed hump installation under consideration:
Barnwall Street Speed Hump Request Process -
On April 12, 2023, the City of Norwalk received a request for speed hump installation on Barnwall Street between Alburtis Avenue and Roseton Avenue. A thorough review was carried out - per the Speed Hump Policy, and staff’s findings are as follows:
Step 1 – IINITIAL QUALIFYING CRITERIA
Barnwall Street between Alburtis Avenue and Roseton Avenue was analyzed using the City’s Initial Qualifying Criteria (IQC) table. The analysis completed revealed that Barnwall Street does qualify for the consideration of the installation of speed humps.
Initial Qualifying Criteria
Step 2 – NEIGHBORHOOD SPEED HUMP PETITION CIRCULATION
After the IQC was found responsive, staff reviewed petition submitted prior to the analysis of the IQC. Staff also notified Ms. Arlyn Sanchez that Barnwall Street qualified for the consideration of the installation of speed humps and provided Ms. Sanchez direction on the neighborhood addresses that should be contacted regarding the speed hump request petition. A complete petition was submitted on May 5, 2023.
Petitions Evaluation:
Addresses in the neighborhood: 20 (4 on Barnwall St., 16 on intersecting cross streets)
City Council June 16, 2026
Speed Bump Requests Page No. 3
1 8
8 8
•Addresses in favor of the installation of speed humps: 15 (3 on Barnwall St. and 12 on intersecting cross streets)
•Total percent of signatures versus addresses = 15/20 =75%. The 75% exceeds the 65% threshold.
This step was satisfied.
Following the submittal of a qualified petition, staff conducted field investigations, reviewed traffic speed and volume data, and evaluated roadway geometry and collision history. The data results were used to answer the following questions found in the City’s Application Process:
Step 3 – DATA COLLECTION AND ENGINEERING ANALYSIS
Following the submittal of a qualified petition, staff collected data on Barnwall St. This data included traffic volumes, vehicle speeds, and reported collisions. The data results were 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? Data Collection Date: 9/12/2023, 09/13/2023
Total Volume: 669 vehicles per day (vpd) – Yes (<3,000) •386 vpd eastbound (average)
•283 vpd eastbound (average)
This step was satisfied.
2. Are 65% of the vehicles traveling on the street exceeding the speed limit? Data Collection Date: 9/12/2023, 09/13/2023
Vehicles traveling over 25 miles per hour (mph): 408
Ratio: 408/669= 61.0%
The combined average speeds did not meet the 65% threshold; however, when the directional splits were considered, the data indicated that the average vehicles traveling in the eastbound (EB) direction met the 65% threshold.
•Ratio: 250/386 = 64.8%
•Data shows that the 85 th percentile speed is approximately 33.5 mph (average), which is nearly 10 mph over the speed limit. It’s likely speeding may be an issue on Barnwall St.
This step was satisfied based on engineering judgment.
3. Does the reported collision history identified a pattern of speed related collisions over the past 5 years (Period 2018 – 2023)?
The collision report pulled on November 29, 2023, yielded two collisions noted on the tabled below.
City Council June 16, 2026
Speed Bump Requests Page No. 4
1 8
8 8
•5-year accident rate – 8.2 accidents/million vehicles. This is higher than the expected accident rate of 1.07 accidents/million vehicles1. This is higher rate is impacted by the low traffic volumes of Barnwall Street. •The Primary Collision Factor (PCF) for these two reported collisions is not identified as speed related. Collison #1 indicates the PCF of the “Improper turn”, but the movement of the vehicle is “proceeding straight”. Based on these factors, it is possible that the speed of the vehicle may been a contributing factor to the collision.
1 Caltrans 2020 Crash Data on California State Highways, page 83, Basic Average Crash Rate Table for Highways.
This step was satisfied based on engineering judgment.
In summary, this segment of Barnwall Street meets and satisfies all criteria noted on the Speed Hump Policy; therefore, at the February 2, 2026, Public Safety Commission meeting, staff presented the findings of its engineering analysis for the proposed installation of speed humps on Barnwall Street between Alburtis Avenue and Roseton Avenue. Following discussion, the Public Safety Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the request to the City Council for consideration.
Piuma Avenue Speed Hump Request Process -
On April 12, 2023, the City received a request for speed hump installation on Piuma Avenue between Barnwall Street and Fairton Street. A thorough review was carried out - per the Speed Hump Policy, and staff’s findings are as follows:
Step 1 – INITIAL QUALIFYING CRITERIA
Piuma Avenue between Barnwall Street and Fairton Street was analyzed using the City’s Initial Qualifying Criteria (IQC) table. The analysis completed revealed that Piuma Street does qualify for the consideration of the installation of speed humps.
City Council June 16, 2026
Speed Bump Requests Page No. 5
1 8
8 8
Initial Qualifying Criteria
Step 2 – NEIGHBORHOOD SPEED HUMP PETITION CIRCULATION
After the IQC was found responsive, staff reviewed petition submitted prior to the analysis of the IQC. Staff also notified Mrs. Yvonne Zarate that Piuma Avenue qualified for the consideration of the installation of speed humps and provided Mrs. Zarate direction on the neighborhood addresses that should be contacted regarding the speed hump request petition. A complete petition was submitted on July 24, 2023.
Petitions Evaluation:
Addresses in the neighborhood: 104 (52 on Piuma St., 52 on other streets) •Addresses in favor of the installation of speed humps: 69 (41 on Piuma St. and 28 on other streets)
•Total percent of signatures versus addresses = 69/104 =66.3%. The 66.3%. exceeds the 65% threshold. This step was satisfied.
Following the submittal of a qualified petition, staff conducted field investigations, reviewed traffic speed and volume data, and evaluated roadway geometry and collision history. The data results were used to answer the following questions found in the City’s Application Process:
Step 3 – DATA COLLECTION AND ENGINEERING ANALYSIS
Following the submittal of a qualified petition, staff collected data on Piuma St. This data included traffic volumes, vehicle speeds, and reported collisions. The data results were 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? Data Collection Date: 11/14/2023, 11/15/2023
Total Volume: 1,317 vehicles per day (vpd) – Yes (<3,000) •614 vpd northbound (average)
•703 vpd southbound (average)
This step was satisfied.
City Council June 16, 2026
Speed Bump Requests Page No. 6
1 8
8 8
2. Are 65% of the vehicles traveling on the street exceeding the speed limit? Data Collection Date: 11/14/2023, 11/15/2023
Vehicles traveling over 25 miles per hour (mph): 1,009
Ratio: 1,009/1,317= 76.6%
This step was satisfied based on engineering judgment.
3. Does the reported collision history identified a pattern of speed related collisions over the past 5 years (Period 2018 to 2023)
The collision report pulled on November 29, 2023, yielded nine collisions noted on the tabled below.
•5-year accident rate =18.72 accidents/million vehicles. This is higher than the expected accident rate of 1.07 accidents/million vehicles1. •The Primary Collision Factor (PCF) for these nine reported collisions is not identified as speed related. Collison #4, #5, #7, and #9 indicates the PCF of the “Improper turn” but the movement of the vehicle is “proceeding straight”. Based on these factors, it is possible that the speed of the vehicle may been a contributing factor to the collision.
City Council June 16, 2026
Speed Bump Requests Page No. 7
1 8
8 8
1 Caltrans 2020 Crash Data on California State Highways, page 83, Basic Average Crash Rate Table for Highways.
This step was satisfied based on engineering judgment.
In summary, this segment of Piuma Avenue meets and satisfies all criteria noted on the Speed Hump Policy; therefore, at the February 2, 2026, Public Safety Commission meeting, staff presented the findings of its engineering analysis for the proposed installation of speed humps on Piuma Avenue between Barnwall Street and Fairton Street. Following discussion, the Public Safety Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the request to the City Council for consideration.
Fiscal Impact:
The estimated cost for installation is up to $15,000 per speed hump, for a total estimated project cost of approximately $90,000. As no bids have been solicited for the project, the actual costs may vary. There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with the recommended action at this time. Should City Council approve the installation of speed humps, staff will return at a future meeting with a separate staff report requesting approval of a construction contract for the installation work. Funding sources have not yet been identified and will be determined as part of the future contract award process.
Citizens Advised:
City staff conducted widespread public outreach to ensure affected residents were informed of the proposed traffic calming measures and provided multiple opportunities to participate in the evaluation process. Outreach efforts included petition circulation, Neighborhood Watch meetings, direct resident engagement, and deployment of the radar speed feedback trailer to collect traffic data and raise driver awareness.
The following table summarizes the public outreach efforts:
City Council June 16, 2026
Speed Bump Requests Page No. 8
1 8
8 8
Strategic Plan 2023 Implementation:
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 recommend City Council approve the installation of speed humps on Barnwall Street and Piuma Avenue.
Attachments:
1. Speed Hump Request Application Process – Barnwall Street
2. Speed Hump Request Application Process – Piuma Avenue
3. Preliminary Speed Hump Locations – Barnwall Street
4. Preliminary Speed Hump Locations – Piuma Avenue