CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
September 11, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted by: Rene Guerrero, Public Works Director
Subject: INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 58 OF THE POMONA CITY CODE TO DECREASE CERTAIN SPEED LIMITS IN THE CITY BASED ON AN ENGINEERING AND TRAFFIC SURVEY Recommendation:
It is recommended that the City Council introduce, waive further, and give first reading to the following ordinance (Attachment No. 1):
ordinance no. 4335 – An ordinance OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, california, amending chapter 58 (“traffic and vehicles”), article iii (“vehicle operation”), section 58-122 (“speed limits for specific streets”) of the pomona city code by updating the speed limits on designated city streets for years 2023 and 2024 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Adoption of this Ordinance will change the speed limits of 27 roadway segments based on the findings of the updated Engineering and Traffic Survey (E&TS) and on July 1, 2024, 41 roadway segments will qualify for additional speed limit reduction based on AB 43. State Law requires that speed limits on certain types of roadways be updated every seven (7) to ten (10) years in order to maintain proper enforceability. An Engineering and Traffic Survey (E&TS) was conducted for all required roadway segments within the City. This survey included the review and recent updates under Assembly Bill (AB) 43, with priority given to streets with a history of fatal and severe injury collisions. Speed limits that were increased in their last cycle, may qualify for reduction under the new California Vehicle Code (CVC) 22358.8.
FISCAL IMPACT:
It is anticipated that there will be a total fiscal impact of $5,000 for sign replacements which will be funded within the existing Paint and Sign Operational Measure M Budget (138-2562-52750-00000).
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On January 6, 2014, City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4178 to increase and/or decrease certain speed limits in the City based on an Engineering and Traffic Survey.
On December 3, 2012, City Council awarded a Professional Services Contract to Hartzog & Crabill to conduct a Citywide Engineering and Traffic Survey.
On May 3, 2010, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4130 to amend Chapter 58 of the Pomona City Code to add Hamilton Boulevard between Phillips Boulevard and Lexington Avenue to the List of City Roadways and Designated Speed Limits.
On October 5, 2009, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4123 to amend Chapter 58 of the Pomona City Code to remove Huntington Boulevard between Orange Grove and Holt Avenue from the List of City Roadways and Designated Speed Limits.
On March 2, 2009, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4113 to decrease the speed limit on Fulton Road.
On June 18, 2007, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4084 establishing changes to speed limits for segments of certain streets within the City.
DISCUSSION:
The California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) and the California Vehicle Code (CVC) established the method of conducting an Engineering and Traffic Survey (E&TS) in order to establish a speed limit enforceable using electronic devices (i.e. Radar and similar devices). Due to standards set at the State level, the City has been forced to raise speed limits on many streets in order to make them enforceable. State law requires cities, when performing an engineering and traffic survey, to set the speed limit based on the “85th percentile,” or the speed at or below which 85 percent of the drivers travel. This methodology means that if as few as one (1) in six (6) drivers speed on a given street, a city may be required to raise the limit on that street. In the last speed limit renewal cycle, the City raised speed limits on a few street segments.
In October 2021, Governor Newsom signed AB 43. This bill allows cities to consider the safety of vulnerable road users when setting speed limits on streets with a history of collisions, with special attention to places where people are more likely to walk and bike. The bill also allows a city to maintain and enforce existing speed limits, and roll back speed limit increases that happened several years ago if the increase was not based on any physical changes to the design of the street. Following these requirements, Willdan Engineering conducted an E&TS of 135 road segments on 66 streets within the City. The road segments are determined by the type of roadway characteristics and engineering judgment.
AB 43 took effect on January 1, 2022, and made a number of additions and modifications to the CVC that authorize local jurisdictions to set safer speed limits on certain streets. The most immediate opportunity for the City to set safer speed limits under this new law is described below:
CVC 22358.8 - This new provision allows local governments to resist the consistent increase in speed limits over time, known as “speed creep,” often caused inadvertently by the State’s 85th percentile law (CVC 22358.6). It specifically states:
If a local authority, after completing an engineering and traffic survey, finds that the speed limit is still more than is reasonable or safe, the local authority may retain the current speed limit or restore the immediately prior speed limit if that speed limit was established with an engineering and traffic study and if a registered engineer has evaluated the section of highway and determined that no additional general purpose lanes have been added to the roadway since completion of the traffic survey that established the prior speed limit.
A local authority is not authorized to reduce a speed limit by more than five miles per hour (mph) from the current speed limit nor below the immediately prior speed limit.
A local authority shall issue only warning citations for violations of exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or less for the first 30 days that a lower speed limit is in effect.
AB 43 also enacted other speed limit changes to the CVC, as listed below:
CVC 22358.7 - Allows local governments to lower speed limits by an additional 5 mph on streets identified as “safety corridors” or near places where people walking or biking congregate, especially those from vulnerable groups, such as children, seniors, persons with disabilities, and the unhoused. Per this law, local governments may not lower a speed limit under this section until June 30, 2024, or until California’s courts implement a new online tool for adjudicating infraction violations statewide, whichever is sooner.
These changes will not be in effect until July 1, 2024. The City evaluated and identified additional street segments which qualify for a reduction based on this particular CVC change.
City staff directed the consultant to include the review of CVC 22358.7, in anticipation of the change coming in less than a year. This allows the City to streamline the process, and be ready to implement the new lower speed limits when allowed to. The table below shows a list of locations that will have speed limit changes immediately, and also after July 1, 2024. See Attachment No. 2 for the complete E&TS.
Locations *NC = No Change
Existing
Speed Limit
(Immediate)
Proposed Speed Limit
(After 7/1/24)
Proposed Speed Limit
2. Arrow Hwy – ECL to Garey Ave.
45 NC*
40 8.
Dudley St. – Val Vista St. to Holt Ave.
35 NC
30 11.
East End Ave. – Mission Blvd. to SCL
40 35
NC
12. Fairplex Dr. – NCL to McKinley Ave.
45 40
NC
15. Fairplex Dr. – Murchison Ave. to Holt Ave.
40 NC
35 17.
First St. – ECL to Towne Ave.
40 NC
35 18.
First St. – Towne Ave. to Park Ave.
40 25
NC
22. Franklin Ave. – Garey Ave. to White Ave.
35 30
25 24.
Garey Ave. – NCL to Bonita Ave.
40 NC
35 25.
Garey Ave. – Bonita Ave. to La Verne Ave.
40 NC
35 27.
Garey Ave. – Willow St. to Orange Grove Ave.
40 35
NC
28. Garey Ave. – Orange Grove Ave. to Holt Ave.
40 35
NC
29. Garey Ave. – Holt Ave. to Mission Blvd.
30 NC
25 30.
Garey Ave. – Mission Blvd. to Franklin Ave.
35 NC
30 31.
Garey Ave. – Franklin Ave. to County Rd.
40 NC
35 38.
Hamilton Blvd. – Orange Grove Ave. to Mission Blvd.
35 NC
30 39.
Hamilton Blvd. – Mission Blvd to Phillips Dr.
35 NC
30 40.
Hamilton Blvd. – Phillips Dr. to Lexington Ave.
30 25
NC
42. Holt Ave. – Mills Ave. to San Antonio Ave.
35 NC
30 43.
Holt Ave. – San Antonio Ave. to Hamilton Blvd.
35 NC
30 44.
Holt Ave. – Hamilton Blvd. to Fairplex Dr.
35 NC
30 45.
Humane Way – Valley Blvd. to Mission Blvd.
40 NC
35 46.
Indian Hill Blvd. – American Ave. to Holt Ave.
40 NC
35 47.
Kingsley Ave. – ECL to San Antonio Ave.
35 25
NC
48. La Verne Ave. – Mountain Ave. to Towne Ave.
40 NC
35 49.
La Verne Ave. – Towne Ave. to Arrow Hwy
40 35
NC
55. McKinley Ave. – Towne Ave. to Orange Grove Ave.
35 30
NC
56. McKinley Ave. – Orange Grove Ave. to White Ave,
35 30
NC
58. Mission Blvd. – ECL to San Antonio Ave.
40 NC
35 60.
Mission Blvd. – Park Ave. to Dudley St.
40 35
NC
61. Mission Blvd. – Dudley St. to Humane Way
45 NC
40 62.
Mission Blvd. – Humane Way to Temple Ave.
50 NC
45 64.
Monterey Ave. – San Antonio Ave. to Palomares St.
35 30
25 65.
Monterey Ave. – Palomares St. to Hamilton Blvd.
35 30
25 66.
Murchison Ave. – Fairplex Dr. to Ridgeway St.
45 40
35 72.
Olive St. – Reservoir St. to Garey Ave.
30 NC
25 76.
Orange Grove Ave. – White Ave. to Lewis St.
35 NC
30 77.
Orange Grove Ave. – Lewis St. to Fairplex Dr.
35 NC
30 80.
Palomares St. –Mission Blvd. to Franklin Ave.
35 30
NC
82. Park Ave. – Orange Grove Ave. to Holt Ave.
35 NC
30 87.
Phillips Blvd. – Reservoir St. to Garey Ave.
40 35
NC
88. Phillips Blvd. – Garey Ave. to Hamilton Blvd.
40 35
NC
91. Pomona Blvd. – Route 71 to Temple Ave.
45 NC
40 93.
Reservoir St. – Holt Ave. to Mission Blvd.
35 NC
30 94.
Reservoir St – Mission Blvd. to Franklin Ave.
40 NC
35 96.
Ridgeway St. – Murchison Ave. to Valley Blvd.
40 35
NC
97. Rio Rancho Rd. – Garey Ave. to Route 71 SB
35 NC
30 101.
San Antonio Ave. – Lincoln Ave. to Holt Ave.
35 NC
30 102.
San Antonio Ave. – Holt Ave. to Mission Blvd.
35 NC
30 105.
San Bernardino Ave. – Mills Ave. to Towne Ave.
35 NC
30 109.
S. Campus Dr. – Ridgeway St. to E. Campus Dr.
45 40
NC
110.
S. Campus Dr. – E. Campus Dr. to Kellogg Dr.
45 40
NC
111.
S. Campus Dr. – Kellogg Dr. to Temple Ave.
45 40
35 112.
Temple Ave. – Rancho Navato Dr. to Pomona Blvd.
45 40
NC
113.
Temple Ave. – Pomona Blvd. to WCL
45 40
NC
114.
Towne Ave. – Foothill Blvd. to Bonita Ave.
40 NC
35 116.
Towne Ave. – Arrow Hwy to San Bernardino Ave.
40 NC
35 120.
Towne Ave. – Grand Ave. to Lexington Ave.
40 NC
35 121.
Towne Ave. – Lexington Ave. to County Rd.
40 NC
35 123.
Valley Blvd. – Fairplex Dr. to Pomona Blvd.
45 40
NC
125.
Val Vista St. – Loma Vista to Gillette Rd.
30 NC
25 130.
Walnut Ave. – ECL to Ficus St.
30 25
NC
132.
White Ave. – McKinley Ave. to Orange Grove Ave.
40 35
NC
Prepared by:
Ron Chan
Principal Traffic Engineer
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment No. 1 – Proposed Ordinance No. 4335 (Redline Version) Attachment No. 2 – 2023 Engineering &Traffic Survey Report Amending City Code to Update Speed Limits on City Streets