CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
STAFF REPORT
2175 Cherry Avenue • Signal
Hill, California 90755-3799
3/22/2022
AGENDA ITEM
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
THOMAS BEKELE
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
SUBJECT:
APPROVAL OF THE 2021 ENGINEERING AND TRAFFIC STUDY FOR SPEED LIMITS AND INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 10.40 OF
THE SIGNAL HILL MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO SPEED LIMITS Summary:
The Public Works Department has completed the 2021 Engineering and Traffic Study (Study) for Speed Limits in accordance with the California Vehicle Code and the California Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The Study determines posted speed limits that can be enforced by the Police Department using devices that measure vehicle speed. The Study is recommending changes to the speed limits on several street segments.
Recommendations:
1. Approve the 2021 Engineering and Traffic Study for Speed Limits.
2. Introduce an ordinance, entitled:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING A PORTION OF CHAPTER 10.40 OF THE SIGNAL HILL MUNICIPAL CODE
RELATING TO THE SPEED LIMIT ON SEVERAL STREET SEGMENTS
Fiscal Impact:
Funds to cover the labor and material costs to install new speed limit signs are available in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22 Public Works Maintenance Operations budget (Account No. 100-95-5740).
Strategic Plan Objective:
Goal No. 2: Ensure public safety is a high priority.
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Background:
Speed limits provide notice to drivers of the maximum speed limit on a roadway and are an enforcement tool to assist police in separating violators from the reasonable majority. The California Vehicle Code (CVC) requires local authorities to conduct a review of their posted speed limits within their jurisdictions through an Engineering and Traffic Study approximately every five years. This study must be conducted in accordance with specific state guidelines and posted speed limits must be in conformance with the study’s findings. A speed survey is used to determine what the speed limit should be for a particular section of roadway. Roads are typically split into sections that have similar physical attributes.
The study is also required by the CVC to enable the Police Department to enforce the posted speed limits using speed detection devices such as radar. Once approved by City Council, the updated study is filed with the Long Beach Traffic Court and used to justify the City’s speed limits whenever citations are challenged.
Over time, changes have been made to the process by which speed limits are determined. Most recently, in 2012, Caltrans modified the process by establishing two options:
Option 1: When determining speed limits, a maximum reduction of 5 miles per hour (MPH) may be considered depending on specific roadway characteristics and high accident history. This reduction shall be documented in writing and approved by either a registered civil or traffic engineer.
Option 2: For cases in which the nearest 5 MPH increment of the 85th percentile speed would require a rounding up, then the speed limit may be rounded down to the nearest 5 MPH increment below the 85th percentile speed if no further reduction is used. For example, if the 85th percentile speed of free-flowing traffic was 29 MPH then the posted speed limit can be rounded down to the nearest 5 MPH increment or 25 MPH without written justification by the Traffic Engineer.
The 85th percentile speed referenced in Option 2, also known as the critical speed, is the speed at which 85 percent of the motorists drive on a given road unaffected by slower traffic or poor weather.
This is the speed that most motorists consider safe and reasonable under ideal conditions.
Analysis:
The City’s registered traffic engineering consultant, Bill Zimmerman of W. G. Zimmerman Engineering, Inc., prepared the 2021 Engineering and Traffic Study for Speed Limits (Attachment A).
A total of 67 roadway segments were surveyed over several months in the fall and winter of 2021.
Based on the data collected, the speed limits for 48 roadway segments will remain the same, while the speed limits for 19 roadway segments are recommended to change, as shown in the table below.
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Upon Council approval, the City Clerk’s office will cause to be posted a summary of the Ordinance pursuant to Signal Hill Municipal Code Section 1.08.010 at City Hall, Discovery Well Park, Reservoir Park, and the Signal Hill Library on or before March 25, 2022. A summary of the Ordinance will also be published in the Signal Tribune newspaper per Government Code §65091(a)(4) March 25, 2022.
Second reading of the Ordinance will be agendized for the April 12, 2022 City Council meeting.
Waive the Reading of All Ordinances
Wherein the titles appear on the public agenda, said titles shall be determined to have been read by title, and further reading is waived. The purpose of waiving the reading of ordinances in full and authorizing reading by title only is to help streamline the Council meeting process, to avoid unnecessary delay and to allow more time for substantive discussion of items on the agenda.
Reviewed:
_________________________
Sharon del Rosario
Approved:
_________________________
Hannah Shin-Heydorn
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Attachments
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