CITY OF VISALIA
Neighborhood Traffic
Management Program (NTMP) Policy
Information Booklet
CITY OF VISALIA
Engineering Department
Traffic Engineering Division
315 E Acequia Avenue (City Hall East)
Visalia, CA 93291
559-713-4350
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Neighborhood Traffic Management Program Policy
(NTMP Policy)
Overview: The NTMP Policy was first approved and adopted by the Visalia City Council April 18, 2011 . The NTMP is to be used as a tool to uniformly address traffic calming related issues in neighborhoods within the City of Visalia.
The goal of the program is to reduce excessive traffic volume and vehicular speeding to improve residents’ quality of life. As the name suggests, the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) is a process that includes the efforts and involvement of the effected neighborhood. Staff from the City ’s Traffic Engineering Division will guide the representatives from the requesting neighborhood through the process which can be described in six steps:
NTMP Process
1. Initial Request
2. Traffic Studies
3. Public Meeting/Develop Plan
4. Petitions/Obtain Consensus
5. Implementation/Construction
6. Evaluation
1. Initial request. Any City of Visalia property owner is eligible to inquire ab out on- going neighborhood traffic concerns, traffic calming in their neighborhood. Upon receiving a request for assistance with on -going neighborhood traffic concerns, Visalia’s Traffic Engineering Division will provide this booklet and additional information to the concerned property owner(s). This information booklet and a request form can also be download ed from the City’s website at: insert webpage.
After reading this information, if a homeowner is interested in the NTMP and is willing to be a volunteer liaison, they should complete the “NTMP Request Form” and return it to the City. This will initiate the process for participating in the NTMP.
Important Note: Only public roadways that are paved and maintained by the City are eligible for the NTMP. New subdivision developments must be completely “built out” before they are el igible since the true traffic patterns cannot be determined until this occurs.
2. Traffic study: Upon receipt of a completed Neighborhood Traffic Request Form, a traffic study will be scheduled in the neighborhood. Requests for traffic studies will
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be conducted in the order they are received and depending on the availability of staff and funding . Traffic studies are usually conducted during the school year unless unique circumstances exist, as determined by City Traffic Engineering Division staff.
The study area will be determined by City staff using engineering judgment to include the area most likely to be affected by the implementation of traffic calming measures requested . The location and type of any traffic calming measure is subject to the review of the City’s Police and Fire Departments for potential impact to response times.
Since the NTMP is intended for neighborhood streets that typically have speed limits of 25 MPH, any street with a speed limit greater than 30 MPH is not eligible for traffic calming measures. Streets designated as “collectors” (secondary streets that “collect” traffic from arterial roa dways and funnel it into neighborhoods) may only be eligible if in addition to all of the NTMP program criteria, all of the following apply:
They have no more than one travel lane in each direction The posted speed limit is 30 MPH or less
They go through a residential neighborhood
The City of Visalia Fire Department approves based on primary emergency response access routes
MINIMUM NTMP CRITERIA
Neighborhoods streets that meet one of the following criteria are eligible to participate in the NTMP:
NTMP Criteria Table
Street Classification
(posted speed limit)
Average Daily Traffic
Volume (vehicles per day)
85th Percentile
Speed (mph)
Residential (25 MPH) Greater than 750 30 or greater
Collector (30 MPH) Greater than 3000 35 or greater
3. Public Meeting/Develop Plan: If the results of the traffic study show the neighborhood meets the NTMP criteria, a public meeting with residents in the neighborhood may be held by City staff. Requests for meetings are scheduled in the order they are received. Meetin g notices are prepared by City staff and mailed to residents and property owners through the U.S. Postal Service according to the Tulare County Assessor’s address records. At the meeting, City staff will discuss traffic calming and the NTMP process, the results of the traffic study, and potential alternatives for traffic projects in the neighborhood. This step can be conducted in a variety of ways including the following:
A public meeting or open house meeting
A survey of homeowners in the neighborhood
Through the Homeowner’s Association Board on behalf of the neighborhood Homeowners can volunteer to form a traffic calming committee that can work with City staff on preferences
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4. Petitions/Obtain Consensus: After the public me eting, residents may request the City of Visalia to prepare petitions for specific traffic calming features on specific roadways. A list of traffic calming measures available through the NTMP is included at the back of this information booklet and can be v iewed in greater detail at Website address on the “Traffic Calming Measures” link.
Traffic calming measures, except for signs, are first to be installed on a te mporary basis for a 90 -day test period. If after the 90 -day test period no objections are received or if City staff has not observed any negative effects of the traffic calming measure(s), then the traffic calming measure(s) will be permanently installed .
Requests for signs for traffic restrictions may be either temporary for a 90 -day test period or permanent. Complete roadway closures are not allowed through the NTMP.
All petition forms shall be prepared by City staff and provided to residents. A map showing the location of the traffic calming measures and the petition boundary area shall also be included. City staff shall determine all petition boundaries on a case by case basis for the individual measures requested by residents. Boundaries can be enlarged or reduced where applicable as determined by City ’s Traffic Engineering staff.
Consensus from homeowners must be obtained in order to proceed with the installation of the traffic calming measures. Consensus is sought in writing through a petitioning process. In order to move on to the construction phase, the petition must be approved (by petition signature) by at least 80% of the property owners within the designated study area. In the case of multiple owners of one parcel, only one owner’s signature per parcel will be counted.
Homeowners will be provided four months from the date the petitions are issued by the City to the neighborhood for the petitions to be cir culated and returned. The petitions will expire after four months. However, a one time, one month extension can be requested by the neighborhood in writing. If the neighborhood fails to return the petitions within the four m onths or the petitions are re turned with an inadequate number of valid signatures, the process will stop and the neighborhood will have to wait one year after the petition expires before they may reapply.
5. Implementation: A minimum of 80% of the signatures within a petition b oundary is required for any petition to be approved.
Funding for permanent NTMP measures is based on a first come, first serve basis and subject to funding availability . The neighborhood shall pay for a minimum of 50% of the cost of the permanent traffic calming measure(s). A neighborhood can provide the funds for the purchasing of the materials and the cost of installation if they so choose. The criteria set forth in this program will govern whether any traffic calming measures are installed.
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For signs and temporary traffic calming features (other than speed humps) , the City of Visalia will pay 100% of the cost provided a minimum of 80% of the signatures within the petition boundary is obtained.
6. Evaluation. After the installation, a secondary traffic study will be completed to evaluate the effectiveness of the NTMP measures. Based on the results, residents may decide if they want to try another temporary NTMP measure, install permanent NTMP measures, or remove the temporary measures altogether.
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CITY OF VISALIA
Example of NTMP Measures
No Parking Signs
Right-Turn Diverter
Speed Tables
Chicane
Speed Humps
Turn Prohibitions
Semi-Diverter Diagonal Diverter
Island Diverter Median Island
NO
PARKING
7 AM—4 PM
EXCEPT
SCHOOL
BUSES
Traffic Circles