ORANGE COUNTY TRAFFIC COMMITTEE. Speed Limit. Traffic Engineering. Deepthi Arabolu. Establish Speed Limit

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1 ORANGE COUNTY TRAFFIC COMMITTEE SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT: 3 SUBJECT: LOCATION: INITIATED BY: INVESTIGATOR: REQUEST: Speed Limit Orange Park Boulevard; Orange Park Acres; TB 770-F7 & 800-F1, F3 Traffic Engineering Deepthi Arabolu Establish Speed Limit DATA: LOCATION MAP Page 1 of 6

2 EXISTING CONDITIONS Orange Park Boulevard between Chapman Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road is a north-south, residential collector street with one travel lane in each direction and is 1.3 miles in length. The roadway has paved shoulders that are 4 to 6 wide. The majority of Orange Park Boulevard is not fully improved; there is no curb, gutter or sidewalk except for a small portion on the west side between Frank Lane and Santiago Canyon Road. Roadway drainage is conveyed by a series of open ditches and pipe culverts. Orange Park Boulevard intersects Santiago Canyon Road on the north and Chapman Avenue on the south; both of these intersections are controlled by traffic signals. Meads Avenue North and Meads Avenue South, which are residential collector streets, intersect Orange Park Boulevard to form all-way stop intersections; these two streets divide Orange Park Boulevard into approximately thirds. Several local streets, controlled by stop signs, also intersect Orange Park Boulevard within its limits. Numerous homes front the roadway. Parking is not restricted along Orange Park Boulevard. A small segment of Orange Park Boulevard lies within the City of Orange jurisdiction; this segment is the east half of Orange Park Boulevard between Chapman Avenue and Amapola Avenue. An off road equestrian trail runs the entire length of Orange Park Boulevard, adjacent to the roadway. From Santiago Canyon Road to Meads Avenue North, the trail is on the west side of the road and from Meads Avenue North to Chapman Avenue the trail is on the east side of Orange Park Boulevard. The trail is separated from the roadway by wooden fencing. The posted speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard is 40 mph. Salem Lutheran School, a private school, is located on the west side of Orange Park Boulevard at Santiago Canyon Road. There is a 25 mph school zone speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard adjacent to the school area. TRAFFIC VOLUMES (BOTH DIRECTIONS) Location: Orange Park Boulevard Between Chapman Avenue to Meads Avenue (S) Between Meads Avenue (N) to Santiago Canyon Road Date ADT Volume Peak Hour Volume AM PM 04/22/15 3, /22/15 3, Page 2 of 6

3 SPEED ZONE FIELD DATA Location: Orange Park Boulevard Date 85 th Percentile 50 th Percentile Pace Speed Pace (%) NB/SB NB/SB NB/SB NB/SB Posted Speed Limit South of Hillside Drive 02/28/ North of Meads Avenue (S) 02/23/ ACCIDENT DATA OC Traffic Engineering s and the City of Orange s collision records show a total of two reported accidents in the past 24 months on Orange Park Boulevard. The accident occurring in unincorporated County had a primary collision factor of Improper Turning. The City of Orange s accident had a primary collision factor of Driving Under Influence and was a fatal accident. The midblock accident rate calculated per million vehicle miles traveled per year is 0.61, which is less than the State expected accident rate of 2.39 for similar type of roadway. ENFORCEMENT JURISDICTION The California Highway Patrol (CHP) provides speed enforcement within the County unincorporated area. ANALYSIS OC Public Works Traffic Engineering conducted an Engineering and Traffic Survey in compliance with the current California Vehicle Code (CVC) requirements to evaluate the current posted speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard between Chapman Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road. Spot speed surveys were conducted at two different locations along Orange Park Boulevard. One of the surveys was conducted south of Hillside Drive and the other was conducted north of Meads Avenue South. The survey results showed an 85 th percentile speed of 42 mph and 39 mph respectively. The average speed of the drivers surveyed for both directions was 37 mph and 34 mph respectively. The California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) requires the posted speed limit to be established at the nearest 5 mph increment to the 85th percentile. A 5 mph reduction may be considered based on highway, traffic, and roadside conditions not readily apparent to the driver. Additionally, section was added to the CVC effective January 1, This section specifies that, when conducting an engineering and Page 3 of 6

4 traffic survey within the Orange Park Acres community, the County of Orange may also consider equestrian safety. The Orange Park Acres Plan of Riding and Hiking Trails identifies local equestrian trails along the entire length of Orange Park Boulevard and along Meads Avenue east of Orange Park Boulevard. Orange Park Boulevard is uniquely characterized by the presence of several stables and equestrian arenas along its length, resulting in the trail being used by residents on a daily basis. As a result, unexpected entries into the roadway or shared use of the roadway by horse riders often occur. In an effort to address the community s equestrian safety concerns in addition to vehicular safety, as per the CVC section , Traffic Engineering recommends reducing the speed limit by 5 mph from the nearest 5 mph increment of the observed 85 th percentile speeds. In compliance with the CVC and CA MUTCD requirements, Traffic Engineering recommends a speed limit of 35 mph on Orange Park Boulevard between Chapman Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road. The recommended 35 mph speed limit will allow radar speed enforcement and ensure orderly flow of traffic in a reasonable and safe manner. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND INPUT A 45 year resident who is also Chairman of the Orange Park Acres (OPA) Association s Traffic Committee addressed the Committee. He expressed that traffic on Orange Park Boulevard has progressively increased over the years. He explained that this increase in traffic on the roadway is mainly because of drivers using Orange Park Boulevard as a cut-through route from Santiago Canyon Road to Chapman Avenue especially during the peak hours. He expressed that Orange Park Acres is not designed to hold traffic of this nature. He emphasized that Orange Park Acres is an equestrian community with a lot of equestrian traffic including horse carriages on Orange Park Boulevard. He mentioned that he has seen on several occasions drivers run the stop signs on Orange Park Boulevard at the intersections with Meads Avenue. He noted that the OPA Association helped change the CVC to include consideration of equestrian traffic when setting speed limits in their community. He expressed his support of staff s recommendation of reducing the speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard. A resident of OPA who is also the President of OPA Association s Board of Directors addressed the Committee. He requested the Committee to approve staff s recommendation of reducing the speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard. He expressed the increase in traffic and speeds on Orange Park Boulevard. He mentioned that he recalls about three accidents over the past few years on Orange Park Boulevard which he believes one of them was speed related. At a town hall meeting, he mentioned the community showed strong support of staff s recommendation. Page 4 of 6

5 Another resident of OPA addressed the Committee. This resident lives on Hillside Drive off of Orange Park Boulevard. He expressed that the roadway vertical curve on Orange Park Boulevard at Hillside Drive causes a sight distance issue for left turning vehicles from Hillside Drive on to Orange Park Boulevard. He mentioned speeding cars on Orange Park Boulevard make turning from Hillside Drive very difficult not just for vehicles but also equestrians. He expressed that lowering the speed limit would help this situation. Another resident of OPA addressed the Committee. He stated he lives on Frank Street off of Orange Park Boulevard. He shared his personal experience on the traffic situation on Orange Park Boulevard near Hillside Drive due to the presence of a vertical curve. He expressed that many vehicles that speed on Orange Park Boulevard are not residents of OPA but drivers that live elsewhere or cut-through drivers. He expressed that he is in support of staff s recommendation and that the reduced speed limit would be helpful and better for the community. A California Highway Patrol officer from the Santa Ana office addressed the Committee. He mentioned that they have reviewed the request and also performed a field assessment on Orange Park Boulevard. He mentioned that they have no issues with regards to reducing the speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard. Another resident of OPA addressed the Committee. She stated she is a 35 year resident who was also a past President of the OPA Association. She mentioned that during her 18 years of serving the association she has dealt with several traffic issues in the neighborhood. She expressed that there have been changes in OPA over the years, where one of the main changes is the school in OPA has grown and about 80% of the students live outside the community. She said that this school traffic has had an impact on the traffic volumes and speeds. She mentioned that recent traffic applications that guide and direct people through fastest routes have been encouraging drivers to cut-through the OPA community. She mentioned that she hopes the speeds would remain low to keep the community safe. The Business Manager from Salem Lutheran Church & School addressed the Committee. He said that most of the speeds are from people living outside of the OPA community or service providers. He said that these drivers do not focus on the 25 mph school zone speed limit that is posted adjacent to their school and only pay attention to the existing 40 mph posted speed limit sign. He expressed that changing the speed limit to 35 mph would greatly improve the safety of the families around the school and the equestrians in the area. He supports staff s recommendation of reducing the speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard. Another resident of OPA addressed the Committee. She stated she is a 25 year resident that lives on Clark Street and owns two horses. She expressed that traffic backs up on Orange Park Boulevard going towards Chapman Avenue and she said it is very difficult to find gaps in traffic Page 5 of 6

6 to cross the roadway with her horses. She requested enforcement and she stated she is in support of reducing the speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard. TRAFFIC COMMITTEE DISCUSSION The Committee member representing CHP mentioned that he is familiar with OPA although it is outside of his jurisdiction area. He concurred with the residents concerns about the high increase in traffic in OPA and stated he is 100% in support of staff s recommendation of reducing the speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard. He also informed the residents from OPA to directly contact the CHP Santa Ana office to request enforcement in the area. The Committee member representing the Sheriff mentioned that he is familiar with the area although it is outside of the Sheriffs service area with respect to speed enforcement or traffic laws. As a horse rider himself, he stated he sympathizes with equestrians since he knows the dangers of traffic and being on the road with horses and the unpredictable behavior of horses in that traffic environment. As for the roadway vertical curve, he suggested maybe looking into flashing beacons or caution signs for that area. He expressed his support of reducing the speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard. The Committee unanimously approved Traffic Engineering s recommendation to establish a speed limit of 35 mph on Orange Park Boulevard between Chapman Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road. RECOMMENDATION Establish a 35 mph Radar Enforced speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard between Chapman Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road. BOARD ACTION NECESSARY TO ENACT THIS RECOMMENDATION 1. Approve this report. 2. By resolution, rescind the portion of Resolution No that established a 40 mph speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard between Chapman Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road. 3. By resolution, establish a 35 mph Radar Enforced speed limit on Orange Park Boulevard between Chapman Avenue and Santiago Canyon Road. Page 6 of 6