Pedestrian and Traffic Calming Policy March 2018
2 of 6 Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy The City of Aspen continually strives to protect multimodal function while maintaining a high standard of safety. Traffic conditions on residential streets can greatly affect neighborhood livability. Speeding traffic, lack of continuous sidewalks and the lack of coordinated planning for auto, bicycle and pedestrian synergistic movement can create safety hazards on residential streets. All these need to be part of a coordinated Neighborhood Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Policy. The City of Aspen s Neighborhood Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Policy is part of the City s commitment to the safety and livability of residential neighborhood. Under this policy, City staff works closely with residents within neighborhoods to identify the type and severity of all traffic and safety problems on their streets. Identified problems are first tackled using traditional solutions such as enforcement and education techniques / measures which address all movement of cars, people and bicycles in the area affected. If the more traditional measures / techniques prove to be ineffective in dealing with the problem, a variety of traffic calming measures are available. Citizen participation is an important part of all traffic calming projects. The City s goal is to give the people who live in the project area the opportunity to become actively involved in the planning and decision-making process. The following pages will give an overview of the process. Step 1 - Report the Problem Concerns about speeding traffic, pedestrian safety or excessive volumes of traffic on their street can be made by: any citizen or business, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Team, or by any City Department Problems can be reported by completing the Pedestrian / Traffic Safety Complaint Request Form (Appendix B). When the form is submitted to the Engineering Department, The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Team will review the complaint to determine the nature of the problem. If the issue qualifies as a traffic calming complaint the issue will proceed to Step 2. Improve the livability of our streets by Reducing the speed of automobiles Reducing accidents by making streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, automobiles, and all users of the public right of way Making streets more attractive Creating safe, inviting access for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users to neighborhoods, schools parks, and the downtown core.
Step 2 Neighborhood Consensus After the initial report, City staff will request a petition from (Appendix C) a representative number of residents in the neighborhood to verify that there is a widespread concern for the Pedestrian / traffic safety issue. After the petition is received it will be reviewed by the Engineering Department. When it is determined that a representative number of residents perceive the problem the issue will proceed to Step 3. 3 of 6 Objectives Encourage citzen and neighborhood involvement in traffic calming programs Educate the public regarding traffic calming Define a process for addressing traffic and safety concerns Slow the speeds of motor vehicles where indicated Improve the real and perceived safety for non mortorized users of the street Incorporate the preference and requirements of the people using the area Promote pedestrian, bicycle, and walking paths in a coordinated fashion Provide a basis for prioritizing traffic calming requests Define criteria for applying traffic calming within the City Allocate funds cost effectively Step 3b Evaluation Thresholds Speeding Problem Thresholds Step 3a Preliminary Evaluation The Engineering Department will visually inspect the street, collect traffic volume and speed data. The data collection will normally occur over a period of days. The following data will be collected: Speed data to determine the 85 th percentiles speed as well as the median speed and average speed. The volume of traffic for a typical day. Preferable, both weekdays and weekends will be included to provide a complete depiction of traffic conditions. The speed and volume data will typically be in a form that enables specific times of days to be evaluated in order to determine peak hour traffic volume and to identify any specific times of day when traffic speeds are higher. Determination if the street is a main emergency response route. No application can result in an increase of emergency response times greater than 4 minutes from the primary response station. A geometric analysis will be performed to determine site triangles, design speed and any other relevant information. If 85% of the vehicles are traveling at speeds above 5 miles per hour above the speed limit. The street would then be eligible for Traffic Calming. Main street, Cemetery Lane, Castle Creek Road and Maroon creek road are considered collector streets and have higher thresholds than residential neighborhoods. If 85% of the vehicles are traveling at speeds above 8 miles per hour above the speed limit. The street would then be eligible for Traffic Calming.
4 of 6 Step 3b Evaluation Thresholds continued Cut through Thresholds- In some cases, the reported problem is related to the volume of traffic, accident data, proximity to schools and pedestrian crossings, driveway spacings, and the presence of sidewalks. If the neighborhood receives a ranking of 40 according to the ranking table in Appendix A, proceed to Step 4 below. Other Thresholds- Some traffic problems do not fit neatly into the speeding or cut-through boxes. City staff will evaluate on a case-by-case basis if a unique issue warrants traffic calming, additional pedestrian safety measures, additional traffic safety measures. Examples include connecting disconnected sidewalks, additional trail connections, additional regulatory signs. Step 4 Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Implementation If the trouble location exceeds the thresholds identified above, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Team (PABST) will first suggest possible solutions that do not involve the use of physical controls or impediments on the roadway system. These are primarily education and enforcement based measures called Stage 1 traffic calming. These include: Radar Speed Trailer Deployment This is a temporary device that is primarily used to educate motorists regarding the fact that they may be significantly exceeding the posted speed limit. Traffic Enforcement Actions This is traditional enforcement activity on the part of Public Safety s traffic enforcement officers. The intent is to modify behavior to result in a safer situation for all drivers and neighbors. Traffic Signing and Pavement Markers Traffic Engineering staff will review all of the traffic signing and pavement markings in the area. If necessary, staff will install additional signing or striping. When appropriate, changes and additions will be reviewed with interested neighbors. A Community Watch program will be initiated, which includes neighbors disseminating flyers printed by the City reminding the community to slow down, etc. Sometimes residents of the neighborhood contribute significantly to a speeding problem. In this case, a grassroots citizen-driven awareness campaign can be very effective. Step 5 Follow up Evaluation of Stage 1 actions will occur over a six-month period. Evaluation will include visual observations by Citizens and staff. At the end of no more than six months of the implementation of Step 4, a neighborhood evaluation meeting will be held to discuss the results of Step 4. The Engineering Department may provide a follow-up speed survey or collect other relevant information to gauge the success of the Step 4 program prior to the evaluation meeting. The neighborhood boundary shall be defined by City staff and shall include all citizens or businesses with direct access on streets to be evaluated for Step 6 implementation. Citizens or businesses with indirect access on streets affected by Step 6 implementation may be included in the neighborhood boundary at the discretion of City staff..
Step 6 Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Implementation Study The Engineering Department will conduct a formal Implementation Study to suggest possible solutions to the problem. The solutions could involve physical modifications of the street intended to control traffic speeds and/or volumes, to improve pedestrian safety or to improve traffic safety. These are called physical infrastructure modifications. Neighborhood involvement will be a large part of the implementation process. A project budget will be developed by the Engineering Department for the Step 6 infrastructure improvements. 5 of 6 A neighborhood meeting will be held to present the Step 6 infrastructure improvements proposal or options, including project budget, possible time frames, possible temporary installations, etc. If options are presented, the preferred option will be identified at the meeting or in a follow-up manner agreed to at the meeting. The following general criteria must be met to consider the installation of any Step 6 infrastructure improvements: Installation must not result in traffic diversion to other neighborhood streets. If the method is classified as traffic calming, at least 67% of the impacted residents and 75% of the residents within 100 feet of the proposed device shall support the installation. City staff will prepare a petition describing the proposed Step 6 modifications, cost estimates, financing proposals and an explanation of the implications of the petition. The petition will provide the opportunity to vote yes, no, or not return the petition, along with instructions on where and when to return the petition. The petition shall be mailed or hand-delivered by the traffic calming proponents to residents and businesses within the neighborhood boundary. No more than four weeks will be allowed for the return of a petition. The Pedestrian and traffic safety committee must approve the plan to assure that emergency response times, access, and street maintenance activities and drainage patterns are not negatively affected. Step 7 City Council Approval Once City staff and the neighborhood agree on an appropriate solution, the proposal will be brought to the City Council for final approval and funding allocation. This process will include a formal Public Hearing.
6 of 6 Appendix A. Data Collection and Ranking Table (This table is used in the Calming Procedure Step 3c) Criteria Points Basis Point Assignment Speed data (48 hour) Volume data (48 hour) Accident data (12 month) Proximity to schools or other active public venues Pedestrian crossing, bicycle routes, & proximity of pedestrian generators Driveway spacing No sidewalks Extent by which the 85 th percentile traffic speed exceeds the posted speed limit (1 points per 1 mph from 15 25 mph, 5 points per 1mph > 25 mph Average daily traffic volumes (10 point per 100 vehicles), maximum available points are 50 Accident caused by speeding (20 points per accident) Accident caused by stop sign violations should be identified Points assigned if within 300 feet of a school or other active public venue such as a park or other areas where people congregate Points assigned based on commercial areas, trail connections and other pedestrian generators such as bus stops. (20 points per generator) For the study area, if large spaces occur between driveways, 5 points will be awarded. If more than three driveways fall within a 100-foot section of the study area, no points will be provided. Total points assigned if there is no continuous sidewalk on either side of the road. (10 points total) Total points Minimum points needed = 40
Appendix B. Pedestrian / Traffic Safety Request Form 7 of 6 1. Contact Information Name: Address: Phone Number: Email: 2. Please describe the location of the traffic concern. Attach a map or picture if necessary: 3. Please describe the nature of the neighborhood problem you are concerned with (attach additional sheets if necessary): 4. Please list possible solutions to the problem that you would like the City to consider:
Appendix C. Neighborhood Petition Form 8 of 6 THE UNDERSIGNED AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING: 1. All persons signing this petition do hereby certify that they reside within the impacted area, which is hereby defined as the street segment of: 2. All persons signing this petition do hereby agree of the following problem in the defined impacted area: 3. All persons signing this petition do hereby agree that the following contact person(s) represent the neighborhood as facilitator(s) between the neighborhood residents and the City staff in matters pertaining to items 1 and 2 above: NEIGHBORHOOD REQUEST FOR COMPREHENSIVE TRAFFIC CALMING STUDY Neighborhood/Street: Page of No. Name Address Phone Signature 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Appendix D. Traffic Calming Flow Chart 9 of 6