To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
Daniel Sailer, P.E., Director of Public Works
From: Thomas Reiff, Transportation Planner
Title
Discussion/Direction: North Meadows Drive Traffic Calming Plan [between Elegant Street and Meadows Boulevard]
Body
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Executive Summary
The purpose of this item is to approve a resolution regarding the proposed N. Meadows Drive traffic calming plan. The development of the plan (Attachment A) adheres to procedures outlined within the Council approved Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program (NTCP). The plan involved input from several different Town departments, including staff from Public Works, Development Services, the Police and Fire departments, and Community Relations. The plan includes installing three raised speed cushions and striping a double yellow centerline around a sharp curve to keep motorists on their side of the roadway. Funding for the plan would be approved as part of the Town Council approval process.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
The amended NTCP process states that staff will reach out to the public for feedback on the staff developed plan, prior to going to Town Council. Public Work’s staff coordinated with the Community Relations team on the public outreach. The plan was shared with the neighborhood point of contact (POC) and the public at the District 1 and 3 Open House on October 24th. It was well received by the roughly 50 attendees at the open house and POC. Project letters have been mailed to about 190 homeowners in the study area soliciting feedback on the proposed plan and a project web page has been set up to provide additional information and collect feedback. Comments are due Monday November 13. The outcome of feedback may amend the plan and will be shared with Town Council as a part of the discussion and final approval process before the plan is scheduled for construction. No public comments from the mailing or the project web page have been received to date.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
In May of 2012, Town Council adopted the NTCP. Since 2012, the program has been amended two times, in October 2015, and more recently in April 2023. The amendment in 2023, was updated to account for how to process residential collector streets in the Town. The proposed N. Meadows Drive traffic calming plan was developed utilizing this new process.
At the November 6, 2023 Public Works Commission, the proposed plan was unanimously recommended for approval by the Commissioners.
Discussion
In late 2022, homeowners in the Meadows contacted the Town regarding speeding concerns along N. Meadows Drive between Elegant and Meadows Blvd. Town staff met with the neighborhood point of contact and described the NTCP to see if they were interested in pursuing the program. The resident completed the initial support petition and the Town verified the five other signatures.
The next step in the program was to conduct a speed and volume study to determine if the street met the minimum speed and volume criteria. However, because it was still winter, the study could not be conducted due to inclement weather. It wasn’t until the end of January 2023 when the study could be conducted. The posted speed limit on North Meadows Drive is 25 mph. The results of the speed study are below.
N. Meadows Dr. at Champagne Ave.
• 85th percentile speed = 30 mph
• Average Daily Volume = 1057 vehicles
N. Meadows Dr. at Elegant St.
• 85th percentile speed = 35 mph
• Average Daily Volume = 1070 vehicles
The Program’s minimum qualifications for this particular street were a measured 85th percentile speed of 30 mph or greater, and 500 vehicles per day or greater. The 85th percentile speed is the speed at or below which 85 percent of people drive at any given location. The street therefore qualifies in both categories.
Shortly after data was collected, the Town updated the NTCP to make specific collector roadways, including this segment of N. Meadows Drive eligible for calming treatments. The update also changes how “collector streets” are processed. Once a collector street obtains the required signatures, Town staff develops a traffic calming plan, obtains public input on the plan, and presents it to Town Council for approval. If approved and funded by Council, the plan would be constructed. It would not be required to go through the multiple stages like a local street, which could take over a year to complete. The neighborhood point of contact was given the option to either follow the new process for collector streets or the old method with additional stages since their original petition was submitted under the old NTCP. The resident chose to follow the new process.
Town staff from multiple departments, including Public Works, Development Services, Police Department, and the Fire Department developed a plan to reduce speeds on N. Meadows Drive from Meadows Blvd south to Elegant Street. Staff considered several mitigation measures to slow traffic and decided to recommend the following measures.
• Three speed cushions, and
• Yellow centerline striping.
Most departments were agreeable with the proposed options. However, the Fire Department has raised concerns that emergency response times for the homes along N. Meadows Drive would be increased. According, to the NTCP toolbox, speed cushions would minimally increase emergency response times (less than 2 seconds/cushion), and the centerline striping would have no change. The speed cushions could increase response time up to 6 seconds, and reduce traffic speeds by 2 to 8 mph. However, the Fire Department will still be able to respond to emergencies within their targeted level of service. Snow plowing operations will also still be able to obtain their goal of plowing all streets within 10-hoiurs after snow stops.
Schedule
If Town Council approves the plan, implementation will occur this year weather permitting, and depending upon the availability of asphalt. Every winter, asphalt plants usually shut down as temperatures decline and don’t start back up until temperatures warm up. If construction is not possible this year, then the improvements would occur in spring of 2024 and be part of the 2024 budget.
Budget Impact
The recommended plan of three speed cushions (Attachment A), is based on the lowest cost to benefit and least impact to emergency services with a material and equipment cost of $12,000 ($4,000 per cushion element). This cost is based on the Town’s Streets Division constructing the speed cushions. If an outside contractor were to construct the improvements the cost would double. New roadway striping could also be done in house and the cost would be part of regular roadway marking maintenance. To complete the proposed improvements, the total cost is estimated at $12,000 if the construction is done by the Streets Division, or $24,000 if constructed by an outside contractor. There are sufficient funds in the NTCP 2023 budget to pay for the improvements, or the Streets Division also has roadway maintenance funds available to complete the recommended work at a cost of $12,000.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends Town Council approve the resolution as introduced by title. The Public Works Commission recommended 6 to 0 to recommend approving the resolution as introduced by title.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Alternative Motions:
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title with the following changes______.”
“I move to continue this item to a future Town Council meeting date.”
Attachments
Attachment A: N. Meadows Drive Traffic Calming Plan