To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
Daniel Sailer, P.E., Public Works Director
From: Thomas Reiff, Transportation Planner
Title
Discussion/Direction: Foothills Drive Traffic Calming Request [between Cherokee Drive and Morningview Drive]
Body
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Executive Summary
A resident request was provided to the Town asking that traffic calming treatments be added to Foothills Drive to reduce vehicle speeds. This is a residential collector that staff has recently added safety improvements to a popular crossing. The process used to review this citizen request adheres to procedures outlined within the Council approved Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program (NTCP). Speed data was collected, but did not show a speeding problem. The recorded 85th percentile speed was 34.4 miles per hour (mph) and the posted speed is 35 mph. The 85th percentile speed is the speed at or below which 85 percent of people drive at any given location. Staff has recently installed a supplemental pedestrian crossing improvement consisting of a pedestrian activated flashing beacon at Millwagon Trail (Attachment A). Funding for this improvement was from the Traffic Safety account. There is also an existing reduced speed zone segment that reduces the speed limit during school days to assist with improving safety near a crossing that is part of the adjacent elementary school’s Safe Walking Route (Attachment A). The Public Works Commission and Town staff are recommending that no additional changes be made to Foothills Drive.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
The amended NTCP process states that staff will reach out to the public for feedback on a plan prior to going to Town Council. However, since the recommendation is to not make any changes, there are no improvements or changes to collect public feedback on. Public Work’s staff did confirm this approach with the Community Relations Division. The outcome of the evaluation was shared with the point of contact and roughly 50 people in attendance at the District 1 and 3 Open House on October 24. There was public consensus on the recommendation.
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 Foothills Drive recommendation to not make any changes utilized this new process.
At the November 6, 2023 Public Works Commission, the proposed plan was unanimously recommended by the Commissioners.
Discussion
In August 2023, homeowners in The Meadows contacted the Town regarding speeding concerns along Foothills Drive between Cherokee Drive and Morningview Drive. Town staff contacted 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 24 other signatures.
The next step in the program was to conduct a speed and volume study to determine the nominal street speed and volume. The results of the study are below.
Foothills Drive north of Sunridge Terrace Drive:
• 85th percentile speed = 34.4 mph
• Average Daily Volume = 2071 vehicles
The Town updated the NTCP this past year and amended how collector streets are processed. Upon reviewing the collected data, Town staff recommends and develops a traffic calming plan, obtains feedback from the public, and presents it to Town Council for approval. If approved and funded by Council, the plan would move forward.
Since the measured 85th percentile speed is approximately the posted speed limit, Town staff from multiple departments, including Public Works, Development Services, Police Department, and the Fire Department are recommending no changes be made along Foothills Drive at this time.
Based on the measured speed and volume, this would not be a good use of Town resources. If Council wants to consider improvements for the community this could include,
• A chicane (lane shift),
• Lane narrowing with curb extensions at an intersection approach,
• Concrete speed cushion(s), or
• Road diet with narrow lanes and protected bike lanes.
Based on Foothills Drive being over a mile long, a single treatment is not expected to have any impact on the 85th percentile speed. As a part of safety improvements in 2023 a supplemental pedestrian crossing with rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFB) has been installed at the crossing of Millwagon Trail (Attachment A). This will aid in improving safety for pedestrians utilizing this crosswalk.
For any vertical element, such as a speed cushion, the Fire Department has concerns that emergency response times for the homes in this part of The Meadows would be increased. According to the NTCP toolbox, speed cushions, lane narrowing, and chicanes would minimally increase emergency response times (less than 2 seconds) and remain within acceptable service levels, and the pedestrian crossing beacon would have no change (with little effect on vehicle speed when pedestrians are not present). Speed cushions would minimally increase response time, but have the greatest impact on reducing traffic speeds (2-8 mph). There could also be a slower response with snow management operations, but it is expected that the goal of plowing all streets within 10- hours after snow stops would still be achieved.
Schedule
If the recommendation by Town Council is to make no changes to Foothills, no further action is necessary. Per the policy, the roadway segment would be eligible for reconsideration in the NTCP after one year.
Budget Impact
Staff is recommending no further action be taken at this time. This course of action has the best cost to benefit ratio and will not impact emergency services. Any of the improvements suggested above would cost between $35,000 and $100,000 or more. This is an estimate as the Town has not previously done a speed cushion in concrete. On this wide, concrete roadway, costs are higher than typically seen in Town. While lower in cost, asphalt speed cushions are not recommended for a concrete roadway.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that no changes be made to Foothills Drive. This recommendation was reviewed with the Public Works Commission and they unanimously support this
recommendation.
Proposed Motion
“I move that no traffic calming actions be taken on Foothills Drive.”
Alternative Motions:
“I move to direct staff to ______.”
“I move to continue this item to a future Town Council meeting date.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Location Map of Recently Installed Crosswalk Beacons