Title
Consider and take action on an ordinance to set a 35 MPH speed limit along Calder Road from the intersection of Turner Street to Ervin Avenue, a distance of approximately 1.07 miles (Director of Engineering)
Staff recommends approval on first and final reading.
Background:
Approval of this item will set a 35 MPH speed limit on Calder Road from the intersection of Turner Street to the intersection of Ervin Avenue. Between August 19th and 26th of 2019, City Staff performed a traffic study of this area of Calder Road. The existing speed limit along Calder Road within this area is 30 MPH. Examination of the study showed that northbound traffic averaged approximately 5,119 vehicles per day and southbound traffic averaged approximately 1,814 vehicles per day. The study also revealed that the 85th Percentile Speed of vehicles measured during the study was 42 MPH northbound and 41 MPH southbound.
The 85th Percentile speed means the speed at or below which 85% of all vehicles are observed to travel under free-flowing conditions. This is one of the standards used by Traffic and Transportation Engineers to set speed limits at a safe speed, minimizing crashes and promoting uniform traffic flow along a given traffic corridor. Some of the other standards used to set speed limits are (1) lane and shoulder configurations/widths, (2) presence of vertical/horizontal curves, (3) sight distances, and (4) surrounding developments.
Calder Road has been designated as a Collector Road within the City’s Master Mobility Plan. In Chapter 110, Section 166 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, speed limits for Collector Roads are to be set at 35 MPH. Because narrow travel lanes and the lack of development along Calder Road in the early 2000s, the speed limit was set at 30MPH. In early 2019, the City completed a total reconstruction of Calder Road between Turner Street and Ervin Ave. This reconstruction widened the travel lanes and provided a median lane for left turns. The completion of this project allowed for safer vehicular traffic along this improved section of Calder Road. Staff is recommending increasing the speed limit to 35 MPH for this corridor of Calder Road so as to be in line with the City’s current Code of Ordinance requirements for Collector roadways.
Attachments:
1. Data Sheet
2. Proposed Ordinance
3. Calder Road Speed Study Summary
4. Aerial Map
FUNDING
{ } Funds are available from Account #________
{ } Requires Budget Amendment to transfer from Account #______ to Account #______
{X} NOT APPLICABLE
STRATEGIC PLANNING
{X} Addresses Strategic Planning Critical Success Factor #1 - Develop & Maintain our Infrastructure
{ } NOT APPLICABLE