Title
Consider and take action on an ordinance to set a 40 MPH speed limit along Ervin Avenue from the intersection with Calder Drive to the intersection with Hobbs Road, a distance of approximately 0.61 miles (Director of Engineering)
Staff recommends approval on first and final reading.
Background:
Approval of this item will set a 40 MPH speed limit on Ervin Avenue from the intersection of Calder Drive to the intersection of Hobbs Road. Between January 6th and January 11th of 2021, City Staff performed a traffic study of this area of Ervin Avenue. The existing speed limit along Ervin Avenue within this area is 30 MPH. Examination of the study showed that eastbound traffic averaged approximately 1,035 vehicles per day and westbound traffic averaged approximately 1,379 vehicles per day. The study also revealed that the 85th Percentile Speed of vehicles measured during the study was 48 MPH in both east and west bound lanes.
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.
Ervin Avenue has been designated as a Minor Arterial Road within the City’s Master Mobility Plan. In Chapter 110, Section 166 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, speed limits for minor arterial roadways are to be set at 40 MPH. Based on the traffic data from the 2021 speed study, it appears the current speed limit is artificially low, and the Engineering Department is recommending a speed limit increase to 40 MPH in this area.
Staff requests a first and final reading for this proposed ordinance.
Attachments:
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