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Home My WebLink About4/2/2008 - STAFF REPORTS - 3.A. p ALMS, ry U y. + HO°Nerve ♦:e % Cit-y Council Staff Report April 2, 2008 LEGISLATIVE Subject: PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDING PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 12.20.020 TO ESTABLISH THE PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS OF KIRK DOUGLAS WAY From: David H. Ready, City Manager Initiated by: Public Works and Engineering Department/ Police Department SUMMARY In 1997 the Palm Springs Regional Airport commissioned the restructuring of the parking facilities. Part of this improvement project was the construction of Airport Entrance Road which crosses the south side of the airport. This road was partially funded by CVAG as part of the Midvalley Parkway. Airport Entrance Road was later renamed Kirk Douglas Way. Kirk Douglas Way is on Airport property and is considered part of their parking facilities. Typically parking facilities are not posted based on surveys. Originally, the speed limit for Kirk Douglas Way was posted based on the design speed of the roadway. Since the time of the construction of the road, the Regional Airport has grown and has been designated as an international airport. The volume of traffic has grown substantially as well. The airport policing duties were taken over by City of Palm Springs Police Department and more formal speed enforcement is needed on this segment of the facility. The Palm Springs Police Department asked the Traffic Management Center of the City of Palm Springs to conduct a Traffic and Engineering Survey to corroborate the existing posted speed limit so a formal speed enfo\rcement program can begin. RECOMMENDATION: 1. Waive the reading of the ordinance text in its entirety and read by title only. 2. Introduce on first reading Ordinance No. , "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 12.20.020 OF THE PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE, RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS OF VARIOUS CITY STREETS." /� Item No. 3 . A 9 City Council Staff Report March 19, 2008 - Page 2 Revised Speed Limits STAFF ANALYSIS: In order to use radar or other electronic devices in the enforcement of speed limits within local jurisdictions, the California Vehicle Code (CVC) specifies that the speed limits must be reviewed and adjusted at five-year intervals on the basis of an "Engineering and Traffic Survey". It is a common belief that posting of speed limit traffic signs will influence drivers to drive at that speed. However, the facts indicate otherwise. Driver behavioral research conducted in many parts of the country over a span of several decades shows that the average driver is influenced by the appearance of the highway itself and the prevailing traffic conditions in choosing the speed at which he or she drives. The survey conducted on this roadway supports these findings as demonstrated in the outline below. More importantly, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) published by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), further supplemented and adopted by the state of California in 2003, states the following: The majority of drivers comply with the basic speed law. Speed limits set at or near the 85th percentile speed provide law enforcement officers with a limit to cite drivers who will not conform to what the majority considers reasonable and prudent. Further studies show that establishing a speed limit at less than the 85th percentile (Critical Speed) generally results in an increase in collision rates. (Emphasis added). Recognizing this, the CVC requires that speed limits be established with appropriate engineering practice and methods. In evaluating existing speed limits, the Engineering and Traffic Survey considers the prevailing roadway speeds, width and number of traffic lanes, access points, roadway alignment, traffic volumes, accident experience, adjacent land use characteristics, bicycle and pedestrian safety. The study involved the following three major categories of data and analysis: (1) geometric and characteristic street surveillance; (2) spot speed survey; and (3) accident rate analysis. Spot speed surveys, utilizing a calibrated radar gun, were conducted on this roadway at 2 roadway segments to determine existing vehicular travel speeds. A minimum of 100 observations were recorded. This data was used to calculate statistical information such as the 85th percentile speed, 10 mile per hour pace speed, percent of vehicles within the 10 mile per hour pace, median speed, and other pertinent data for analysis. Accident data was tabulated from the City's accident records. The accident rate was calculated and considered in recommending the speed limit. Speed limits are required to be established at or near the 85th percentile speed recorded during the spot speed survey. However, in matching existing conditions with the traffic safety needs of the community, engineering judgment may indicate the need for a further reduction in speed. Whenever such factors are considered to establish the 000092 City Council Staff Report March 19, 2008 - Page 3 Revised Speed Limits speed limit, they are documented on the speed survey or in the accompanying engineering report. When establishing speed limits, a reduction of 5 mph from the 85th percentile speed is allowed, but any decrease of 5 mph must be specifically related to factors "not readily apparent" to the typical driver (physical or other factors of the roadway that a normal person would not be aware of). These factors are usually design factors, such as vertical or horizontal curves. Following are the results from the recent Engineering and Traffic Survey: Kirk Douglas Way Ell Cielo Road to Ramon Road Prevailing (85th percentile) speed surveyed : 45.2 mph Conditions not readily apparent; Large vehicles turning across the median into lots on the south side. CVC required speed limit: 40 mph Current posted speed limit 40 mph Therefore, as a result of staffs further evaluation of data involved in this survey, it is staff's recommendation to establish the posted speed limit at 40 mph on the identified segment road. The attached Ordinance will implement the suggested speed limits. FISCAL IMPACT: None. oaQ� �3 City Council Staff Report March 19, 2008 - Page 4 Revised Speed Limits SUBMITTED: David J. Barakian Thomas J. Wi on Director of Public Works/City Engineer Assistant City/anager David H. Ready, Ci y.Akatt erg ATTACHMENTS: 1. Proposed Ordinance aoaoa� ORDINANCE NO, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 12.20.020 OF THE PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE, RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS OF VARIOUS CITY STREETS City Attorneys Summary This Ordinance establishes prima facie speed limits for Kirk Douglas Way, in accordance with the California Vehicle Code. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. AMENDED CODE. The text for the following three streets of Palm Springs Municipal Code Section 12.20.020 is amended to read as follows: PRIMA STREET SEGMENT FACIE SPEED LIMIT Kirk Douglas Drive El Cielo Road to Ramon Road 40 SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after passage. SECTION 3. PUBLICATION. The City Clerk is hereby ordered and directed to certify to the passage of this Ordinance, and to cause the same or a summary thereof or a display advertisement, duly prepared according to law, to be published in accordance with law. ADOPTED this 2"d day of April, 2008. MAYOR ATTEST- City Clerk 0000G5 Ordinance No. Page 2 CERTIFICATION STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss. CITY OF PALM SPRINGS ) I, JAMES THOMPSON, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, California, do hereby certify that Ordinance No. _ is a full, true, and correct copy, and was introduced at a regular meeting of the Palm Springs City Council on April 2, 2008, and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on May 2008, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: James Thompson, City Clerk City of Palm Springs, California ODORS