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Home My WebLink AboutIR 24-1835INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 24-1835 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 16, 2024 Page 1 of 4 SUBJECT: NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING PROGRAM OVERVIEW The purpose of this Informal Report is to provide information about the City's Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program. Background The goal of the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program is to provide safety countermeasures, primarily speed cushions and speed tables, on local neighborhood streets. These devices can reduce travel speeds approximately 20 - 25 percent. Traffic calming is targeted to one- or two- lane low -volume residential streets and collectors with posted speeds of 35 miles per hour or less. Traffic calming is not recommended for arterials, roadways that accommodate travel exceeding 4,000 vehicles per day, or as a strategy to address street racing due to safety and congestion considerations. Historically, "full width" asphalt speed humps were the primary traffic calming device implemented by Transportation and Public Works (TPW) although speed tables, diverters, and chicanes were also deployed. However, the department discontinued installation in 2014 due to emergency response time and equipment impacts to Police and Fire vehicles, maintenance considerations, and concerns about damage to residents' vehicles. Driver feedback signs have also been used as a traffic calming tool to increase driver awareness and impact neighborhood speeds. TPW, however, continued to receive complaints for speeding even in areas where driver feedback signs had been employed. In an effort to be responsive to residents' concerns, TPW worked on alternatives to those traffic calming techniques which had caused concerns and briefed the Mobility: Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in January, 2022, on the forthcoming Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program using new devices known as speed cushions. A speed cushions is a modified speed hump design that incorporates wheel cutouts for emergency vehicle access. Cushions are typically installed in a series and are made of a durable rubber material with standard traffic markings (see Attachment A). Speed tables, which often serve a dual purpose as raised crosswalks, have remained in use in limited situations but are also now constructed out of the durable rubber instead of asphalt. The Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program was reinstated in March, 2022, and the first installations of speed cushions were completed in Summer 2023. Due to their design and installation protocol, speed cushions provide improved emergency response times in comparison to speed humps, and less damage to emergency and private vehicles. Driver feedback signs are still deployed, but they are targeted for temporary, short-term use to increase driver awareness and to supplement data collection efforts. The program has proven popular. TPW has received 124 traffic calming applications since March 2022. Completed petition forms have been received and speed cushions have been installed or are planned for installation at 20 locations. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 24-1835 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 16, 2024 Page 2 of 4 SUBJECT: NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING PROGRAM OVERVIEW CD Neighborhood Street 2 North Side Clinton Ave W Central Ave to NW 14th St 2 Diamond Hill -Jarvis N Elm St (NE 30t" St to E Long Ave) 3 Overton Park Ranch View Rd S Hulen St to Overton Park Dr W 3 Broadstone @ Trinity Apartments Rogers Rd (Riverfront to Collinsworth) 4 Park Glen Blue Water Lake Dr Park Vista Blvd to Rogue River Trl 6 Summer Creek Ranch Rush River (Nightingale Dr to Chaparral Creek Dr 6 Panther Heights Rancho Verde Pkw Summer Creek to W Cleburne Rd 7 Arlington Heights Lafayette Ave (Tremont to Clover) Clover Ln (Calmont to Birchman) Clover Ln(El Campo Ave to Bryce Ave 7 Park Dr Park Dr 9600 Park Dr to 5600 Park Dr 7 West Fork Ranch Horseman Rd Holstein Way to An ein Way) 8 Meadowcreek South Gettysburg Ln Charleston to Gatlinbur 10 Parks at Willow Ridge Basket Willow (Mesa Crest Dr to Wagley Robertson Rd) 10 Sunset Hills Sunset Hills Dr Delemere Dr to Lamberton Terr 10 Seventeen Lakes Seventeen Lakes Blvd (Wild Duck to Canvasback) Wilderness Pass (Green Teal to Martin Creek) Buckwater Way (north of Round Valley) 11 Race St Race St (Sylvania Ave to Chandler Dr 11 Carter Riverside Primrose Ave Gw nne to Eagle) Application Process Residents may submit traffic calming requests through the MyFortWorth App or the Call Center at (817) 392-1234 to receive a program application. The application may also be accessed on the TPW webpage. Once an application is received, TPW staff contacts applicants to discuss their request and confirm eligibility of a roadway for traffic calming. Speed data collection is performed and installation of traffic calming countermeasures is recommended when the 85t" percentile speed is five miles per hour or more over the posted or prima facie speed limit. TPW provides the applicant with a consent form, photographic examples of speed cushions or tables, and a map showing proposed placement. The consent form includes property owner information populated from the Tarrant Appraisal District database. The applicant is responsible for securing two-thirds property owner support within the impacted block and 100% support of owners directly impacted by proposed placement. Installation takes approximately three to four months from the date of TPW's receipt of a completed consent form. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 24-1835 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 16, 2024 Page 3 of 4 SUBJECT: NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING PROGRAM OVERVIEW Program Improvements TPW Website The Neighborhood Traffic Calming webpage will be updated with detailed information about the application process, data collection, and implementation timelines. Engineering Specifications TPW is finalizing engineering specifications that will be used for routine replacement of asphalt speed humps with rubber speed cushions as part of Neighborhood Streets resurfacing and Water Department projects. TPW performed an asset inventory in 2021 which confirmed that there are approximately 1,000 speed humps in need of replacement over time. Third -party contractors will be used for installation. Before and After Studies TPW will perform before and after evaluations to document whether traffic calming installations are meeting the intended goal of speed reduction as well as residents' expectations for performance. Program Promotion Residents are routinely informed about the Neighborhood Traffic Calming program when they submit speeding related customer service requests, and a City News article was published in August 2023 to promote the program when the first installations of request -based speed cushions were complete. Proactive promotion of the program will be incorporated into forthcoming public outreach for the Moving a Million Master Transportation Plan and Vision Zero Action Plan. Outreach will include three rounds of public open houses in each council district over the 18- month planning period. For questions or concerns, please contact Chelsea St. Louis, TPW Sr. Capital Projects Officer at Chelsea. St. Lou is(a)fortworthtexas.gov. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 24-1835 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 16, 2024 Page 4 of 4 SUBJECT: NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING PROGRAM OVERVIEW Attachment A Exam Cushion ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS