April 4, 2008

Traffic calming study yields results

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

In mid-March, the Department of Transportation and the San Jose Police Department presented a report to the City Council with four recommendations.

The report offered council members four recommendations including further investigation of red light running, exploring methods of increasing traffic enforcement and parking compliance in neighborhoods and school zones using existing resources and evaluating potential traffic calming and/or enforcement proposals as part of the 2008-09 budget process within the existing confines of the city’s structural budget deficit.

The council unanimously agreed to a list of seven recommendations proposed by Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio, who was in charge of the meetings held during October and November and worked with DOT and the police as well as the city manager’s office to revamp the city’s traffic calming policies. These recommendations proposed city staff research each and return the information to the city council in May.

These proposals include directing the administration to bring forth the cost of one-time and ongoing funding needed to hire more police officers to enforce traffic calming regulations in neighborhoods; research feasibility of red light running systems for a possible red light running pilot program; and research the viability of increasing fines for traffic violations.

The other four direct the administration to update current traffic calming policy and recommendations proposed from the attached report to include expanding physical and electronic device installation and to update the policy for cumulative impacts of speed, volume, crashes, pedestrian activity and proximity to schools and/or parks; bring recommendations to the city council allowing for provisions for neighborhoods to fund physical traffic calming devices; investigate partnerships with school districts to use bond money for radar and other traffic calming near schools; and implement the state Assembly Bill 321 allowing municipalities to lower speed limits to 15 mph in qualifying school zones after the city attorney’s office completes an analysis.

In September, the council authorized Oliverio, in conjunction with the San Jose Police Department and the city’s Department of Transpor-tation to hold the meetings, one in each council district, to provide input from residents on existing policy and to solicit their priorities in determining additional traffic calming needs. A Web survey also was conducted and DOT reviewed traffic conditions on a sample of 50 streets as well as studied traffic calming programs in 27 other cities.

Councilmember Nancy Pyle noted that the meetings were beneficial to the council, the DOT and the police department. "Residents across the city have provided very valuable feedback during the traffic calming meetings. This input has a tremendous impact on the policies that guide the city’s transportation and police departments. While the specific issues facing each district differed, all meeting attendees were united in their call for an overhaul of the city's traffic calming policy."

The report followed last summer’s traffic accident on Graystone Lane that left four people dead. In addition, council policy last addressed traffic calming in June 2001, and times, tools and technologies have changed and many residents have asked for changes from the present in the 2001 legislation.

During the discussion DOT Division Manager Laura Wells explained that residents at the 10 meetings held last fall had several “key recurring priorities.” Among these were more traffic calming devices, more parking enforcement and traffic regulations and to focus more on schools with both school parking and traffic compliance officers as well as increased fines for traffic violations in neighborhoods. In addition, these residents also asked for additional pedestrian enhancements from sidewalks to accessibility ramps and enhanced crosswalks.

Obviously, there are two concerns that could inhibit these priorities; supplying more devices and increased enforcement costs money and the city has a serious budget deficit.

Oliverio suggested that there are methods of implementing some of the residents’ priorities without spending money. He noted that by implementing different technologies, such as red light cameras, which in some cases vendors have offered for free provided revenue sharing, would allow the city to “reallocate police resources to the neighborhoods, which is what the constituents wanted.”

In other cases, working in partnership with school districts, for example, would help provide funds for signs or law enforcement that is necessary to slow down drivers in or around parks and schools.

Mayor Chuck Reed noted that he was especially pleased with the recommendation to investigate partnerships with school districts to use some of their bond money for traffic calming, radar signs and other devices near schools.

“We discussed this at the school-city collaborative at our last meeting and I would say they are enthusiastic about that possibility,” he said. “So they’re definitely interested in working with us to do that.”

Police Captain Diane Urban noted that some residents already are working with the police to identify speeders. That too cuts down on the budget. “Because in fact, many [of the speeders] are known. We’ve identified those people, because they know the people in their neighborhood and we work very closely with them. We’re currently using about 30 percent of our enforcement time to address neighborhood enforcement issues, make personal contact with these neighborhood captains. There is that personal contact going on in addition to the Web site, which has been updated and allows a better process for people to make inquiries and complaints. The technology is helpful for us to address those issues.

Just prior to the vote, the council listened to six members of the public. Most said they were impressed with the traffic report and with the recommendations. A couple praised the idea of lowered school speeds to 15 mph and suggested that methods of compliance are necessary to reduce accidents on streets that aggravate speeding, such as straight streets within neighborhoods. Several said they favored speed bumps because these would stop drivers, mostly neighborhood residents, from going 40-50 mph on back streets and damaging homes and property.

Following the meeting, Pyle told the Times she was very pleased with the report and passage of the recommendations. "Safety is one of my top priorities... It's fantastic that the Council and the community are unified in this ongoing commitment to take action and reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities and car crashes in our city," she said.

"Through this policy update, we have been given an opportunity to discuss and apply creative traffic calming strategies that have been successful in other cities,” Pyle said. “I am especially pleased because the timing of these discussions has allowed us to implement recent state legislation which encourages cities to set lower speed limits in school zones."