This step describes the method in which a request for a traffic
calming project will be submitted and how this request will be reviewed
to determine eligibility for development of a traffic calming project.
A.
Request from residents. An individual resident or a group of residents
may submit a written request to the Borough of Brentwood, specifying
the street(s) and type of concern.
B.
Determining request eligibility.
(1)
The request must be accompanied by a written petition, signed by
residents from at least 60% of the households in the immediate vicinity
of the location that is of concern.
(2)
Only Borough local and collector streets, as defined by the Borough's
roadway classification system, are eligible for consideration.
C.
Define study area and conduct data collection. The Borough will determine
if the request should be further evaluated and if the location is
eligible for consideration. The Borough will first define and approve
the study area based on input from the resident(s). The process is
divided into two distinct tiers, with Tier 1 being the existing police
procedures and enforcement and Tier 2 being the Neighborhood Traffic
Calming Program.
(1)
Tier 1 analysis.
(a)
First, staff will conduct a Tier 1 analysis. This may include
data collection including traffic counts, speed surveys, collision
history and pedestrian observations. Staff may recommend that the
identified problem may be easily reduced or alleviated with Tier 1
implementation measures (i.e., increased police presence). Tier 1
implementation measures are usually low-cost tools, primarily consisting
of education, enforcement and some engineering. Tier 1 implementation
measures include:
(b)
If, after three months, Tier 1 measures do not have a positive
effect on traffic and the resident still has a concern, the resident(s)
can request to move the request forward to Tier 2. If staff does not
recommend the use of Tier 1 measures or the Tier 1 measures have already
been implemented without the desired effect, the request may move
directly to Tier 2.
(2)
Tier 2 analysis. In order for a request to be considered for Tier
2, the existing traffic conditions must meet the minimum criteria
as stated in Policy 19. If these minimum criteria are not met, the
request may not proceed for Tier 2 analysis. If more than one request
is received, the requests are then prioritized for study among other
requests utilizing the prioritization criteria as stated in Policy
20. Prioritizing requests provides clear guidelines to staff on how
to manage the limited resources effectively by dealing with neighborhoods
that have the most pressing issues first.
(a)
Preliminary neighborhood meeting. A preliminary neighborhood
meeting will be held and all of the residents within the boundary
will be notified. The purpose of this first meeting is to listen to
the concerns of the residents, discuss the traffic calming program
and process, the use of traffic calming devices and the potential
fiscal impacts. This will mostly be an educational meeting, both for
staff to learn the concerns of the residents and for the residents
to learn of the traffic calming process and its implications. This
meeting is purposely held prior to the circulation of the initial
petition so that the residents are more educated about the process
that they are being asked to support. At this meeting, it is required
that a neighborhood captain or neighborhood working group be identified
in order to coordinate the future outreach efforts within the neighborhood.
(b)
Neighborhood petition. Since traffic calming measures impact
many people in the neighborhood and the measures tend to be costly,
it is necessary to determine if there is adequate support for the
process before continuing. Therefore, a petition requesting initiation
of the Tier 2 process must be signed by at least 80% of the households
within the neighborhood boundary. The neighborhood captain or the
neighborhood working group will need to coordinate this effort. If
at least 80% of the households do not sign the petition, the request
may not proceed. For the purposes of this program, a household is
defined as any owned or rented living unit with its own street address,
regardless of how many people live in each unit. Each household is
represented by one signature.
(c)
Data collection plan.
[1]
If at least 60% of the households in the study area sign the
petition the Borough may proceed with the Tier 2 process. The Borough
then approves a data collection plan based on the recommendation of
the Borough's traffic consultant at a meeting of the Borough Council,
to which residents of the affected neighborhood are invited. The data
collection plan may include speed studies, automatic traffic recorder
counts, intersection turning movement counts and origin/destination
surveys.
[2]
The Borough and/or traffic consultant will collect data in the
defined study area. As appropriate, residents from the affected neighborhood
may be required to participate in the data collection process. Traffic
data collection will be performed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and/or Thursdays,
between the beginning of the school year and the end of the school
year. In special situations where the identified problem occurs specifically
outside the school year, the Borough may approve collection of data
outside of the school year.
[3]
Determine if data collected meets criteria for development of
traffic calming plan.
[a]
The collected traffic data will be compared to
the criteria as stated in Policy 19 and in the following Table 1 to
determine eligibility for development of a traffic calming plan:
|
Table 1
Traffic Data Criteria
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Roadway Classification
|
Warrant
|
Threshold1
|
|
Local street
|
Average weekday daily traffic volume2 (twenty-four-hour)
|
Vehicles per day = two times the number of households in study
area
|
|
85th percentile speed3
|
5 mph/greater than posted speed limit
| |
|
Collector street
|
Average weekday daily traffic volume (twenty-four-hour)
|
5,000 vehicles per day
|
|
85th percentile speed
|
5 mph/greater than posted speed limit
| |
|
NOTES:
| |
|---|---|
|
1
|
Threshold volumes are two-way volumes.
|
|
2
|
"Average weekday daily traffic (AWDT) volume" is defined as
the total volume of vehicular traffic during a typical twenty-four-hour
weekday. The AWDT volume is calculated by taking the total volume
of traffic during a number of whole days — more than one day
and less than one year — divided by the number of days in that
period.
|
|
3
|
"Eighty-fifth percentile speed" is defined as the speed on a
roadway at or below which 85% of the motor vehicles travel.
|
[b]
If the traffic data meets or exceeds one or more
of the above criteria, the study location may be considered eligible
for development of a traffic calming plan to address the goals of
reducing daily traffic volumes, speeds or hourly traffic volumes,
or some combination of these goals.
This step will involve developing a traffic calming plan to
meet the study's specific goals and obtaining consensus from the neighborhood
regarding the goals as developed in Step 1 of the plan. The Borough
will review and recommend the plan.
A.
The traffic consultant will develop one or several optional plans
to address the goals for the neighborhood, as well as design guidelines
for their installation. The plans may only utilize those traffic calming
devices identified in this policy.
B.
A number of design factors may affect the feasibility of traffic
calming measures. These may include steep roadway grades, horizontal/vertical
curvature of the roadway, proximity to other signalized/unsignalized
intersections and drainage. In addition, other issues, such as snow
removal, emergency response delays/access, additional noise, increase
in accidents and on-street parking removal, could affect the implementation
and effectiveness of traffic calming measures.
C.
The plan will be presented at a Borough Council meeting. The meeting
will be publicized via the Borough's various informational media.
The emergency response agencies shall also be given the opportunity
to review and provide comment on the proposed plan.
D.
A consensus is developed within the neighborhood as to which option
is preferred. The Borough may use any of the following options to
determine consensus:
(1)
The Public Safety Committee may appoint a committee of residents
from the neighborhood to help develop alternatives for implementation
of traffic calming devices and their fiscal impacts.
(2)
A second neighborhood meeting will be held to discuss study results,
implementation of permanent measures, neighborhood approval requirements
and funding scenarios.
(3)
Once the permanent project is finalized, a neighborhood vote is required
to approve the traffic calming project. This vote requires a positive
response from at least 80% of the households.
(4)
If the proposed plan (calming device method) is approved, the Public
Safety Committee may only then recommend the plan to the Brentwood
Borough Council.
This step requires the Brentwood Borough Council to review and
approve the plan, either as recommended or with imposed modifications.
B.
The Brentwood Borough Council may approve the plan, modify the plan
or reject the plan with an option of sending a rejected plan back
to the Public Safety Committee for further consideration. The Brentwood
Borough Council will determine if the cost for implementation of the
plan is within the Borough's budget established for the current year.
If funding is not available, the plan may be deferred to a future
year. If the plan is approved, the Brentwood Borough Council shall
authorize its design and implementation on either a permanent or trial
basis.
This step involves installing the traffic calming devices, determining
their effectiveness and reporting the results to the Public Safety
Committee and Borough Council.
A.
After funding is allocated, the traffic engineering study and environmental
review of the project will be conducted. Plans and specifications
will be prepared if needed. Then the project will be advertised for
construction/installation if needed. It is expected that construction
would be completed within 12 months of Borough Council approval.
B.
The devices are installed as either permanent or temporary devices
as described in the approved plan.
C.
The temporary devices will be tested during the test period that
was established during the approval step, as detailed in the approved
plan. Data is collected at predetermined locations and time intervals
to determine if the devices meet the goals. Permanent installations
may also be tested if the plan establishes the need.
D.
After the test period is completed a report is prepared with the
data collection results and submitted to the Public Safety Committee.
E.
The report will be presented at a Public Safety Committee meeting.
F.
If the devices are permanent and the Public Safety Committee determines
that the results meet the intended goal, no further action will be
taken.
G.
If the devices are temporary, the Public Safety Committee will recommend
to the Brentwood Borough Council that the devices should be removed,
modified or permanently installed.
H.
The Brentwood Borough Council shall determine, through a public meeting
or other means, if the temporary devices are to be removed, modified
or made permanent.
