[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Paterson 9-13-2022 by Ord. No. 22-057. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following terms whenever used or referred to in this chapter
shall have the following respective meanings for the purposes of this
chapter, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
Semipublic or private roads, streets, driveways, parkways,
parking areas, or other roadways owned by a private person, corporation
or institution open to or used by the public for the purposes of vehicular
travel by permission of such persons, corporations or institutions
and not as a matter of public right.
A series of raised strips across a road or along its edge,
changing the noise a vehicle's tires make on the surface and
so warning drivers of speed restrictions or of the edge of the road.
For purposes of this section, "school" means any institution
for instruction below the grade of colleges or universities, whether
maintained by private means for individual benefit or by government
as public schools.
One of several traffic calming measures that use forces of
vertical acceleration to discourage speeding. For purposes of this
chapter, speed humps mean all vertical speed deflectors, including,
but not limited to, speed tables, raised crosswalks, raised intersections,
and modified speed humps.
A raised area in the roadway pavement surface extending transversely
across the travel way.
A.
The City of Paterson's policy on the use of "speed humps" on
City streets is that they should only be installed once a comprehensive
speed study and all traffic calming measures have been exhausted to
eliminate the speeding of vehicles on the street. These measures should
include signing, striping and pavement markings. In addition, there
should be strict police enforcement of the speed limit.
B.
Speed humps, which are generally 12 feet wide and speed tables which
are 22 feet wide, are among an array of available and accepted traffic-calming
devices suitable for installation on residential streets. The installation
of speed humps has been shown in some circumstances to slow traffic,
but is not a guarantee that the street is a safe place for children
to play. Streets exist primarily for the passage of motor vehicles;
hence residents, both adults and children, should exercise due care
when in the roadway.
C.
The installation of speed humps on City streets other than local
residential streets could have potentially severe traffic safety consequences,
negatively affect emergency services and other service delivery activities,
and likely create the diversion of large amounts of through traffic
onto local residential streets. No speed humps shall be installed
without a through investigation by the Traffic Engineer to determine
the necessity of the speed hump.
D.
The purpose of this policy is to establish the circumstances and
criteria under which speed humps will be considered for installation
on a residential street. In general, all requests for speed humps
shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis rather than as a blanket
solution to install speed humps or any other speed reduction device
on any street.
E.
In addition, the Traffic Engineering Division within the Department
of Public Works shall investigate every street that is adjacent to
a school and shall have installed rumble strips on every street that
is adjacent to a school in such locations as serve to maximize the
safety of the children attending each school.
The following criteria shall govern installation of speed humps
in the City as determined by the Department of Public Works:
A.
Speed humps shall be considered only after other less intrusive traffic
calming measures have been rejected as infeasible or ineffective.
B.
Speed humps shall be available only on residential streets carrying
fewer than 3,000 vehicles per day pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-8.9.
C.
Speed humps shall be available only on streets that have a posted
speed limit of 30 mph or less as determined in accordance with state
law, and no more than one traffic lane in each direction, pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 39:4-8.9.
D.
Speed humps shall not be installed on any street designated as a
truck route or a transit route.
E.
Speed humps shall not be installed on a portion of any street with
a grade in excess of 8%.
F.
Speed humps shall not be installed on any street as to which there
is, in the judgment of the Traffic Engineer, inadequate vertical and
horizontal alignment and sight distances to allow for safe installation.
G.
Speed humps shall not be installed on any street if in the judgment
of the City's emergency response providers, an unacceptable delay
may result in response time to emergencies.
H.
Speed humps shall only be installed if 100% of the owners of residences
immediately adjacent to the proposed speed humps (one vote per ownership)
and 67% of the occupants of residences in the neighborhood signing
a petition (one vote per dwelling unit) requests the speed humps.
B.
Rumble Strips in non-school zones will only be installed if 100%
of the owners of residences on the street where the proposed rumble
strips are being requested (one vote per ownership) and 67% of the
occupants of residences on that street sign a petition (one vote per
dwelling unit) requesting the rumble strips.
The installation of speed humps, rumble strips and associated
traffic control devices shall conform to design standards as set by
the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Institute of Transportation
Engineers and as follows:
A.
Speed humps shall be installed on local residential streets, separated
from each other by approximately 300 feet. Speed humps will not normally
be installed on relatively short City blocks or dead-end streets.
B.
Rumble strips shall be installed on local residential streets, separated
from each other by approximately 75 feet. Rumble strips will not normally
be installed on relatively short City blocks or dead end streets.
A.
The City policies and procedures for the installation of speed humps
and rumble strips will be made available to all interested parties.
B.
A representative of a local residential street, who believes the
residents on his or her street will support the installation of speed
humps or rumble strips, may submit a request, in writing, to the Division
of Traffic Engineering within the Department of Public Works. The
Division of Traffic Engineering shall then consult with the Police
and Fire Departments in deciding as to whether the street in question
is eligible for further consideration for the installation of speed
humps or rumble strips based on the criteria contained in the above
policy.
Upon determination by the Division of Traffic Engineering that
a street is not eligible for speed humps or rumble strips, the representative(s)
of the street will be notified, in writing, of the reason why the
street is not eligible. Upon determination that a street is eligible
for further consideration, the representative of the street will be
advised to submit a petition from owners of 100% of the residences
immediately adjacent to the proposed speed humps or rumble strips.
Petition forms shall be provided by the City of Paterson Department
of Public Works. At least 67% of the occupants of the residences in
the neighborhood requesting the speed humps and rumble strips shall
be required. Only one vote will be counted per ownership and per dwelling
unit.
The sponsor of the petition shall contact every resident of
the abutting properties on the subject street. If a resident is against
the speed humps or rumble strips, the word "opposed" will be noted
on the petition signature space. If the sponsor is unable to contact
a resident, "no contact" will be noted on the petition signature space
with the days and times that contact was attempted. The sponsor must
make at least two attempts on separate days to contact a resident.
Speed humps and rumble strips requests shall be funded in the
order received and approved, unless the City determines that conditions
on a particular street, as demonstrated by speed or accident statistics,
require greater priority. There is no guarantee that public funding
will be available. Approved projects may be privately funded.
The City reserves the right to install any traffic calming device,
including speed humps and rumble strips, without a resident petition,
as circumstances require. The Traffic Engineer shall determine whether
circumstances exist for such traffic calming device after a thorough
investigation and upon consultation with the Director of Public Safety.
Speed humps and rumble strips installed pursuant to this chapter
may be removed by the City upon a determination that the removal is
required for public safety reasons, or by the Traffic Engineer in
his discretion, after being presented with a petition of at least
67% of occupants of residences within the same geographic area requesting
the removal.
The City of Paterson shall provide advance warning, including,
but not limited to, the erection of appropriate signs giving notice
of the presence of speed humps before the first speed hump in a series
of speed humps and provide for a pavement marker to be placed at the
location of the first speed hump. The signing and pavement markings
for a speed hump shall conform to the current standards prescribed
in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways
as adopted by the Commissioner of Transportation.
The construction design of all traffic calming measures, including
speed humps and rumble strips, shall be in accordance with the standards
prescribed in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets
and Highways as adopted by the Commissioner of Transportation.
