To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Julie Lucido, Public Works Director
Prepared By: Edward Moore, Supervising Engineering Assistant
TITLE:
Title
Annual Update to Speed Limits on City Streets
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
(1) Approve the first reading and introduction of an ordinance amending Napa Municipal Code Section 10.20.040 related to the establishment and enforcement of speed limits.
(2) Adopt a resolution determining that a Declared Speed Limit is justified based on an Engineering and Traffic Survey for identified City streets and roadway segments, and determining that the actions authorized by this resolution are exempt from CEQA.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Approval of the proposed ordinance and resolution will result in the lowering of the speed limit on 12 roadway segments and maintaining the current speed limit along 18 roadway segments. The approval also documents the sufficiency of the required Engineering and Traffic Surveys (ETS) in complying with all requirements of State laws and the standards established by the California Department of Transportation to support enforcement. These strict requirements do not allow lowering speed limits without the ETS documenting traffic and roadway conditions meet specific criteria. While the purpose of this report is to present information on the requirements for setting speed limits, describe the process for completing the ETS in full compliance with those requirements, and recommend City Council action to amend the Napa Municipal Code section related to the establishment and enforcement of speed limits; a short summary of some of the City actions related to traffic safety are listed below.
The summary is included in this report because City Council has set traffic safety as a City priority and the purpose of this additional information is to list some of the current and upcoming efforts for traffic safety improvements. Traffic enforcement is one component of the standard “three E’s” law enforcement and transportation engineering disciplines have prioritized for improving traffic safety. Education and engineering are the other two. The Police Department is rebuilding the traffic enforcement unit and has recently been able to assign a new traffic sergeant and two motor officers. In addition, the Police Department is committed in 2022 to:
• Presenting information on Red Light Camera Enforcement systems to City Council
• Applying for a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to fund additional enforcement, equipment, and community outreach.
• Updating the collision reporting software for more accurate data
• Issuing handheld electronic ticket writing software to all officers
• Increasing the social media outreach for traffic safety
• Identifying future technologies and best practices to educate the public and increase enforcement presence
• Planning for selection and training for future traffic officers
In addition to increasing traffic enforcement by the Police Department, the Public Works Department is proceeding with a number of efforts to improve traffic safety within the community. Staff has started the development of a Local Roadway Safety Plan and associated website to collect detailed input from stakeholders and to inform community members on the plan progress. The Local Roadway Safety Plan will analyze collision data; set a Vision Zero Policy Framework (defined as a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all); and use the data to establish projects, programs, and implementation strategies to set actions to improve traffic safety. Other recent and current projects include traffic signal improvements at the Old Soscol/Soscol intersection, the Main/Lincoln intersection, and system coordination along the Jefferson corridor; construction of the Vine Trail segments between Third Street and Vallejo Street and south of Redwood Road; bicycle facility improvements along Trancas, Soscol and Trower; and incorporating complete streets/active transportation design elements within our pavement rehabilitation projects as part of the City’s Capital Improvement Program. Work to update the Citywide Guidelines for Traffic Calming and Neighborhood Traffic Management will proceed in the second half of 2022.
Annual Update to Speed Limits on City Streets
As required by State law summarized in this report, the City regularly conducts Engineering and Traffic Surveys (“ETS”) to evaluate traffic conditions on City streets, which provide the technical bases for the City to establish declared speed limits. As a result of the ETS conducted this year, the City confirmed that the current speed limits are supported in 18 of the 30 street and roadway segments evaluated, with 12 segments where the declared speed limit may be reduced by a 5mph increment. The only other change identified by the ETS summarized in this report is to adjust the description of two street segments on Jefferson Street that were evaluated.
The City of Napa Public Works Department is responsible for performing and maintaining current Engineering and Traffic Surveys (ETS) for the purpose of establishing declared speed limits on many City roadways. According to the 2021 California Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD), “The setting of speed limits can be controversial and requires a rational and defensible determination to maintain public confidence. Speed limits are normally set near the 85th percentile speed that statistically represents one standard deviation above the average speed and establishes the upper limit of what is considered reasonable and prudent. As with most laws, speed limits need to depend on the voluntary compliance of the greater majority of motorists. Speed limits cannot be set arbitrarily low, as this would create violators of the majority of drivers and would not command the respect of the public.”
The California Vehicle Code (CVC) establishes several speed laws including: the basic speed law, the maximum speed limit, and several prima facie speed limits. The Latin term “prima facie” means “at first sight” and by extension when used to describe a speed would be “upon initial observation the apparent, reasonable and prudent speed”. As an example, when driving along a residential roadway with no posted speed limit, the prima facie speed limit is 25mph. The law does not require posting these prima facie limits, which are considered readily apparent. State law permits local authorities to declare prima facie limits that differ from maximum and statutory prima facie limits if adopted on the basis of Engineering and Traffic Surveys (ETS). These are known as Declared Prima Facie Speed Limits and must be posted for speed enforcement.
ETS, as defined by the California Vehicle Code (CVC), must be implemented properly to document the normally careful and competent actions of responsible drivers. ETS shall include a consideration of prevailing speeds, collision history, and roadway conditions not readily apparent to the driver. ETS are, at their core, a measurement of prevailing speed or the speeds of reasonable and prudent drivers in action. Proper and consistent use of equipment, location selection, time of day selection and trained personnel are key to collecting prevailing speeds. Not all driver speeds are collected within the random sample of reasonable and prudent drivers under normal conditions. For example, drivers behind slow moving trucks and buses, or drivers who unreasonably start quickly at traffic signals that turn green are not collected. From the collected prevailing speeds, an 85th percentile speed is calculated. The 85th percentile speed is the speed at or below which 85% of drivers are traveling on the particular segment of roadway. The 85th percentile speed is then rounded to the nearest 5mph increment which establishes the posted speed limit. A 5mph reduction to the posted speed can be applied if justification is documented by the registered Civil or Traffic Engineer approving the ETS. These surveys are valid for 5, 7 and 10-year periods depending on changing conditions and evaluation by a registered Civil or Traffic Engineer.
Sometimes an updated ETS can increase or decrease the posted speed limit along a roadway segment. Before a posted speed limit is changed on a roadway and becomes enforceable, the ETS must be adopted by City Council and amended into the Municipal Code. Enforcement of posted speed limits that are not based on State Laws or City Codes becomes difficult to justify in court and leads to speeding citations overturned on the merits of law and process.
As ETS are updated, it is valuable to review roadway segments to align with visible changes in roadway conditions and be consistent with parallel programs such as the Functional Classification of Roads as well as Pavement Management Programs. These segment changes rarely alter the posted speed limits that drivers see on a daily basis yet need to be modified within the Municipal Code that establishes the boundaries of the declared speed limit.
Assembly Bill 43 (Friedman) was passed into law in 2021, amending several sections of the state legislation pertaining to setting speed limits. The new legislation was reviewed and results in no changes to the ETS presented. Many of the changes pertain to state highways and some are not effective until 2024, unless specific action is taken earlier by the Judicial Council. Updates to the Manual of Traffic Control Devices must also be complete by the California Department of Transportation.
Of the 30 Engineering and Traffic Surveys included in this annual update:
• 18 segments have no changes;
• 10 segments are being lowered by an increment of 5mph; and
• 2 segments are being split at a different intersection than previously reported, in addition to being lowered from 30mph to 25mph.
The specific changes are as follows:
Street or Roadway Segment Revised Declared Speed Limit (mph)
Imola Avenue - Soscol Avenue to Shurtleff Avenue 30
Jefferson Street - Old Sonoma Road to Laurel Street 25
Jefferson Street - Laurel Street to Calistoga Avenue 25
Kansas Avenue - Gasser Drive to Soscol Avenue 25
Laurel Street - First Street to Griggs Lane 25
Linda Vista Avenue - Trower Avenue to City Limits (north) 25
Main Street - Jackson Street to Lincoln Avenue 25
Main Street - Lincoln Avenue to Pueblo Avenue 25
Soscol Avenue - Silverado Trail to Third Street 35
Soscol Avenue - Third Street to Lincoln Avenue 35
South Jefferson Street - Imola Avenue to Old Sonoma Road 25
Wine Country Avenue - Linda Vista Avenue to Byway East 30
Updates of the Municipal Code for Speed Limits are made annually to maintain adherence to CVC requirements, enforceable by Police and upheld in the Courts.
The proposed Ordinance will go into effect 30 days after its final adoption. This will ensure that the City of Napa can enforce speed regulations to ensure safe operation of vehicles on city roadways related to the proposed amendments. If the amended Ordinance is not approved, the City would not be able to enforce posted speed limits by use of radar or other electronic devices.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
There are no direct costs related to the adoption of the proposed Ordinance.
CEQA:
City staff recommends that the City Council determine that the Recommended Action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (minor alteration of existing streets and sidewalks).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Ordinance
ATCH 2 - Resolution
EX A - Engineering and Traffic Surveys
NOTIFICATION:
Legal notice of public hearing published in the Napa Valley Register on January 7, 2022.