Chapter 10.16
TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES1
Sections:
10.16.010 Installation authority.
10.16.020 Signing required for enforcement.
10.16.040 Official traffic signals – Installation and maintenance.
10.16.050 Traffic signals – Speed regulation.
10.16.060 Traffic lanes – Marking.
10.16.070 Use of distinctive roadway markings.
10.16.090 Removal, relocation or discontinuance authority.
10.16.010 Installation authority.
A. The traffic engineer shall have the exclusive power and duty to place and maintain or cause to be placed and maintained official traffic control devices when and as required under this title, and other traffic ordinances of the city to make effective the provisions of this title and such ordinances.
B. Whenever the Vehicle Code of this state requires, for the effectiveness of any provision thereof, that traffic control devices be installed to give notice to the public of the application of such law, the traffic engineer is authorized to install the necessary devices subject to any limitations or restrictions set forth in the law applicable thereto.
C. The traffic engineer may also place and maintain such additional traffic control devices as he may deem necessary to regulate traffic or to guide or warn traffic, but he shall make such determination only on the basis of traffic engineering principles and traffic investigations and in accordance with such standards, limitations and rules as may be set forth in this title or other traffic ordinances of the city or as may be determined by ordinance or resolution of the city council. (1964 Code § 16.21.)
10.16.020 Signing required for enforcement.
No provision of this title or other ordinance of the city for which signs are required shall be enforced against an alleged violator unless appropriate signs are in place and sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person, giving notice of such provisions of the traffic laws. (1964 Code § 16.22.)
10.16.030 Obedience required.
The operator of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of any official traffic control device applicable thereto placed in accordance with this title and other traffic ordinances of the city unless otherwise directed by a police officer or other authorized official, subject to the exceptions granted the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle when responding to emergency calls. (Ord. 11-2002 § 5, 2011; 1964 Code § 16.23.)
10.16.040 Official traffic signals – Installation and maintenance.
A. The traffic engineer shall install and maintain official traffic signals at those intersections and other places where the city council determines that traffic conditions are such as to require that the flow of traffic be alternately interrupted and released in order to prevent or relieve traffic congestion or to protect life or property.
B. The traffic engineer shall investigate and recommend the locations where such signals may be required by field observation, traffic counts and other traffic information as may be pertinent, and his or her determinations therefrom shall be made in accordance with those traffic engineering and safety standards and instructions set forth in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices issued by the State Department of Transportation.
C. Whenever the traffic engineer installs and maintains an official traffic signal at any intersection, he or she shall likewise erect and maintain at such intersection street name signs visible to the primary flow of traffic unless such street name signs have previously been placed and are maintained at any such intersection. (Ord. 11-2002 § 6, 2011; 1964 Code § 16.24.)
10.16.050 Traffic signals – Speed regulation.
The traffic engineer is authorized to regulate the timing of traffic signals so as to permit the movement of traffic in an orderly and safe manner at speeds slightly at variance from the speeds otherwise applicable within the district or at intersections, and shall erect appropriate signs giving notice thereof. (1964 Code § 16.25.)
10.16.060 Traffic lanes – Marking.
The traffic engineer is authorized to mark centerlines and lane lines upon the surface of the roadway to indicate the course to be traveled by vehicles and may place signs temporarily designating lanes to be used by traffic moving in a particular direction, regardless of the centerline of the highway. (1964 Code § 16.26.)
10.16.070 Use of distinctive roadway markings.
Whenever the State Department of Transportation designates a distinctive roadway marking which indicates no driving over such marking, the traffic engineer is authorized to designate by such markings those roadways or parts of roadways where the volume of traffic or the vertical or other curvature of the roadway renders it hazardous to drive on the left side of such markings or signs and markings. Such markings or signs and markings shall have the same effect as similar markings placed by the State Department of Transportation pursuant to provisions of the Vehicle Code of the state. (Ord. 11-2002 § 7, 2011; 1964 Code § 16.27.)
10.16.080 Hours of operation.
The traffic engineer shall determine the hours and days during which any traffic control device shall be in operation or be in effect, except in those cases where such hours or days are specified in this title. (1964 Code § 16.28.)
10.16.090 Removal, relocation or discontinuance authority.
The traffic engineer is authorized to remove, relocate or discontinue the operation of any traffic control device not specifically required by state law or this title whenever he determines in any particular case that the conditions which warranted or required the installation no longer exist or obtain. (1964 Code § 16.29.)
For statutory provisions authorizing local authorities to place and maintain traffic control devices as required by statute or as necessary to implement statutes or local ordinances, see Vehicle Code § 21351 et seq.