Chapter 12.65
NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING PROGRAM
Sections
12.65.080 Neighborhood corridor projects.
12.65.010 Title.
This chapter shall be entitled “Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program.” [Ord. 1578 § 165, 2013.]
12.65.020 Application.
This chapter shall apply to the development traffic calming measures in the right-of-way. [Ord. 1578 § 166, 2013.]
12.65.030 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to address neighborhood concerns with regard to traffic safety issues. These issues include, but are not limited to, reducing the problems of accidents, nonlocal traffic, spillover parking, and vehicles speeding on residential streets. The procedures established by this chapter enable citizens and/or community groups to participate in the problem identification, planning, design, implementation, and evaluation stages of projects meant to remedy traffic safety problems. [Ord. 1578 § 167, 2013.]
12.65.040 Authority.
The Planning, Building and Public Works Director shall have the power to prepare and adopt procedures as needed to implement the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 1578 § 168, 2013.]
12.65.050 Coordination.
The program is coordinated by the Planning, Building and Public Works Department with other Departments and agencies, including:
(1) The Police Department to ensure overall traffic safety and the best use of resources for target enforcement of traffic speeds in neighborhoods by the City Police Department.
(2) Fire and emergency services to ensure minimal impact on emergency access routes and response times.
(3) School districts and King County Metro Transit to coordinate safe walking routes for students, to identify and correct specific safety problems around schools, and to minimize impacts on school and public bus operation.
(4) Other jurisdictions to ensure consistency in traffic control devices and procedures on the streets that cross through multiple jurisdictions. [Ord. 1578 § 169, 2013.]
12.65.060 Program guidelines.
The administrative rules published by the Planning, Building and Public Works Department shall contain provisions to implement the following guidelines:
(1) Locations for proposed installation of traffic calming devices are prioritized to ensure that funds are spent on the most serious locations first.
(2) Neighborhood residents are responsible for the initiation and follow-through of individual traffic calming projects. Placing the burden for project initiation on the public shall:
(a) Discourage frivolous requests;
(b) Minimize staff time spent in evaluating problem locations; and
(c) Build a neighborhood consensus before City funds are spent.
(3) Except for unusual situations, traffic speed enforcement through the City Police Department or a speed watch program should usually be the initial response to a petition requesting neighborhood traffic calming.
(4) Use the least restrictive traffic calming strategy/device that will solve the specific problem. Passive techniques should be explored before deciding to install physical devices. Passive techniques should include a range of possible solutions including brush trimming, improving sight distances, posting appropriate traffic control signs, speed watch programs, traffic enforcement, traffic safety campaigns, and any other techniques deemed appropriate by the Planning, Building and Public Works Director.
(5) If physical devices are necessary, the least intrusive or restrictive types of devices should be evaluated first. Physical devices can include speed humps, traffic circles, chicanes, traffic diverters, turn prohibitors, curb extensions, and any other techniques deemed appropriate by the Planning, Building and Public Works Director.
(6) Manage traffic in place rather than diverting it to another location. In some cases, through traffic should be on nearby arterials and physical devices would be appropriate to try to divert such traffic back to the arterial system. However, traffic should not be relocated from one neighborhood street to another.
(7) Use the most cost-effective traffic calming devices to solve identified problems so that City resources can be used to address as many locations as possible. [Ord. 1578 § 170, 2013.]
12.65.070 Minimum criteria.
(1) Neighborhood traffic calming projects should meet all of the following minimum criteria:
(a) Average daily traffic (“ADT”) volumes should be greater than 500 ADT but less than 4,000 ADT.
(b) Traffic speed studies with a sample of at least 50 cars in each direction at a given location should show at least 20 percent of the vehicles exceeding the posted speed limit by at least five miles per hour.
(c) The street under consideration for a traffic calming project is not classified as an arterial. [Ord. 1578 § 171, 2013.]
12.65.080 Neighborhood corridor projects.
Neighborhood corridor projects focus attention on larger-scale neighborhood projects to address nonlocal traffic and pedestrian safety. Projects of this type are considered when the neighborhood traffic safety problem is determined to be caused by a lack of adequate arterial facilities and sidewalks in the problem area.
The types of projects include: installing sidewalks, curbs, and gutters, and improving the capacity of the street by doing channelization and/or signalization improvements. Projects of this nature are prioritized under the six-year transportation plan. [Ord. 1578 § 172, 2013.]