SUBJECT:
Title
Neighborhood Speed Management Program Development
Body
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
Department
PRESENTER(S): David Pasic, Town Engineer
Miguel Aguilar, Senior Transportation Planner
Lee Mathis, Chief of Police
Jarod Ballentine, Communications Specialist
Bill Cowern, Fox Tuttle Transportation Group
Margo Josephs, Leadline Project Management
First Name Last Name, Title
TIME ESTIMATE: 30 minutes
only required for non-consent items
POLICY ISSUES:
This program will advance community safety with regard to neighborhood speed management by creating policy by which Town staff will evaluate needs in identified areas, make appropriate speed management recommendations, and prioritize those recommendations for action. All of these steps will be based on established metrics within the program document.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
This is a presentation for informational purposes to gather input from Town Council. No specific recommendations are being made by staff at this time.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
Town Council and staff are always evaluating existing practices and look for opportunities to refine existing and/or adopt new policies and programs for the benefit of the Town’s residents.
One such area Public Works Engineering and Transportation staff have been evaluating in partnership with the community, the Erie Police Department, the Town Communications & Community Engagement Department, and the Erie Operations & Maintenance Division concerns neighborhood speeding. Speeding in neighborhoods is one of the most common resident concerns heard across many Town departments. Historically, Erie has relied on education and enforcement through speed trailers, increased patrolling from Erie PD, and when needed, citations. These measures tend to make temporary corrections without making a lasting impact on changing driving behavior. Speeding will continue to be an enforcement challenge for the Erie Police Department unless the Town implements more traffic calming projects and other measures.
To address this need and prioritize actions most effectively, Town staff entered into a Professional Services Agreement on Aug. 8, 2022, with the Fox Tuttle Transportation Group and Leadline Project Management to develop a Neighborhood Speed Management Program (NSMP). The NSMP is a comprehensive strategy and set of measures designed to mitigate neighborhood traffic speed-related issues. The NSMP focuses on speed concerns on local and collector classification roadways in residential areas. One additional goal in developing this program is to incorporate the speed management measures identified in this program into the Town’s Standards and Specifications that are applied to new development. Incorporating these speed mitigation measures into the Town Standards and Specifications is a separate effort and staff anticipates asking Council to consider adopting a Resolution doing that in Q3 of 2024.
This effort began in the Fall of 2022 with staff conducting research on other successful NSMP’s in peer cities including Denver, Superior, Fort Collins, Greeley, Thornton, and Broomfield, among others. The peer review allowed staff to evaluate common elements of successful programs, engage in obtaining constructive feedback on appropriate project implementation, qualification, and prioritization measures, determine an appropriate level of public process, and to ensure an appropriate balance between speed mitigation and preserving emergency response. A summary of the Peer Review process is attached.
In summer of 2023, the Town, with the help of Fox Tuttle and Leadline, launched a public awareness and engagement campaign including a promotional video (<https://youtu.be/m-Z8wD0HudM?si=kxX8vGk0ZMPzlrZ9>) and a survey for residents to engage in the process. This video also helped encouraged residents to participate in a future Focus Group. The Town team selected residents to participate in the Focus Group to reflect representation from multiple areas of Town and provide input for their respective communities. A map attached to this memo shows the approximate residences of the participating members.
The Focus Group meetings were held in the beginning of Fall 2023. Town staff presented information to participants on recent and current speed management and safety projects in the Town, discussed why communities choose to build speed management programs, had discussion on the value of implementing a NSMP in Erie, solidified goals and objectives for the program, and reviewed and received feedback on program and policy questions. Meeting minutes of the Community Focus Group effort can be found in an appendix of the NSMP Policy document attached.
After the first two meetings, the Town and its consultant team developed a draft of the NSMP in January of 2024, which was then distributed to the Focus Group members for feedback. Town staff and consultants then reviewed the comments, updated the document where appropriate, and provided responses to the Focus Group members. The feedback from the members with the Town’s responses are attached to this memo. As a result of the CFG feedback, the Town team revised the NSMP policy document.
Fox Tuttle and Leadline, in partnership with the Town, developed the attached NSMP draft for Council review. Their presentation will highlight key components of the program development and the resulting program document draft. The goal of this presentation is to gather feedback from Town Council confirm Council wants to consider adopting the program at a future Town Council meeting.
COUNCIL PRIORITY(S) ADDRESSED:
ü Well-Maintained Transportation Infrastructure
ü Safe and Healthy Community
ü Effective Governance
ü Fiscally Responsible
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Presentation
2. Summary of Peer Review Process
3. Community Focus Group Participant Map
4. Community Focus Group Comments and Comment Responses
5. NSMP Policy Document