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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.1 StpSgnHansen/Amarillo CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT City Council Meeting Date: July 27, 1987 SUBJECT: Public Hearing: Installation of STOP Signs on Hansen Drive at Amarillo Road EXHIBITS ATTACHED: 1) Draft Ordinance 2) Report from TJKM 3) Letter from Mr. James Jones 4) Location Map RECOMMENDATION'~ ~ ~) 4) 5) Open Public Hearing Receive Staff presentation and public testimony Question Staff and the public Close Public Hearing and deliberate Adopt Ordinance for installation of STOP signs on Hansen Drive at Amarillo Road on an urgency basis. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Approximately $500 for installation of signs and pavement markings. DESCRIPTION: Staff received a letter from Mr. James Jones, 7349 Hansen Drive, requesting installation of STOP signs on Hansen Drive at Amarillo Road. After contacting Mr. Jones and discussing the issue at the Traffic Safety Committee, the City's traffic engineer, TJKM, studied this intersection and finds as follows: Field Review Hansen Drive at this point is 48 feet wide, which may give drivers a sense that the speed limit is greater than 25 m.p.h. This is a "T" intersection, with an existing STOP sign on Amarillo Road. There is a school crosswalk on the east leg of Hansen Drive. Traffic Counts The heaviest traffic volumes are on the east leg of Hansen Drive and the north leg of Amarillo Road. Approach volumes are 1,342 vpd northbound on Hansen east of Amarillo, 313 vpd eastbound on Hansen west of Amarillo, and 1,145 vpd southbound on Amarillo north of Hansen. Traffic volume warrants for all-way STOP sign installation specify that total volume from all approaches must average 313 vehicles per hour for any eight hours of an average day, and the volume from the minor street must average 1/3 of the total. The approach volumes at this intersection average 205 vph for the heaviest eight hours, and the volume on the minor street, Amarillo Road, averages 39% of the total. From this standpoint, the warrants have not been met. Speed Survey The 85th percentile speed on the initial survey date in January was 35 mph westbound and 32 mph eastbound on Hansen Drive. A second survey was conducted on July 2 to ascertain the prevailing speed of traffic approaching the subject intersection. The 85th percentile speeds on this date were 34 mph in each direction. This 34 mph prevailing speed was used in determining if there is adequate sight distance at this intersection. ITEM NO. fits. / COPIES TO: James R. Jones TJKM Stopping Distance The minimum stopping sight distance at 34 mph on wet pavement is 250 feet. The sight distance to the crosswalk for westbound vehicles is over 300 feet. For vehicles traveling eastbound, the sight distance is 280 feet if there are no cars parked in front of the two houses at 7330 and 7336 Hansen Drive. If, however, cars are parked along the street at this location, the sight distance is reduced to 150 feet. This is less than the minimum stopping distance for vehicles traveling at the posted speed limit of 25 mph. Accident History There have been no reported accidents at this intersection since 1984. Analysis and Recommendations This intersection is on a suggested route to school. There is inadequate stopping sight distance to pedestrians in the crosswalk for vehicles traveling eastbound on Hansen Drive. Although the volume warrants for all-way STOP signs have not been met at this intersection, and all-way STOP signs should not be placed indiscriminately in order to improve pedestrian safety, at this particular intersection, pedestrian safety would be improved by installation of all-way STOP sign control. This action is not intended to address the issue of speeding, which must be curbed by increased enforcement of the speed limit. Installation of all- way STOP signs may, in fact, hinder the police department's efforts in catching violators of the speed limit. However, pedestrian safety warrants the installation of all-way STOP sign control. Pedestrians, particularly children, should be warned to make sure that approaching cars obey the STOP signs before venturing into the street. The presence of a STOP sign is not a guarantee that all vehicles will stop. If STOP signs are installed, the existing "SLOW SCHOOL XING" pavement legends should be replaced with "STOP AHEAD" legends and the school crossing warning signs replaced with "STOP A_HEAD" signs. ORDINANCE NO. -87 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITy OF DUBLIN ESTABLISHING TRAFFIC REGULATIONS The City Council of the City of Dublin does ordain as follows: Section 1. STOP MANDATORY ON ALL APPROACHES: Article 4, relating to "Stop Intersections," of the Alameda County Ordinance Code previously adopted by the City of Dublin.is amended by the addition of Section 6-81.21 to read: 6-81.21Hansen Drive at the intersection of Amarillo Road. Section 2. IMMEDIATE EFFECT: This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its enactment because the adoption and immediate effect thereof is necessary in order to protect vehicular and pedestrian safety. Section 3. POSTING OF ORDINANCE: The City Clerk of the City of Dublin shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in at least three (3) public places in the City of Dublin in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code of the State of California. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Dublin on this 27th day of July, 1987. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ATTEST: Mayor City Clerk MEMORANDUM 4637 Chabot Drive, Suite 214 Pleasanton Ca. 94566 (415) 463-0611 DATE: July 2, 1987 TO: Lee Thompson FROM: Michelle DeRobertis SUBJECT: Request for all-way STOP signs at Hansen Drive and Amarillo Road At your request, we have conducted a study of the need for additional control at the intersection of Hansen Drive and Amarillo Road. The study consisted of a field survey, approach volume counts, a speed survey, analysis of safe stopping distance, and a review of the accident history. Field Review Hansen Drive is a two-lane road with single-family residential frontage. It is 48 feet wide, which may give drivers a sense that the speed limit is greater than 25 mph. Amarillo Road tees into Hansen Drive and is controlled by a STOP sign. There is a yellow school crosswalk on the east leg of Hansen Drive which is marked by standard pavement legends reading "SLOW SCHOOL CROSSING" and by standard school crossing warning signs (W66 and W66A) for both directions of traffic. The curb is painted red for approximately 15 feet in advance of the school crosswalk. Traffic Counts The daily traffic volumes were counted at the three approaches to this intersection on June 10-11, 1987. The heaviest traffic volumes are on the east leg of Hansen Drive and on the north leg of Amarillo Road. The approach volumes are 1,342 vpd northbound on Hansen Drive east of Amarillo Road, 313 vpd eastbound on Hansen Drive west of Amarillo Road, and 1,145 vpd southbound on Amarillo Road north of Hansen Drive. The traffic volume warrants for all-way STOP sign installation specify that the total volume entering the intersection from all approaches must average 300 vehicles per hour for any eight hours of an average day, and the volume entering from the minor street must average one-third of the total. The approach volumes at the intersection of Hansen Drive at Amarillo Road average 205 vph for the heaviest eight hours, and the volume on Amarillo Road, the minor street, averages 39 percent of the total volume. Therefore, although the minor street meets the one-third of the total volume criteria, the total volume entering the intersection is only 68 percent of the stated 300 vph. Speed Survey A speed survey to determine the prevailing speeds on Hansen Drive west of Amarillo Road (in both directions) was conducted in January, 1987 in the afternoon. The 85th percentile speed was 35 m. ph westbound and 32 mph eastbound. A speed survey was conducted again on July 2, 1987 during the morning peak hours to measure the speeds of the cars actually approaching the PLEASANTON · SACRAMENTO · FRESNO · CONCORD Mr. Lee Thompson -2- July 2, 1987 intersection, i.e west of Amarillo Road in the eastbound direction and east of Amarillo Road in the westbound direction. The 85th percentile speeds were found to be 34 mph in each direction indicating that the 25 mph speed limit is routinely being exceeded. However, given the residential neighborhood character, the speed limit should remain 25 mph. The 34 mph prevailing speed was used in determining if there is adequate sight distance at this intersection; Analysis of Safe Stopping Distance The minimum stopping sight distance on wet pavement for a vehicle travelling at 34 mph is 250 feet. The sight distance to the school crosswalk for cars travelling in the west bound direction is over 300 feet. For cars travelling in the eastbound direction, the sight distance is 280 feet if there are no cars parked along the curb in front of house numbers 7,330 and 7,336. If, however, there are parked cars, particularly in the space between the driveways of the two houses and immediately east of this space, the sight distance is reduced dramatically to 150 feet. This is less than the minimum stopping sight distance for cars travelling at the posted speed limit of 25 mph as well as for those exceeding the speed limit. Accident History There have been no reported accidents at this intersection in 1984, 1985, 1986 or to date in 1987. Analysis and Recommendations The intersection of Hansen Drive and Amarillo Road is on the suggested route to school. There is inadequate stopping sight distance to pedestrians in the crosswalk for vehicles traveling eastbound on Hansen Drive. The approach volumes are only 68 percent of the recommended 300 vph for eight hours; however, the minor street does constitute over one-third of the total intersection volume. Although all-way STOP signs should not be placed indiscriminately in order to improve pedestrian safety, it is our finding that pedestrian safety at this particular intersection would improve if all-way STOP sign control were installed. This action is not meant to address the issue of speeding on Hansen Drive. We expect that vehicles will continue to exceed the posted speed limit in advance of the intersection and that increased enforcement would be necessary to curb the speeding problem. It should be recognized that the placement of all-way STOP sign control may hinder the police department's efforts at catching violators of the speed limit. However, we feel that pedestrain safety warrants the installation of all-way STOP sign control. Therfore, we recommend that STOP signs be installed for eastbound and westbound traffic on Hansen Drive at Amarillo Road. It should be noted that pedestrians, particularly children, should be warned to make sure that approaching cars obey the STOP sign before venturing into the street. The presence of the STOP SIGN is not a guarantee that all vehicles will observe it. If STOP signs are installed, the existing "SLOW SCHOOL XING" pavement legends should be replaced with "STOP AHEAD" pavement legends and the existing school crossing warning signs should be replaced by "STOP AHEAD" signs (WI7 and WI7A). nlc 157-001M. 8MD AF)i'i rr ij i �vJ Mr. Lee Thompson Engineering Office Planning Department City of Dublin Box 2340 Dublin, Ca. 94568 Dear Mr. Thompson: PURI Ir lAIORKS April 21,1987 I would like to point out a traffic hazard that if not remedied, can have potentially fatal consequences: The crosswalk at the intersection of Hansen Drive and Amarillo Road is an unguarded crosswalk on the radius of a ninety degree curve. This crosswalk is just yards from three schools, two of which have preschool programs and is therefore utilized by very young children. To compound %icematters, general traffic travels at greater than the posted speed limit of thirt miles per hour while roundin the curve. Finally, when the crosswalk is approached from the as from Silvergate Dr.) a telephone pole located on the right-hand curb an completely block a child from view. I have discussed this situation with many of the residents near this intersection. We have concluded that the logical solution to this ever increasing danger is to place a stop sign on Hansen Drive at the intersection of Hansen and Amarillo (Amarillo all ready has a stop sign). This would serve the dual purpose of slowing through traffic on Hansen and allowing children walking to school to have the greatest chance of making it there safely. Would you please refer me to the proper procedures to correct this most serious situation? I look forward to your reply. 5inc rely, (► - YJ J s R. Jones 73 Hansen Dr' e Dublin, Ca. 94568 CT, KOL~ 11~49 FREEWAY