The city is committed to a procedure of progressive steps that are designed to reasonably insure the safety of citizens while on public right-of-ways. These steps are intended to supplement the good personal safety habits of citizens and to insure the consistent and equal response to traffic safety issues throughout the city.
(A) Phase One. The first step when a complaint is received is that it be recorded and then investigated by the police. The method of investigation should be up to the police; either a radar car or the unmanned radar trailer would be used.
(B) Phase Two. Based on the data collected in Phase One the next step, assuming a problem does exist, would be toe establish a neighborhood meeting conducted by the Police Department. The intent is to provide a source of traffic safety education and to gather consensus on dealing with the problem. The consensus solution should then be implemented. Results should be reported back to the group and City Council.
(1) Traffic Signs. The City Administrator, upon the recommendation of the Police Chief, may request the installation of no parking or stop signs as temporary relief to a particular traffic problem. The City Administrator shall notify the City Council of such installation in the next monthly administrator's report following such installation. The appropriate ordinances shall be submitted to City Council at the first meeting of December each year for the purpose of adding these locations to the respective permanent sign authorization ordinances.
(C) Phase Three. The third and final phase of response would be the use of extraordinary measures such as directional regulation, closing a street, a traffic light or the installation of speed humps or traffic control signs. Speed bumps are not an acceptable option. The following general criteria must be met before implementation of Phase Three control measures could even be considered. The required criteria must be met before the staff would forward any such request to City Council for their consideration.
(1) One Way or Dead End Streets. A petition from ninety percent (90%) of the residents living on an impacted street would be required before City Council would consider making a street one way or closing one end to make it a dead end street. Such a petition would only be considered if the city engineer had been able to identify a significant benefit that would result from such action and this benefit would help to solve the problem at hand without creating other significant problems.
(2) Speed Humps. Speed humps will only be used on collector streets. They must be at least five hundred twenty-eight (528) feet apart. They can only be installed if seventy-five percent (75%) of the residents located within one quarter (¼) of a mile one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) feet of the proposed site of the hump agree. The distance would be calculated to include any contiguous right of way within the required distance.
(3) Traffic Signal. The standard state "traffic warrants" must be met before a traffic signal will be considered.
(Ord. 2001-08-10, passed 9-10-01)