To: PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION
From: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
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CLARK LANE AND STEINHART AVENUE ALL-WAY STOP CONTROLS AND DISCUSSION OF AWS POLICY CHANGES REGARDING PUBLIC SUPPORT THRESHOLDS
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RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Review the engineering report, receive public input, and provide recommendation to Staff regarding proceeding with traffic control modifications for the intersection of Clark Lane and Steinhart Avenue.
2. Review All-Way Stop Policy with respect to level of public support required to advance all way stop request by staff in the absence of a technical reason to do so.
SUMMARY
In response to a referral from City Council, Staff has reviewed a request for all-way stop (“AWS”) controls at the intersection of Clark Lane and Steinhart Avenue. The subject intersection was evaluated with respect to enhancing pedestrian and motorist safety using the City’s current AWS request policy. This policy requires staff to do an initial screening of the intersection for safety concerns and to gauge public support for an AWS installation by reaching out to residents living at properties within 150 feet of the intersection. If either the safety screening or public outreach meet certain criteria, the policy instructs staff to prepare a more formal warrant analysis and site line study and to bring those results first to the Public Works Commission and ultimately to City Council for consideration. A flowchart outlining the current process is included in the attachments.
Staff completed the resident survey and safety screening for this intersection in July 2022. None of the relevant criteria were satisfied and so a letter stating that was sent to the requestor and the matter was considered closed by staff. The letter did inform the requestor that as a recourse, he could contact his council member who may want to bring the matter forward.
The council member for the district did bring it forward at the City Council meeting of October 4, 2022, while the Council was considering eight other AWS requests in the same district. However, an AWS at this intersection could not be considered at that time because it was not a named intersection on the agenda. Council then referred it come back to them at a later date accompanied by, as a companion issue, consideration of a change to the threshold criteria used to evaluate the public support of an AWS request.
Staff is seeking input and a potential recommendation to the City Council on two issues. First is the installation of AWS controls at Clark and Steinhart. Second is a recommendation whether and how to adjust the AWS request policy to lower the threshold needed for staff to bring an AWS forward in the absence of a technical (traffic operations) reason to do so.
BACKGROUND
Staff received a petition in November 2021 requesting all-way stop controls at the intersection of Clark Lane and Steinhart Avenue. At the time, the AWS Request Policy anticipated that residents making a request would be required to circulate a request petition to the addresses within 150 feet of the intersection and obtain signatures of at least 66% of the residents before staff would begin investment in a study of the intersection. Residents were given up to six months to complete and return the petition. Staff would provide the address list to the resident and after the petition was returned, work to verify signatures. Due to personal contact limitations associated with the pandemic, staff began the practice of circulating the petition by mail on behalf of the requesting resident. Per policy at the time, further consideration of the AWS was only made if the 66% threshold for the petition was reached.
Staff sent the petition letter for this intersection on November 22, 2021 and in the 6 months that followed only two “support signatures” came back. There was no other correspondence, for or against. Also, during that six months, the Traffic Engineer and the Associate Engineer assigned to assistant him both resigned from their positions with the City to take on new jobs elsewhere. As other staff filled in, it was clear that the process could be shortened and simplified and on May 23, 2022 the City Council approved a new policy. The major changes included formalizing the staff responsibility to send a support survey to the residents within 150 feet, as well as to perform a safety review of the intersection immediately upon the receiving the resident request. Then, if either a 66% positive response rate was returned or staff identified a safety issue from a field visit and review of collision history at the intersection, the matter would be advanced. Staff was able to shorten estimated timelines before residents had an answer as to whether staff would bring the item forward from six to twelve months down to one to two months. Staff was also able to clear out some request backlog.
In the case of this intersection only two of twenty signatures were returned, less than 10%, by the end of the six months. Due to the recently adopted policy, staff also performed the safety review and found no compelling reason per the policy to advance the matter. There was no line of site concern. There was zero reported accident history in the previous five years at the intersection or in the block leading to the intersection from any direction. A letter sharing this information and direction on how to appeal it to the City Council though the district council member was mailed in mid-August 2022.
In October 2022, during discussion of eight other AWS requests in the same district that had all failed to be advanced by staff per new policy, the council member from the district where this intersection is located introduced this one for consideration. However, since this location was not on the agenda no action could be taken for Clark and Steinhart. The other eight were approved for AWS controls.
During that discussion, the City Council directed staff to return with some options to reduce the 66% affirmative support threshold to something less daunting. They were interested in knowing how many surveys were returned and how many were positive and how many were negative. Staff is seeking input from the public and the Commissioners on what changes to the threshold might be made. Staff also notes that there is a fundamental change from a petition approach, which seeks some absolute minimal level of affirmative support, and a survey approach, which seeks to measure relative support (yes vs no) from a relevant sample size. Questions to consider include “what is a relevant sample size?” and “what is the threshold of support (40%, 50%, 60%, etc.)?” for staff to move the item forward.
INTERSECTION ANALYSIS
Clark Lane is classified as a local street and has a 25-mph residential prima facie speed limit. Clark Lane runs southwest to northeast. Stopping is prohibited on the northerly side of the street and parking is allowed on the southerly side. It is approximately 28 feet wide with one travel lane in each direction that are separated by a dashed yellow centerline. Clark Lane is stop controlled at the subject intersection. There are also stop controls for Clark Lane approximately 240 feet to the southwest of the subject intersection at Goodman Avenue, which is not stop controlled at that location. Clark Lane is also stop controlled approximately 240 feet to the northeast at Ford Avenue, which is not stop controlled at that location.
Steinhart Avenue is classified as a local street, has a 25-mph residential prima facie speed limit and runs perpendicular to Clark Lane, with one travel lane in each direction. It is approximately 28 feet wide with parallel parking allowed on the easterly side of the street and no stopping restrictions on the westerly side. Steinhart Avenue is not stop controlled at the subject intersection. There are stop controls on Steinhart approximately 240 feet to the northwest of the subject intersection at Aviation Blvd. and approximately 550 feet to the southeast at Marshallfield Lane, which is not stop controlled at this location. However, Steinhart and Marshallfield was approved for AWS control by the City Council on October 4, 2022 and installation is pending.
Fronting development in the vicinity of the intersection is predominantly single and multi-family residential. Several commercial sites are located approximately 250 feet northwest of the subject intersection on Aviation Boulevard. There are sidewalk, curb and gutter improvements on all legs.
Per current policy regarding resident requests for all-way stops, staff mailed a survey to 21 residences within 150-feet of the intersection proceeded to determine support for the request. To date only 2 responses have been received, all supportive, which is a response rate just under 10%. The response rate required to advance the issue under current policy is 66%, which was not met. Staff also collected and analyzed reported traffic collision data from SWITRS. A review of the available SWITRS crash data at this intersection during the five-year period ending 12/31/2021 revealed zero reported accidents between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/2021. Therefore, prior to the October 2022 City Council referral, staff had considered this matter closed.
Staff offers no recommendation at this time to advance the matter. However, at its October 4, 2022 meeting, City Council directed staff to take the request through the “normal process”, which includes consideration of an AWS control by the Public Works Commission. Therefore, staff is seeking public input and a recommendation from the Commission prior to advancing the item to the City Council. In addition, staff welcomes a Commission recommendation regarding changes to the public support threshold for staff to advance the matter in the absence of a technical reason.
COORDINATION
Coordination of the safety evaluation and this report took place within the Public Works Department.
Prepared by:
Andy Winje, City Engineer
Submitted by:
Ted Semaan, Public Works Director