Antioch will spend $1.5 million on traffic calming improvements on some of its most dangerous streets while lowering the speed limit on two.
The City Council has voted to reduce the speed limit on Laurel Road and Wild Horse Road from 45 mph to 40 mph. And while Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock also wanted to lower the speed limit on James Donlon Boulevard – a main thoroughfare in the city – from 40 to 35 mph, the city’s traffic consultant said that was not possible.
“By law, we’re only permitted to reduce the speed based off the 85 percentile,” consultant traffic engineer Charmine Solla said at Tuesday’s council meeting, referring to the speed that 85% of the drivers are driving at or below.
James Donlon Boulevard, a main arterial road that has been the site of many accidents, has a posted speed limit of 40 mph but the study showed 85% of the people were driving that road at 52 mph or below, and based on that, the speed limit would actually increase, Solla said. However, cities are allowed to keep speed limits as already posted, she said.
And although Assembly Bill 43 allows cities to change speed limits outside the boundaries of state regulations starting in 2024, police then would not be able to use radar or lasers to track how fast motorists are driving there, according to Councilman Mike Barbanica, a former police officer. It “would prevent us from enforcing traffic laws,” he said.
The traffic calming measures came at residents’ requests for improvements that could make city streets safer. Engineers and city staff studied existing conditions and collision history, and looked at speed surveys and traffic volumes on James Donlon, 10th Street and Sycamore Drive. They also met with representatives of the police and fire departments before proposing any changes.
Some of the traffic calming measures include installing warning signs with rectangular rapid flashing beacons, vehicle speed feedback signs, line striping to make crosswalks more visible, as well as adding buffered bicycle lanes, “tuff curbs” (yellow separators with flexible posts), narrowing lanes and restriping some roads.
Though the proposed improvements don’t include permanent infrastructure, such as concrete median islands, they cost less and can be done more quickly than permanent structures, Solla said.
Roundabouts were also considered but lacked enough space and would have required acquiring private property, the staff report said.
Estimated costs for the traffic calming measures include $425,000 for Sycamore Drive, $220,000 for West 10th Street, and $765,000 for James Donlon Boulevard. The improvements to Sycamore Drive, where many children live, would come first, being paid for through gas tax fund monies. Funding for the other roads will be decided in September, according to Mayor Lamar Thorpe.
A number of residents spoke in favor of the traffic calming measures but still questioned whether they would help.
“My concern is the reckless driver,” Leslie May said. “The bad part is reckless drivers and people who don’t care. They’ll just run through those things or, or swerve to the side.”
Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker said she supported all the changes but also spoke of the lack of crosswalks on Sycamore Drive, calling it a “huge challenge.”
“There’s been complaints of speed on Mahogany,” Torres-Walker said of the street off Sycamore Drive. “My concern is people will loop (around through other streets) to avoid the traffic calming improvements.”
Solla said additional crosswalks can be considered but the state requires high pedestrian demand for crosswalks.
“It’s not uncommon for people to try and find other routes,” she added, noting that engineers can study if that becomes the case after the measures are implemented, and if needed, take further action.
“Or we can go ahead and stripe Mahogany,” Thorpe said, saying a study would take too much time.
The council agreed, voting 4-0, with Councilwoman Monica Wilson absent, to approve the traffic calming measures, including striping on Mahogany Way.
Source: www.mercurynews.com