§ 19-657. Design standards and procedures.

The traffic safety department shall prepare and maintain current design standards and installation procedures for speed cushions in accordance with this policy. The city will be responsible for the maintenance of speed cushions and all related features. The city reserves the right to change or modify any of these standards or procedures as may deem necessary.

(Ord. No. 2010-O-139, § H., 9-20-10)

[Figure 1]
What is a Speed Cushion?

• A speed hump is a raised area in the roadway pavement surface extending transversely across the travel way.

• A speed cushion is a speed hump with an unraised path for fire trucks and ambulances through the hump. Speed cushions are devices designed as several small speed humps installed across the width of the road with spaces between them. They are generally installed in a series across a roadway resembling a split speed hump.

• Normally its maximum height is three (3) to four (4) inches.

• The travel length is approximately six (6) feet, six (6) inches.

• It creates a gentle vehicle rocking motion, slowing traffic to fifteen (15) mph or less at the hump.

CITY OF LAREDO
PROCEDURES FOR SPEED CUSHION INSTALLATION

1.

The initial request for the installation of speed cushions must originate from the residents living on the street or from a city council member through city council action. A request in writing from a resident or representative must be forwarded to the following address:

Speed Hump Program
Traffic Safety Department Engineering Division
2800 E. Saunders
Laredo, Texas 78041

2.

A preliminary determination of eligibility based on available traffic data will be made in a timely manner.

A.

If the street is determined not to be eligible, the applicant(s) will be given written notification of that determination and its reasons. The street cannot be taken into consideration for speed cushions until two (2) years after the first study was done.

B.

The decision may be appealed in writing to the director of traffic safety within fifteen (15) days of the notification date. The director will review the determination and respond to the applicant(s) within thirty (30) days of the appeal request.

C.

If the street is determined to be eligible for consideration, a meeting will be arranged between the applicant(s) and staff to define the petition area and the approximate speed cushion location. The applicant(s) or council member making the request, will be instructed to submit a petition indicating that a minimum of two-thirds ( 2/3 ) of the low-density dwelling households on the street support the installation of speed cushions as provided in the speed cushion policy. Only petition forms supplied by the Traffic safety department or exact duplicates may be used for this purpose.

3.

After verification of the petitions, the traffic safety department will conduct the necessary transportation engineering studies and solicit comments and recommendations of other agencies. A determination of the street's eligibility for speed cushion installation will be made in a timely manner, based on the speed hump installation policy.

A.

If the street is determined not to be eligible for speed cushion installation, the applicant(s) or Council Member making the request will be notified in writing giving the reason.

B.

The decision may be appealed in the same manner as in Section 2.

C.

If the street is determined to be eligible, the street will be placed on a list of streets eligible for speed cushion installation.

4.

The traffic safety department will make a determination of the total installation cost and the cost sharing responsibility of the residents, if applicable, according to the speed cushion policy.

5.

Depending on the method used to pay for the cost of the speed cushion installation, either section 5A or section 5B will apply. Section 5A will apply if there is no city participation in the cost (i.e., the cost will be fully paid with voluntary private funding). Section 5B will apply if the residents request any city participation in paying for the cost of the speed cushion installation, if that option is available under section 19-653 of the speed cushion policy.

A.

Once a street is placed on the list of streets approved for speed cushion installation, the city will submit a statement to the representative of the residents for the cost of the speed cushion installation. Upon receipt of payment of the cost, the speed cushions will be installed as scheduling permits. If full payment has not been received within one (1) year from the statement date, the street will be removed from the list of streets approved for speed cushion installation and all monies received, if any, returned to the payer.

- OR -

B.

(1)

The traffic safety department will prepare a report on an annual basis containing a list of streets approved for speed cushion installation that require city funding, either in whole or part, in a request for funding to the city council. The report will rank the requests in an order of priority determined by the following calculation:

VARIABLE ITEM	CALCULATED AS	VALUE
A	Fraction of vehicles exceeding speed criteria × daily traffic volume	=
B	Number of schools, parks, churches, or institutions on street (maximum of 2) × 200	=
C	Percent of petitioning households on street requesting speed cushions × 5	=
D	Number of reported accidents in previous 12-month period × 100	=
RATING SUM	(A + B + C + D)	=

 

(2)

The street yielding the highest numerical value from the above summation will be considered to have the highest priority. The street with the earliest application date will have the highest priority among streets with the same summation value. The report will contain the above ranked list of streets approved for speed cushion installation, together with the factors that contributed to the development of the rating, e.g., speed, vehicles per day, rating sum, etc. The Director of Traffic Safety will also keep a list of all pending speed cushion requests. A street that does not receive speed cushion installation funding approval will automatically be considered in the following years, for a maximum of three (3) additional years. After that time period, a new request and petition are required.

(3)

When a budget amount for speed cushion installations has been approved by the city council, the traffic safety department will determine which installations, based on the calculated ratings, will be funded from the budgeted amount. Representatives of the applicants for all approved speed cushion installations will be notified of which requests have been funded for the coming fiscal year.

(4)

Installations not included in the group to be funded can be approved if their full installation cost (including the city's share) is voluntarily paid, as provided in section 5A.

(5)

The city will submit a statement to the representative of the residents for any cost based on the provisions of the speed cushion policy. It will list the total cost, portion to be paid by residents and the portion to be paid by the city. Upon funding approval and receipt of payment in full of the residents' share, the speed cushions will be installed as scheduling permits. If full payment of the residents' share, if any is required, has not been received within one (1) year from the statement date, the street will be removed from the list of streets approved for speed cushions and all monies received, if any, returned to the payer.

SPECIAL PROVISION FOR INSTALLATION

Where it is determined that a specific traffic safety hazard exists, city council may request the installation of a speed cushion(s) through this special provision through city council action only after a study has been conducted and determined that a speed cushion(s) was not warranted by the minimum guidelines of this policy. City council will exercise the option to use this special provision provided that the following minimum guidelines are met:

1.

Minimum eighty-fifth-percentile speed of thirty (30) mph.

2.

Minimum street length of seven hundred (700) feet.

3.

Recommendation from the Fire Chief and the Police Chief of the City of Laredo.

4.

Approval by seventy (75) percent of residents within the proposed speed cushion(s) project location.

5.

Minimum of one (1) official accident report within a one (1) year period prior to date of official speed cushion request.

6.

Geometric characteristics of the affected section of street does not create a safety hazard for the motoring public if a speed cushion is installed or created a drainage issue as recommended by engineer.

City council will make the final decision to install the speed cushions under this special provision and could require the use of their respective discretionary funds for the cost involved in the installation of the speed cushion(s).

(Ord. No. 010_o_139, § H, 9-20-10)