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After the council budget meeting on Thursday (11-13), the Mayor directed staff to work on
an alternative to the additional full-time police officer that involves a combination of overtime and additional stop signs. The proposal is intended to be at least revenue neutral.
Here is the full description the council received:
- Eliminate the additional speed enforcement officer
- Increase Police overtime to cover to 2 hours of speed enforcement in the morning and 2 hours during hours in the afternoon.
- Budget approximately 6 months of overtime for enforcement.
- Scheduling of the enforcement would be determined by the police chief.
- Add 10 stop signs in the budget. This will equal stop signs at five intersections.
- Increase court costs on a traffic ticket by $5 to the allowable state statue amount.
- Increase other police fines. (currently being reviewed-see attached memo for breakdown)
- Offset remaining balance by additional court fine revenue.
I do not support using stop signs to control speed for several reasons, the primary being that study after study has shown that using stop signs to reduce speed does not work. http://www.ite.org/traffic/tcsop/Chapter5c.pdf Look at page 4. and especially at the graph. Many drivers drive faster after stopping at a stop sign they perceive as unwarranted.
Stop signs are not supposed to be used for speed control. In fact, using stop signs for speed control is inconsistent with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which the city is required by law to follow. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) - FHWA.
https://mail.ci.monona.wi.us/owa/redir.aspx?C=9169b89606124ebfa9c4dcd709801d3c&URL=http%3a%2f%2fmutcd.fhwa.dot.gov%2fpdfs%2f2003r1r2%2fch2b.pdf see 2B.05.
Unwarranted stop signs also tend to decrease respect (compliance) for other stop signs. Unncessary stopping increases pollution and wear and tear on vehicles. But, the main point is that using stop signs to reduce speeding does not work. It's fool's gold.
Here is just one example of a brochure from Bakersfield, CA:
"Many believe that forcing motorists to stop at each intersection will decrease overall speed on the road. However, studies show that stop signs only reduce speed immediately adjacent to the sign. Most drivers accelerate between intersections to make up for time lost at the stop sign. Engineering studies indicate that the inappropriate installation of extra stop signs may cause additional problems such as more rear-end collisions, a redistribution of traffic onto side streets, and drivers ignoring the inappropriate stop signs."To do your own research Google: "stop sign speed control".
http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/cityservices/pubwrks/TrafficEng/TrafficBroc/stopsignssignals-rev1.pdf
Engineered traffic calming would be preferable to stop signs. Traffic calming is not just traffic tables. Narrower streets with sidewalks may work about as well anything. Here is one of many web sites about traffic calming. Traffic Calming Home Page and here is the ITE's library on the same: Traffic Calming Library.
Engineered traffic calming would be preferable to stop signs. Traffic calming is not just traffic tables. Narrower streets with sidewalks may work about as well anything. Here is one of many web sites about traffic calming. Traffic Calming Home Page and here is the ITE's library on the same: Traffic Calming Library.
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A further explanation from Mark Houtakker, the city's finance director: "Following is an example of a typical fine and where each portion is allocated:
A ticket for a speeding violation between 1-15 MPH above the limit is currently $78.80
Of the $78.00: 30.00 goes to the City; 7.80 goes to the State; 18.00 is split with 10.00 to the County and 8.00 to the State for the Crime Lab; and 23.00 is split with 18.00 to the City and 5.00 to the State. A total of $48.00 is collected by the city.
With a $5.00 increase to 28.00 there is the potential of increasing the cities revenue by 10% on each citation with 53.00 being collected on a standard citation of $83.80."
There are many stop signs in Monona which reflect the desires of a few in the neighborhood to control traffic, to slow down a few who pose a threat to even fewer. The lower Winnequah is one long slow sign, an effort to make driving sufficiently hazardous, with irregular bump outs, use of colored pavement,etc. to confuse drivers into slowing down. It also confuses and endangers bikers who must decide whether to use a bike bump up or stay in the street. And it confuses the children who wonder if drivers can see them while paying attention to these hazards.
ReplyDeleteThis selective use of control efforts is political traffic control...the most inefficient type of control. Folks recognize it for what it is; an effort of a special interest to seize control over the rest of us. There is no respect for such use of law and encourages the 'dis-ing' of such partisan laws.
"Political traffic control"? Yes, you caught us, it was a conspiracy of the elites (sarcasm alert). You jumped the shark with that one.
ReplyDelete'Jumped the shark'? It that like 'riding the tiger'...Will the rest of Winnequah Rd. become a 'slow sign', with irregular curbs, colored paving, weaving bike paths, bumps and undulations? Why does the slowing mechanism end at the turn to the park? Is it that 'shark' doesn't swim inland?
ReplyDelete'Jumping the shark' is a term that originated with one of the late episodes of 'Happy Days', when Fonzie literally jumped a shark while waterskiing. That episode made the point that the show had run out of story lines. It has worked its way into the modern lexicon.
ReplyDeleteThe road project went from Maywood to Bridge and thus the special design ends there as well.
First, I am surprised you admit such in-depth knowledge of Happy Days. Doug, I think it's very cool that you are able to embrace the inner nerd.
ReplyDeleteThen, I'd like point out just about everything you quoted regarding stop signs and speeding is exactly why that stop sign at Winnequah and Monona Drive should be removed. There is no reason for it (no crossing traffic at that point)and does nothing to stop speeding. It is a hazard as people try to circumvent it by not taking the "soft" right, but rather the hard right on the other side of the island. Some jerk almost ran my friend and I down the other night doing exactly that. It is the perfect example of why city councils should not engage in traffic engineering (a bona fide branch of civil engineering).
MF, good points. I would have preferred some other engineering measures. That right-turn lane will be closed off when that section of Monona Drive is redone (2011).
ReplyDeleteI will say, however, that the stopping sight distance for someone coming around the corner was substandard. That is, you can't see the hazards on the road in time to do a non-emergency stop. For example, if someone is trying to back out of one of the driveways immediately past the curb.