Memorandum
City of Lawrence
Public Works
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TO: |
Tom Markus, City Manager |
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FROM: |
Charles Soules, Director of Public Works |
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CC: |
Brandon McGuire, David Cronin, David Woosley, Mike Perkins and Nick Voss |
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DATE: |
February 15, 2017 |
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RE: |
Ted Boyle’s Concerns about North Lawrence Speed Humps |
Background
At the February 7, 2017 City Commission meeting, Ted Boyle expressed dissatisfaction about the design of speed humps installed in the north Lawrence neighborhood. Mr. Boyle’s concerns center on the effectiveness of the speed humps to slow vehicular traffic due to their smaller size compared to speed humps installed prior to 2015 in different parts of the city. The following provides a summary of information specific to Mr. Boyle’s concerns and follow-up conversations between city staff and Mr. Boyle.
Public Works Engineering adopted the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) national standard for speed hump design in 2015. The standard is based ITE Guidelines for the Design and Applications of speed humps and speed tables (detail attached). Prior to implementing the ITE standard in 2015, the city installed a number of speed humps of varying designs. Some of the speed humps installed prior to 2015 have a more pronounced “hump”.
In 2015 a speed hump was installed in the north Lawrence neighborhood on Elm Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. This speed hump was built to the ITE national standard. Mr. Boyle expressed dissatisfaction about the design of this speed hump. Staff responded to Mr. Boyle on January 15, 2016 and explained that the speed hump was designed to the ITE national standard. In 2016 a speed hump was installed on North Street between 5th and 6th Streets (photo). This hump was built to the ITE national standard. Staff has again discussed the design with Mr. Boyle on February 14, 2017.
When the two speed humps were requested by North Lawrence Improvement Association, the city agreed to install the speed humps and North Lawrence Improvement Association would request that the CDBG Program pay for the materials. The estimate provided was $3,500 for materials. The actual cost for materials was a little more than $1,500 per speed hump. Costs of approximately $1,700 for equipment and $2,300 for labor were also incurred for each speed hump (attached cost detail). Public Works has not previously requested reimbursement from the CDBG program for the cost equipment or labor. Future requests for CDBG reimbursement will include the total costs, including equipment and labor, for these improvements.
A question has also been raised about how and why the speed humps on N 9th Street were approved. The request for these traffic-calming devices was heard by the Traffic Safety Commission (TSC) in June 2010 and approved by the City Commission in August of 2010. The speed humps were installed when N 9th Street was micro-surfaced in 2011 in order to avoid tearing out completed maintenance improvements to install the speed humps at a later date.
Attachments: TSC Item (June 2010)