Traffic calming requests streamlined by Manatee County

Manatee County is taking steps to streamline its process when residents ask for help slowing down drivers in their neighborhoods. 

“These are public roads,” said Traffic Engineering Manager Vishal Kakkad, “but we want those who are traveling through your streets to behave, to follow the laws, the speed limits and make sure (drivers are not cutting) through traffic.”

Kakkad’s department receives about 800 service requests a year. He said a “vast majority” are for traffic calming solutions. 

The county’s current one-page, five-step protocol to deal with such requests was adopted in August 2002. 

Staff is seeking the commission’s approval to modernize the process to be more efficient on the county’s side and more user friendly on the public’s side.

If approved by commissioners May 6, an 18-page manual will guide residents and homeowner associations through the request process using step-by-step instructions and providing the necessary forms. 

A petition form will be included because 67% of homeowners along the route have to approve the installation of a traffic control device. Renters can’t sign the petition.

As of now, staff performs data collection for every request, even when they instinctively know the request will not produce the data needed to get to the next step.

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Staff wants to include an additional step (its Step 2) that includes the following preliminary criteria that will eliminate unnecessary data collection.

• The posted speed limit has to be 30 mph or less.
• Thoroughfares and “loop streets,” which connect to the same street or cul-de-sac, are not eligible.
• The street has to be a “through street” that connects two larger streets, unless the road leads to a public area, such as a park or school. 
• The section of road must be longer than 1,000 feet with no sharp curves or stop signs. 

The sooner staff knows a street doesn’t fit the criteria, the sooner they can start working with residents on alternative solutions, such as temporarily installing a speed feedback sign to alert drivers when they’re traveling over the speed limit. 

Some roads don’t have posted speed limits. By state statute, the speed limit defaults to 30 miles per hour, but staff can install a sign. 

Solutions and funding

Outside of drivers taking it upon themselves to slow down, Kakkad said there are two main ways to force drivers to slow down — make them go around something or over something. 

If a road does make it to the end of the process, either a mini-roundabout or speed hump will be recommended. 

Stop signs are not an option because the Federal Highway Administration does not allow them to be used for speed control. 

Even if the criteria is met, there’s still no guarantee that a device will be implemented because the process also requires funding and the commission's approval. 

The average speed hump costs about $17,000, but a mini-roundabout can cost anywhere between $150,000 to $500,000.

Ogden Clark, Public Works' communication coordinator, noted that mini-roundabouts are different from the modern roundabouts popping up on major roadways in East County. 

Mini-roundabouts are generally built within the existing right-of-way to reduce the need for land acquisition, and they have "fully mountable center islands," which means an emergency vehicle can drive over it.

The Traffic Operations Division sets aside between $100,000 to $250,000 of dedicated funding to fulfill traffic calming requests each year.

Mini-roundabouts fall under the "low-cost safety improvement" category, so they're funded through the Traffic Engineering Division. 

Clark said the program's capacity is limited to, give or take, 10 projects a year.

Data collection

When collecting data, staff need to answer three questions: How many cars are sharing the road? How far over the speed limit are motorists driving, and does the road have sidewalks?

The new protocol will employ a point system that grades each request according to the results. To move to the next step of collecting petitions, the road needs to receive at least six points. 

A road with no sidewalks gets one point immediately. Speed and volume balance each other out. 

A quiet road that doesn’t see much traffic can still qualify if motorists are regularly exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles per hour.

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Data collection is on the county, but collecting signatures for the petition is the requestor's responsibility. 

Whether a traffic calming device is being installed or removed from a neighborhood, 67% of the affected homeowners must approve the change. 

Once the signatures are collected, staff can present the plan to commissioners for approval. If funding is available, a temporary device will be installed for 90 days. 

If the community still supports the traffic calming measure, a permanent device will be installed. 

Commissioners will vote to approve or deny staff’s request to update the procedures at the next county commission meeting May 6.