Title
First Reading of Ordinance No. 19-1012, 20-mph Speed Limit Policy in the Canemah Neighborhood
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 19-1012, 20 mph Speed Limit Policy for streets that are all located in the Canemah Neighborhood.
BACKGROUND:
Staff has reviewed Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 810.180(10) which allows a road authority to establish by ordinance a designated speed for a highway under the jurisdiction of the road authority that is five miles per hour lower than the statutory speed. Statutory speed for residential districts is 25 mph. The area must meet all of the following:
• Roadway must be located in a residential district; and
• Vehicle speeds of less than 30 mph, measured at 85th percentile speed; and
• Average volume of fewer than 2,000 vehicles per day.
Under this, the City would be allowed to lower the posted speed limit of roadways meeting these criteria upon adoption of an ordinance. To implement this consistently, staff has drafted a 20 mph speed limit policy. Staff recommends that the roadways considered for the 20 mph are Family Friendly Routes, as identified in the Transportation System Plan (TSP). The 2013 TSP identified 33 Family Friendly routes to fill gaps between shared-use paths, parks, and schools, offering a network of low-volume streets for more comfortable biking and walking throughout the City. The concept behind a Family Friendly Route is to provide low-speed, low traffic streets where people walking & bicycling are prioritized over cut-through automotive traffic.
To implement the 20 mph speed limit policy, staff will install traffic control devices that include new 20 mph speed limit signs, Family Friendly Supplemental Plaques on the speed limit sign to give context to the new lower speed limit, and bike and pedestrian pavement markings. These pavement markings are particularly key in the Canemah Neighborhood as there are no sidewalks along the roadways. The Canemah Neighborhood roadways where the 20 mph speed limit would apply include 3rd Avenue, 4th Avenue, 5th Avenue, Apperson Street (McLoughlin Boulevard to 3rd Avenue), Jerome Street (McLoughlin Boulevard to 3rd Avenue), Miller Street (McLoughlin Boulevard to 3rd Avenue and 4th Street to 5th Street), Hedges Street (McLoughlin Boulevard to 3rd Avenue), and Ganong Street. All of these locations are within the Canemah Neighborhood as identified on the attached map.
In June 2018, staff shared with the Transportation Advisory Committee a draft policy on the 20 mph Family Friendly Routes. The City Commission discussed this at a work session in July 2018 and again on February 12, 2019, and gave authorization for a pilot program in the Canemah Neighborhood, based on the September 2018 request from the Canemah Neighborhood. A check-in with the Canemah Neighborhood Association on April 18, 2019 confirmed their request for the 20 mph Family Friendly Route designation.