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Exh 9B u ', _i AGENDA ITEM #9B JANUARY 13, 2003 STAFF REPORT City of Atlantic Beach Commission Meeting AGENDA ITEM: Sherry Drive Petition DATE: December 9, 2002 ~~. SUBMITTED BY: David E. Thompson, Chief of Police/DPS Dane Smith, Sergeant/Traffic Supervisor BACKGROUND: At the November 25, 2002 City Commission Meeting, a petition was presented to the City Commission with 78 signatures on it. The petition requested three way Stop Signs at the intersections of Sherry Drive and 3`d Street, and Sherry Drive and 6`" Street. The purpose of this report is to discuss the recommendations, and to provide a perspective from the Police Department relative to the petition. The Petition: There are statements.in the petition that are not accurate. The statement relative to the traffic volume on Sherry Drive "... totals Sixteen Thousand per day..." is not accurate. The traffic studies have shown that the average daily traffic on Sherry Drive is less than 3,100 vehicles per day. This error was apparently due to a misunderstanding. The petition makes the assumption that when Sherry Drive is completed, motorists will increase their speeds. This may or may not occur. We will not know until the roadway is competed and the speeds are checked. I The statement that the increase in traffic citations has failed to curtail or reduce speeding violations is valid, but may be misleading. The current incidence of speeding on Sherry Drive is typically between 1 % and 2% of the total number of motorists traveling on the roadway. If we base our success on a 0% goal for speeding, then we are going to fail to reach that goal. As Long as motorists have the free will to drive above the posted speed limits, then we will never achieve the elimination of speeding. However, 1-2% speeding is generally regazded as a low incidence of speeding. The "... endangerment to life and/or limb of mothers, fathers..." is valid for Sherry Drive... and for every roadway in the city, and state. Anytime people and cars are . occupying or competing for the same space, it endangers people. Every time people drive a vehicle on a roadway, there is some level of endangerment. The question that we should be addressing is whether or not there is something special about Sherry Drive that makes is inherently dangerous, or if there has been a pattern of injuries or incidents related to speeding on Sherry Drive. AGENDA ITI;NI #9B JANUARY 13, 2003 I A review of the past four (4) years of traffic crashes on Sherry Drive does not suggest that Sherry Drive is particularly dangerous or hazardous. If we eliminate the crashes on Atlantic Blvd. at the Sherry Drive intersection, there were a total of fifteen (15) crashes on Sherry Drive during the past four (4) years. This includes crashes on private property (Famous Amos parking lot) and vehicles that were not on the roadway. The only pedestrians accidents occurred at Sherry Drive at the intersection with Atlantic Boulevard. One was crossing from the Famous Amos parking lot to the motel across Sherry Drive, and the other was crossing at the Sherry Drive intersection with Atlantic Boulevard. Seven (7) crashes involved parked or stationary vehicles that were not on the Sherry Drive roadway. Two crashes occurred at approximately 1:00 AM, and they were the result of drunk drivers. The other crashes were largely due to careless driving, and for the most part, they were between Ahern Street Atlantic Boulevard. Injuries were rare, and the only incapacitating injury was to a motorcyclist who lost control of the motorcycle after mistakenly anticipating the actions of another driver. None of the accidents were the result of excessive speed. After reviewing the crashes, there is no reason to believe that any of these crashes would have been prevented by adding stop signs or reducing the speed limit on Sherry Drive. There is no evidence of a widespread danger to pedestrians or vehicles on Sherry Drive. Enforcement: ' Although there appears to be a perception that the police department "always" gives a cushion of ten (10) MPH before issuing speeding citations, this perception is false. Most speeding violations are written for speeds at 10+ MPH over the posted speed. However, ' citations are issued for lesser speeds. The Nature of Sherry Drive: 1 Sherry Drive is an arterial roadway in Atlantic Beach, transporting approximately 3,100 cars per day North or South. Many citizens use Sherry Drive to travel into and out of Atlantic Beach. Any changes that are made on Sherry Drive are likely to affect the other North/South roadways in the area. For example, if we make traveling on Sherry Drive more inconvenient, then motorists will change to Seminole Road, Eastcoast Drive, or ' other streets. These streets already have large traffic volumes, and the additional vehicles could create delays. Citizens are aware of this. In a past request for speed bumps and/or stop signs on Sherry Drive, citizens living on other North/South roadways came to ' express their opposition to the changes. They felt that it would have a negative impact on their roadways. AGENDA ITEM #9B JANUARY 13, 2003 The roadway has been reviewed and evaluated, and the current street width of Sherry Drive is approximately 24' of asphalt, with an additiona11.5' on each side for curbing. 1 This provides a total width of approximately 27'. For a local street in a residential area, this width is more than adequate to handle vehicular tral~c traveling at the existing speed limit. There are sidewalks running the entire length of Sherry Drive from the intersection with Plaza Drive to the intersection with Atlantic Boulevard, and there aze curb cuts to accommodate bicycles or wheelchairs. There is no reason for pedestrian traffic to use the roadway with the vehicles. 1 ~ There is a school zone on Sherry Drive with a pedestrian crossing at that location. The school zone is marked with signs and flashing lights, and it is staffed with a school crossing guard during the primary hours when children are coming to school to leaving school. Stop Signs: The idea of installing stop signs on Sherry Drive to slow down the s eeders and make the P 1 roadway safer is flawed. The purpose of installing a stop sign is not to slow down the traffic . ' The Department Of Transportation developed guidelines because a stop sign causes a substantial inconvenience for motorists, and can increase problems at an intersection where one is not warranted. Stop signs may be needed at: ' - An intersection where the normal right of way is unduly hazardous - An unsignalized intersection in a signalized area - Intersections with high speeds, restricted views, and serious crash records (five or more) - Intersecting roads with an equal volume of traffic, and average at least 200 vehicles ' and pedestrians per hour for eight hours (Multi-way stop signs). These conditions do not exist at the intersections on Sherry Drive where the stop signs ' have been requested. The placement of stop signs at some locations in the city has demonstrated an increase in ' complaints including: - Accelerating hard and speeding in between stop signs on a roadway Unhappy motorists blowing their horn when stopping at stop sign Motorists running the stop sign and causing a danger - Increased air pollution ~~ lJ AGENDA ITEM #9B JANUARY 13, 2003 N one BUDGET: RECOMMENDATIONS: There is no public safety reason to add stop suns at the locations identified in the Petition, 1 ATTACHMENTS: .Spread Sheet Re: Sherry Drive Crashes REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER: AG NDA ITEM NUMBER: 1 i