HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Memo Friendship Street - 2017
September 17, 2017
Resolution authorizing the installation of speed humps on Friendship
Street, between Court Street and Brookside Drive.
Prepared By: Sarah Walz, Assistant Transportation Planner
Reviewed By: Kent Ralston, Jason Havel
Fiscal Impact: CIP#S3816
Recommendations: Staff: Approval
Commission: N/A
Attachments: Correspondence
Executive Summary:
The residents of Friendship Street, between Court Street and Brookside Drive, have
successfully completed the City of Iowa City’s Traffic Calming Program. A traffic study
determined that the street qualifies for the program based on traffic speeds. Staff d iscussed the
proposal with residents at a neighborhood meeting. A follow-up survey of neighbors yielded an
81% response rate. Of those households that responded, 78% indicated their approval of the
proposal to install speed humps.
Background / Analysis:
In Spring 2016, residents of Friendship Street, between Court Street and Brookside Drive,
submitted a petition to the City seeking consideration for the traffic calming process. A traffic
study determined that the street qualified for the program based on speed. The speed limit on
Friendship Street is 25 MPH. While the average speed measured on this this portion of
Friendship Street is 27 MPH, 15% of drivers are travelling in excess of 32 MPH. This met the
minimum threshold for the traffic calming program, which requires that 15% of drivers are
exceeding the speed limit by 5 MPH or more.
Friendship Street functions as a collector for traffic between Court Street and Muscatine
Avenue. It also serves as a low-stress route for bicyclists and is part of a bus route (Court Hill).
Pavement widths can influence speed. The pavement width on this portion of Friendship is 25
feet, which is narrower than the current minimum standard of 26 or 28 feet in the subdivision
regulations. On-street parking can serve to slow vehicle speeds. On-street parking is allowed on
the south side of the street. Block lengths or the frequency of intersections can also influence
speed. The block length between Court Street and Arbor Drive is over 900 feet (300-600 feet is
the recommended block length in the current subdivision regulations).
Staff reviewed the traffic study and street context with the City Engineer, Streets Department,
and the Fire Department to consider appropriate ways to address the speeding issue. As part of
that discussion lane striping, speed humps, and street medians were all considered. After
review, staff concluded that speed humps would be the most safe and effective means for
lowering speeds.
Neighborhood Process: A neighborhood meeting was held on July 19 to discuss options for
for slowing speeds. The meeting was well attended with more than 11 households represented
at the meeting. After discussion of the options available, the consensus was to pursue
installation of speed humps.
On July 30, a survey was mailed to residents. The City’s Traffic Calming Program requires at
least 50% of those addresses surveyed to return their survey postcard and, of those households
that respond, 60% must indicate support for the proposed traffic calming project. Staff mailed
surveys to 33 addresses located directly adjacent to the affected portion of Friendship Street.
Responses were returned by 27 households: an 81% response rate. Of those responding, 6
households checked “no” and 21 households checked “yes” with regard to the proposed
installation of speed humps. That is 78% (21 of 27) in support of installation of speed humps.
On September 5, signs were posted along Friendship Street, between Court Street and
Brookside Drive, and notice was posted to Nextdoor (the community’s social network site) to
provide opportunity for the public to share input with Council.
Funding for traffic calming projects is allocated from a line item in the CIP (S3816). The cost to
construct a single speed hump is approximately $1,500 to $2,000. Staff is recommending 4
speed humps along this portion of the street in order to meet the optimal spacing
recommendations necessary to lower speeds. Speed humps are located so as not to conflict
with driveways, intersections, or stormwater drainage.