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TRYING TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES AS VICTORIA PURSUES SPEED HUMPS Council voted 3-2 on October 23rd to have staff pursue temporary speed humps, learn more about their costs and installation, and bring that information back to councilmembers. Jim Paulsen and Richard Tieden voted against the motion. Stated Councilmember Paulsen, “We’re not dealing with the root causes here.” The speed complaints in Victoria are currently coming from residents on Narcissus Street and at Kelzer’s Pond. Stated City Engineer Cara Geheren, “Speed is a citywide issue in many cities.” She stated that both Narcissus and Kelzer’s Pond have 28-foot wide roads with no sidewalks. “All of our new developments have sidewalks,” said Cara, which gives residents a safer way to get around in their neighborhood. The engineer clarified, “Speed humps are not speed bumps. Bumps generate more complaints than humps.” She explained that humps are like wide bumps, like a raised platform where a car drives up onto it an off of it. “Actually, my recommendation to reduce speed is the choker,” said Cara. “The choker changes the driver’s experience and it does provide an amount of speed reduction.” She said it costs from $10,000 to $15,000 to construct a choker. “The question becomes who pays for it if constructed as a stand alone project. If it’s part of a street reconstruction project, it can easily be absorbed by that project.” There is a choker installed on Red Fox Drive in Victoria, near the Victoria Elementary School. It consists of curb and gutter bays brought in from the shoulders toward the driving lanes of the street. Actual driving surface is not actually narrowed, but with the shoulder bays, the perception of a narrower driving surface can help reduce speed. Engineer Cara continued with the information. “A speed hump gives greater speed reduction than a choker. You could buy two portable speed humps at $5,000 apiece, do another speed study after installed, and solicit feedback from the neighbors.” City Administrator Don Uram spoke to the speed issue at Narcissus, where the speed limit is 30 mph and a speed study showed that the average speed of vehicles on that road is 33 mph. “This is a marginal speed case,” he said. “It would be helpful for us to have an established set of criteria.” A resident on Narcissus Street stated, “I wonder if it’s not more of a problem of volume rather than speed.” Much traffic on that road is cut-through traffic between Highway 5 and Holy Family Catholic High School. The city engineer said if that missing segment of Kochia Lane were constructed to the intersection with Park Drive, there would be a direct and more substantial through-road from Highway 5 to the high school. As Councilmember Paulsen said about the speed issue on some neighborhood streets, “We’re not dealing with the root causes here.”
NEW STREETS FOR LIONS PARK AREA VICTORIA PUSHES STREET AGENDA FORWARD The City of Victoria continues to push forward in the reconstruction of its streets, a push that began over ten years ago. The newest street project will be the Lions Park area including parts of 81st Street, 81 1/2 Street, 82nd Street, Orchid Street, Petunia Street, and Quamoclit Street. Stated City Engineer Cara Geheren, “The streets are in pretty bad condition.” On October 9th city councilmembers voted unanimously to accept the feasibility for the 2009 improvements and call for a public hearing on those improvements. Said Engineer Geheren, “Essentially, those streets are in need of reconstruction, new curb and gutter and storm sewer system. Right now a lot of water heads to Lions Park and sits there. Some project costs wouldn’t be assessed to the neighbors.” “Street width varies from 26 to 31 feet,” she continued. “Parking occurs on those streets for events. We could assess for a 28-foot width but not assess for the extra width.” Regarding project cost she said, “With the economy, it’s pretty difficult to estimate where the fuel price will be, so I based it on the Baycliffe project, which was a little more expensive. I believe we’re looking at a relatively expensive project.” Cara stated, “I’m estimating $1.6 million for the total project, which will be 50% assessed, putting assessments at $11,681. The other 50% is paid by the city. Assessments at Victoria Circle, where streets were a 24-foot width, were $10,440.” The city engineer indicated that the next step is to hold a hearing and present information to the Lions Park neighbors. The city could be taking bids on the street project in April of 2009. The project would then be included on property tax statements in January of 2011. Councilmember Tim Amundsen referred to past experience with proposals to do the streets in this area. “We put the project off at the request of the neighborhood. I think it’s important in the plan to know from whence we came,” he said. Stated Councilmember Kim Roden, “I’ve talked to the neighbors. They’re very interested in having this done. As far as I’m concerned, the streets need to be done, end of story. Sometimes it seems a council is cutting people some slack and it ends up being much more expensive.” She asked, “What’s the likelihood of the bonds selling?” Replied City Administrator Don Uram, “We should have a lot more information in the next week or so. By the time we have a neighborhood hearing, we should be a lot smarter on the bond situation.” Engineer Cara Geheren reminded councilmembers, “Even if you delay it a year, the project doesn’t change. The costs do.” The public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, November 13th, at approximately 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on Rose Street.
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