Title
Virginia Street and Louisiana Street Traffic Calming Project Update
Summary
MEETING DATE: March 2, 2015
DEPARTMENT: Development Services/Engineering
CONTACT: Rick Leisner, AICP, Assistant Director Development Services
Mark Hines, PE, Director of Engineering
Gary Graham, PE, PTOE, CIP and Transportation Engineering Manager
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
· Provide input to staff on design components.
ITEM SUMMARY:
· Staff presented the project with its design options in early February. A hybrid option was preferred having stamped concrete and expanded pedestrian safety landings.
· Staff has reviewed maintenance concerns.
· Pedestrian crosswalks for these intersections located in the Historic District, built in pavers, provide a connection with Downtown McKinney.
· Staff will present the differences between options to Council and their noted advantages.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
· The schedule for the project is to complete the design by February / March and bid the project in April so that construction can occur over the summer when school is out of session.
· During the public meeting held for this project, staff presented some basic concepts for safety and aesthetic features associated with the project, to which the audience was receptive.
· Staff has received numerous complaints from residents who live along Virginia and Louisiana Streets concerning vehicle speeds between Graves Street and Benge Street.
· These two roadways serve two purposes, one is to provide access to residents who live in this area, the other is to provide access to the Historic Town Center.
· The posted speed limit for these roadways is 30 mph. Speed studies recently completed in the area showed 85th percentile speeds ranging from 36 to 39 mph. These roads also carry 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles per day.
· The purpose of this project is to change the context of the roadway so there is a visual cue to motorists that the roadway is located in a residential neighborhood but not to hinder traffic flow to and from the Historic Town Center.
· The purpose of this project is also to provide safe pedestrian mobility within the context of the Historic District, while not hindering traffic flow to and from the Historic Town Center.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
· CIP project TR3215 has $600,000 available for the construction of this project.
BOARD OR COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION:
· N/A