RIIA Special Committee for the placement of Speed Controls Raft Island Gig Harbor, Washington Speed Control Placement and Road Safety Recommendations Date: September 14, 2017 Prepared for: RIIA Board Members Prepared by: Special Committee for the placement of Speed Controls Members: Gene Barkin Trish Burnett Jeff Lynch Don Rees John Rosendahl Sean Taylor Scott Wood
Page 2 of 14 TABLE of CONTENTS 1. Special Committee Formation... 3 2. Introduction... 3 3. Speed Control Report... 4 3.1. Speed Humps... 4 3.3. Roadway Painting/Striping, raised pavement markers... 6 3.4. Posted Signs... 6 3.5. Vehicle Speed Monitory Signs... 7 4. Costs... 8 4.1. Speed Humps... 8 4.1. Roadway Painting... 8 4.2. Posted Speed Signs... 8 4.3 Vehicle Speed Monitory Signs... 8 5. Road Right of Way... 10 5.1. Road easement Map of Raft Island (from Pierce County).... 10 6. Section Maps of Raft Island... 11 6.1. Raft Island South West Section... 11 6.2. Raft Island North West Section... 12 6.3. Raft Island North East Section... 13 6.4. Raft Island South East Section... 14
Page 3 of 14 1. Special Committee Formation During the August 21, 2017 RIIA Board meeting results of an Island wide vote for the installation of Speed Bumps or Humps was presented. The vote was 90 to 46 in favor of the Humps. In addition to the type of speed controls a maximum of 20 Humps was included in that vote. On Aug 21, 2017, at 10:01 PM, Charlotte <toadlake@juno.com> wrote: Scott, Matt was not available for the meeting this evening which is why I am sending this email on the outcomes. The humps were voted by the majority this evening. Discussion ensued around the number of humps. This committee that you are heading includes the following members who volunteered: Gene Barking, Jeff Lynch, John Rosendahl, Trish Burnett and Don Rees. The Board is asking for a recommendation of placement, number and cost. We will then put this to yet another vote because 20 humps is not considered appropriate for Raft Island. Because of yet another delay, we are asking this committee to send their recommendations via email to the Board by September 11. Please give me a call if you have questions and thank you for your leadership in this area. Charlotte The special committee for the placement of speed controls on our island roads was formed that evening. On the following day, August 22, work initiated on the locating of speed humps during a walkthrough around the perimeter road (Raft Island Drive), including Madrona Drive and East Park Avenue. 2. Introduction There will always be people who insist on speeding. Those measures recommended by this committee will not stop those people. However, we believe that the measures recommended by us may very well slow some of those people down. More importantly, they will help remind the vast majority of island residents and visitors of the importance of driving at or near the 15mph speed limit on the island, thereby reducing the numbers of speeders overall. The primary charge for our committee was to determine where speed humps should be placed on the island to control speed on the island. For the spacing between humps, one of the first extensive studies is Road Humps by G.R. Watts 1. Though clearly vehicle suspensions have changed since his 1973 study, he describes a 12 ft. hump placed every 250 to 330 feet slowing traffic to 15 20 mph. A more recent 2011 publication by Caltrans Division of Research and Innovation 2, describes a, rounded, raised areas placed across the roadway to slow speed. Recommended length of 12 to 14 feet in the direction of travel, with a 3- to 4-inch height. Shape can be parabolic, sinusoidal or circular. ITE recommends a 12-foot parabolic hump to achieve an 85th percentile speed of 15 mph to 20 mph. 3 Spacing in their studies was of variable lengths, some up to 1000 ft. In addition to spacing, it was important that a driver be able to see the next hump when traversing the hump preceding it. In addition we looked at intersections, 1 1973 G. R. Watts, Transport and Road Research Laboratory LR597, Road Humps for the Control of Speed. 2 2011 Sept 28 Doug Brown, Caltrans Division of Research and Innovation, Effective Application of Traffic Calming Techniques.
Page 4 of 14 driveways, parking, and drainage. We attempted to incorporate all of those principles in our recommendations along with a lot of common sense. We were also mindful of the vote by a supermajority of the island that chose humps over bumps. Finally, we also took into account what island residents had to say about areas where speed was a problem on the island. In addition to the citing of the humps, we were also asked to recommend adjunct methods of speed control on Raft Island. In our meetings we discussed some things that might be needed, in addition to humps, to control speeding on those parts of the island known to have a speeding problem. Our recommendations in that regard are set forth below as well. 3. Speed Control Report 3.1. Speed Humps Figure 3.1, Typical Hump design 12 feet by 3 ½ inches high, City of Sumner identical to the ballot specification. Figure 3.2, Suggested yellow paint markings for the speed humps.
Page 5 of 14 We have prepared a map of Raft Island that sets forth where humps should be located Refer to Section 5 Roadway Maps. We have focused the placement of humps on the known problem areas on the island: southbound Madrona Drive as it approaches the bridge and Raft Island Drive ( RID ) between the intersection of Park Drive and RID on the west and the eastern intersection of Fir Drive with RID on the east end of the island. The remainder of the humps are scattered throughout the island at places where common sense and the prior location of bumps led us to believe that drivers could exceed the speed limit (e.g. going down hills). Twenty hump locations of high priority are noted in red, moderate priority are in green and low priority, no highlighting. Though tasked to provide the location of 20 speed humps by island vote, the committee located 37 positions based on those guidelines noted in section 2. Introduction. Hump locations are numbered and the distance in feet from each prior hump or as noted in Section 6 Section Maps of Raft Island Bold and red highlighted locations are priority locations. Those listed, but not highlighted are low priority. Raft Island Drive NW (21) I 210 II 390 III 325 IV 395 V 340 VI 260 VII 350 VIII 450 IX 350 X 300 XI 310 XII 338 XIII 310 XIV 595 XV 265 Bold and green highlighted locations are second priority Madrona Drive NW (6) XXII 15 XXV 285 XXIII 180 XXVI 362 XXIV 227 XXVII 280 Rhoddodendron Drive NW (2) XXVIII 200 XXIX 460 Park Avenue NW (5) XXX 410 XXXI 385 XXXII 195 XXXIII 390 XXXIV 333 Fir Drive NW (3) XXXV 405 XXXVI 360 XXXVII 140 XVI 545 XVII 192 XVIII 354 XIX 330 XX 270 XXI 312
Page 6 of 14 3.3. Roadway Painting/Striping, raised pavement markers Center lane striping painted solid yellow line. Refer to Section 6 Section Maps of Raft Island. The committee suggests center marked areas; continuous strip from the bridge at the Raft Island Drive and Madrona Drive intersection Northwest corner of Raft Island Drive Intersection of Madrona Drive and Park Avenue Southwest corner of Fir Drive Southeast corner of Raft Island Drive. Resurface all bridge and entry road markings. Additional roadway painting could include painted signs such as; SLOW, 15 MPH or/and WATCH FOR PEDESTRIANS. Figure 3.2, Reusable polyethylene stencil, 48 x 42 from My Parking Sign and raised pavement markers. The committee suggests including raised pavement markers along the solid center line stripe. Additional markers could be installed along the center lane of the Raft Island Road, entry to help separate traffic entering and leaving the island s roadway. Striping was included in the original quote from Mills for speed hump installation. Adding the raised markers may be negotiated with the hump installation contractor. 3.4. Posted Signs Figure 3.3, Current RIIA design of the island s Road Signs, Zumar Industries, Inc. Tacoma and the island current posted speed limit signs. Currently multiple Speed Limit signs are present on the island, with the majority just after the bridge. Two shown in Figure 3.3 right image are located on Raft Island Drive near Park
Page 7 of 14 Avenue and at Camp Road NW. Multiple others with RIIA format (Figure 3.3 left image) at the Raft Island Drive split near the bridge. Our recommendation is for regulation Speed Limit signs of 24 x 30 inches without RIIA design be used. Multiple signs at Madrona Drive and Raft Island Drive may be confusing. Placement would include at a minimum entry onto the island just after the bridge. A single speed limit sign may be included with the radar sign and should not be in addition to. Additional signs may be needed at other areas of the island, to be determined based upon further speed evaluation. Note we recommend the current Yield sign at the intersection of Raft Island Drive and Madrona Drive be replaced with a Stop sign. We recommend striping be included as a stop marker on the roadway at the suggested Stop sign and existing Yield sign at Raft Island Drive Eastbound near the bridge. Based on the Manual on Uniform Traffic Devices (MUTCD) recommendations for Speed Humps, both the Speed Hump markings and an advisory sign "Warning Speed Humps Ahead" be placed at the entrance to the island are recommended by the committee as warnings for our speed humps. 3.5. Vehicle Speed Monitory Signs Speed monitoring signs provide; posted speed limit, notice of excessive speed and provide data for vehicle numbers, timing and speeds. Suggested placement would be a semi or permanent location at the north end of the bridge. An additional floating monitor would be placed at various locations around the island to monitor areas. Data would be collected by an assigned monitor with data to be submitted to the RIIA board for review. Figure 3.4, All Traffic Solutions and Safepace Radar Sign examples. The All Traffic Solutions unit offers more extensive data reporting, easier programming, better batteries, more powerful solar panels, superior mounting options, and photographic capability. Pierce County has selected this company for their speed monitoring signs. All Traffic Solutions, Inc. Shield 15 Speed Display $5,3484.21 includes: Sign with mounting brackets, Reporting software, solar power kit. Could be used to capture images of the vehicle its speed has captured. Safepace 100 Radar Speed Sign $2,900.00 includes: solar powered, data retrieval capabilities for speeds
Page 8 of 14 4. Costs 4.1. Speed Humps 12 feet wide by 3.5 inch high Miles $875.00 Total 20 Humps $17,500.00 4.1. Roadway Painting Speed Hump Marking 4 Company X $00.00 Center Lane Striping Company X $00.00 Raised Pavement Markers Crowd Control Experts 100count $95.20 Epoxy Resin Kit for markers Crowd Control Experts 200units $239.10 Reflective Raised Markers Stop-Painting.com 50count $93.45 Road Stencil My Parking Sign $140.00 4.2. Posted Speed Signs 18 x 12 Speed Limit 15 mph Zumar Industries, Inc. $40.00 4 x 4 x 6 pressure treated post Home Depot $20.93 Installation Volunteers $0.00 4.3 Vehicle Speed Monitory Signs Safepace Radar Sign $2,900.00 All Traffic Solutions, Inc. $5,384.21
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Page 10 of 14 5. Road Right of Way 5.1. Road easement Map of Raft Island (from Pierce County). See: http://matterhorn3.co.pierce.wa.us/publicgis/?ext=1102161.56627,735444.055355,1103161.56627,736444.055355
Page 11 of 14 6. Section Maps of Raft Island 6.1. Raft Island South West Section Raft Island Drive; I 210 5, II 390 6, III 325, IV 395, V 340, VI 260 7 ; Madrona Drive; XXII 15 8, XXIII 180, XXIV 227, XXV 285, XXVI 362; Rhododendron Drive; XXVIII 200 9, XXIX 460; Park Avenue; XXX 410
Page 12 of 14 6.2. Raft Island North West Section Raft Island Drive; VII 350, VIII 450, IX 350, X 300, XI 310, XII 338 Park Avenue; XXXI 385, XXXII 195 10, XXXIII 390 Madrona Drive; XXVII 280
Page 13 of 14 6.3. Raft Island North East Section Raft Island Drive; XIII 310, XIV 595, XV 265 Park Avenue; XXVIV 333 11
Page 14 of 14 6.4. Raft Island South East Section Raft Island Drive; XVI 545, XVII 192, XVIII 354, XIX 330, XX 270, XXI 312 Fir Drive; XXXV 405, XXXVI 360, XXXVII 140