A total of 737 households located within the project study area received the survey.  Each household was permitted one survey response, and households located outside of the study area were not included in the following tally. 

Background

More specifically, the survey sought community input on whether the City should:

• Retain or remove the following:
  • Speed humps
  • Delineators (white poles) at the ends of the speed humps
  • Part-time parking restrictions
• Advance the design of a permanent sidewalk along the west sides of Burton, Silverado and Merriewood Drives

Please see below for more information on the project.

Survey Results

The following table provides the numbers and percentage of votes for/against each of the measures as well as for the total number of responses received.  The majority result for each of the measures is highlighted.

What’s Next

Staff will present their recommendations to both the Transportation & Circulation Commission and City Council on how to proceed.  Recommendations will be aligned with the results of the community survey.  Thus, Staff will recommend that the speed humps remain, and that the delineators and part-time parking restrictions be removed.  Once the delineators are removed the speed humps will be amended to extend to the gutter.

Additionally, Staff will recommend that the City not pursue design and/or construction of a permanent sidewalk.

Once the recommendations are affirmed by Council, Staff will make the required changes.

In 2021 City Staff initiated an extensive public process to determine the scope of a traffic calming pilot project in the Burton Valley neighborhood based on requests made by many in the neighborhood and from direction provided by City Council to improve safety around schools, including Burton Valley Elementary.  The resulting one-year pilot project was affirmed by City Council on August 23, 2021 and the agreed traffic calming measures were installed later that year for community consideration and evaluation.

Background - Scope of Work

The intent of the Burton Valley pilot project is to improve the safety for all modes of transportation in this community, and to encourage as many students as possible to walk or ride to school.

Measures installed throughout the Burton Valley neighborhood as part of this effort included the following:

• A total of eleven speed humps on Burton, Lucas, Michael, Silverado, Merriewood, and Rohrer;
• Delineators on both ends of each speed hump adjacent to the gutter pan to discourage unpredictable driver behavior at the speed humps;
• Restricted parking zones on portions of Burton, Silverado, and Rohrer Drives to provide space for pedestrians and bicyclists on streets without sidewalks;
• Red curbs/permanent no parking zones near corners to improve visibility between drivers and pedestrians/bicyclists;
• Reduced lane widths on Silverado Drive to encourage slower vehicle speeds and provide for a wider shoulder;
• Markings and delineators to emphasize lane lines for drivers at locations where drivers historically cut the corner or drove into the shoulder;
• Stop sign on Indian Way at Merriewood Drive;
• Right-turn-only sign from the Burton Valley Elementary driveway at Merriewood Drive
• Installation of a school-zone crosswalk at the Burton Drive / Silverado Drive / Lucas Drive / Somerset Drive intersection

The Staff report from the August 23, 2021 Council meeting can be viewed here.

Minutes from the August 23, 2021 Council meeting can be viewed here.

The Burton Valley Rapid Implementation School Safety Plan can be viewed here.

The traffic calming measures listed above were installed under a one-year pilot study with a commitment to an evaluation of the effectiveness of the project as well as consideration from input from the community.  More specifically, the evaluation compared data collected before and after the pilot project implementation, including:

• Vehicle speeds
• Traffic counts for all modes, including pedestrians and cyclists

Data was collected in November 2021, May 2022, August 2022, and November 2022.

The Burton Valley Elementary Traffic Calming Pilot Study: Final Results report can be viewed here.

Data Collection and Evaluation Summary:

The posted speed limit in the neighborhood is 25 mph. Before speed humps and other traffic calming measures were installed, on average, 58% of people driving were traveling over the speed limit in the neighborhood. After speed humps and traffic calming were installed, on average, 16% of people driving were traveling over the speed limit in the neighborhood. This means the speed humps and traffic calming likely contributed to a 42% reduction in the number of people driving that are speeding.

Collectively, the 85th percentile speeds in the neighborhood were reduced from 32 mph to 27 mph, a reduction of 5 mph, representing a 16% reduction in 85th percentile speeds.  The 85th percentile speed is defined as the speed at or below which 85 percent of all vehicles are traveling, under normal, or free-flow, conditions.  This statistic is typically used by Traffic Engineers to determine speed limits as well as evaluate vehicle speeds on a segment of roadway.

Overall, the collected traffic counts showed that the number of people walking, bicycling, or driving in the area was slightly lower or increased slightly after installation of the treatments.  Generally, average vehicle counts decreased by 18% on weekdays and 22% for a 7-day weekly average on Merriewood Drive between Sandalwood Court and the School driveway.  Vehicle counts at most other locations generally decreased, but by a smaller percentage. 

Similarly, the average numbers of bicyclists and pedestrians at the pre-determined intersection locations rose slightly in some cases, increasing by 17 or fewer bicyclists or pedestrians during a 5-hour weekday time period surrounding school start and end times.  At some locations the numbers of bicyclists and pedestrians decreased by small numbers, from 9 to 57 fewer bicyclists or pedestrians during this time period.

Permanent Sidewalk

In addition to the traffic calming measures described above, City Council directed Staff at the August 23, 2021 Council meeting to study options for the provision of a protected pathway to Burton Valley Elementary School and to return to the City Council with recommendations.  In response, Staff engaged a civil engineering consultant to prepare conceptual designs and planning-level cost estimates for a permanent sidewalk along one side of Burton Drive, Silverado Drive and Merriewood Drive.

A conceptual design (a high-level engineering drawing to explore technical feasibility) was prepared to explore whether a sidewalk could be constructed along the west sides of Burton, Silverado and Merriewood Drives to provide a safe, separated protected area to walk.  The resulting concept designs show a 7- to 8-foot-wide sidewalk within the public right-of-way that would be fully ADA-compatible and would connect to the existing sidewalk present in some locations along these streets.

Please note: 

• Sections of the sidewalk would need to be constructed inside the existing curbline, which would result in the removal of the shoulder/parking lane at these locations.
• The loss of the shoulder/parking lane would result in:
  • On-street parking removal;
  • Adult bicyclists riding in the vehicle travel lanes;
  • Loss of a designated area for parents to queue along Merriewood Drive, as needed, when picking up their children

No funding exists to complete further design and construct this sidewalk.  Survey responses will determine whether the City advances design on the sidewalk and starts to explore different funding options. 

The high-level concept drawings that were prepared for the sidewalk can be viewed here.

To view a larger rendering of what a sidewalk would look like in Burton Valley, click here.

What Happens Now?

It is now up to the community to determine the measures that will be retained or be removed.

The measures that are up for consideration include:

• Speed humps
• Delineators at the speed humps
• Part-time parking restrictions along Burton, Silverado, and Rohrer Drives.

The map below illustrates the approximate locations of the speed humps/delineators and the part-time parking restrictions.

The other elements described above that were installed in 2021 are standard design for Lafayette’s roadways and will not be removed.  This includes the roadway striping, the red zones at intersections, upgraded school crosswalks, and the stop sign on Indian Way at Merriewood. 

In addition, the Burton Valley community will be asked if the City should pursue construction of a sidewalk leading to Burton Valley Elementary. 

Next Steps

The following outlines the immediate next steps and a tentative timeline for the review and recommendation period.

• Public Open House: Staff held a hybrid Transportation & Circulation meeting on March 1^st.  This meeting allowed the community to provide input while also providing an opportunity for staff to share the results of the Evaluation Study, the details of the Council-directed sidewalk design process, and next steps. The Staff presentation from the March 1st meeting can be viewed here.
• Community Survey: On March 27 Staff mailed a survey to households located within the pilot study changes.This will allow each household to vote on the project elements that they would like to see retained or removed. 
• Other Public Input: Parents in the Burton Valley Elementary community will be encouraged to provide comment on the safety measures.
• Public Hearings: Staff will present recommendations to the following to receive final direction on the project elements that will remain or be removed:
  • Transportation & Circulation Commission – May 15, 2023
  • City Council – May 22, 2023

Please direct comments or questions to:

Patrick Golier: PGolier@ci.lafayette.ca.us

Attachments

• Rapid Implementation School Safety Plan – Burton Valley Elementary School
• City Council Staff Report – August 23, 2021: Proposed Pilot Study for the Safe Routes to School (near the Burton Valley Elementary School)
• Minutes from the August 23, 2021 City Council Meeting
• Burton Valley Elementary Traffic Calming Pilot Study Results Memo
• Burton Valley Sidewalk Concept Design
• Burton Valley Sidewalk Rendering
• Transportation & Circulation Commission Presentation: March 1, 2023

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