A total of 18 Primrose-area neighbors from 13 homes attended tonight's meeting at City Hall.
We went through a presentation on the City's findings (which we will distribute shortly to those on the email list) led by City Engineer David Fike and CPT Hunt from the Police Department.
In essence, this is what was found:
- There is a distinctly different velocity for North bound traffic (34 MPH north of Oaks on average) than South bound.
- Primrose seems to be the slower than both Magnolia and Stedman.
- About 1/3 of traffic south of Oaks comes to or from Oaks.
- The street had 1354 daily vehicle trips South of Oaks, and about half that north.
- The volume study was done twice (the second was lower, 1050 at the South end).
- Average speed has increased slightly since the 2006 survey.
The survey was done on Tuesday, Jan 29-30. Tuesday-Thursday are the City's survey days, by policy, een though we mad eclear the problem is worse on the weekends. Most of us objected strenuously to the survey findings. Things started to get pretty contentious early on, but calm was maintained in the end. Now, we all know that the survey measuring lines were torn out. We wonder if it was raining then, too. We all saw speeders drive around the lines. The City was left relatively clear that we didn't take the results seriously, though they did say that other surveyed streets most likely had the same error factors in their surveys. (For the record, we do not concur. Some of our speeders are aggessive and offensive in a unique manner).
The City even admitted to recording several cars going in excess of 50 MPH, seemingly mostly in the morning, yet none had been cited by MPD at that speed.
Regardless, the volume count did not justify stop signs.
On the enforcement side, CPT Hunt reported that MPD:
- Wrote 23 citations since Jan 22, including 7 on the 23rd.
- There was some dispute as to whether we wanted MPD to go contact speeders we identified, as apparently that had not been done. CPT Hunt will now send officers to visit the offenders (we had already thought this was happening).
- The fastest was going 47 MPH, and only four were over 35. The rest were at 31-35.
- 87% of those cited were local Primrose-area residents.
It is worth noting that two neighbors who attended generally voiced dissent, including one who dismissed our effort and said there is no real problem on Primrose. He openly questioned why we started "a political action committee." Robert tried to make clear that this voice is welcome and important to the finding of an amicable solution, but insulting us and dimissing peoples' concerns - especially when outnumbered 16-2, is not appropriate, and he clearly had no idea what we've done beyond the traffic issue. Notably, both of these dissenters live at the far North end of the street, and do not share our volume at the South end. Regardless, we must take their views and experiences into account as we identify a solution that works for everyone - including them.
After a lot of back and forth, the general consensus of the meeting was as follows:
- Physical measures are a long-term step, and we are probably wiser taking 'baby steps' toward them.
- No Later Than Thursday, the City will post markers indicating proposed signage locations. This signage will emphasize the 25 MPH limit and down-hill speed cautions.
..... in regard to this, Monica has suggested that we might want to purchase "Children at Play" signs that are commercially available. We should discuss this!
- Enforcement will continue. Primrose will be added to MPD's traffic enforcement matrix. Mayor Hammond insisted vociferously that the current contract dispute with MPOA has nothing to do with officer assigements and availability. There presently is one officer transferring out of motorcycle traffic enforcement to another assignment, leaving one to cover the whole City.
- We will meet again, approximately on May 1, to discuss the impacts of this second round of measures.
On a related note, City Manager Scott Ochoa encouraged us to report all complaints about the liquor store. The City is actively reviewing licenses of each alcohol establishment in town, and those complaints are key.
SUMMARY: It was another night of slow progress. It appears clear the City is dead-set against stop signs. Rumble strips and/or speed humps are longer-term alternatives. It makes sense to move slowly towards those expensive, permanent measures, but progress must also be consistent and deliberate.
We look forward to your thoughts, and encourage you to post them in the comments below. Please report blatant speeding and liquor store issues immediately, and let us know too.
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