City Council Study Session Summary 2008 05 27

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City Council Study Session Summary May 27, 2008 Page 6 of 7 Public Works Director Phare presented a handout to Council. He presented websites of other communities that have traffic mitigation but said a lot of them have backed off due to financial constraints. Director Phare said that a lot of work and time can go into developing a traffic mitigation plan and toolbox. He presented Boulder's toolbox and said that Boulder deals with problems much larger than what Louisville deals with. He pointed out some of plans include cost sharing, the expenses associated with some traffic mitigation, $20,000 the cost of setting up the initial toolbox and having the resources to address the issues, setting the bar to high without the resources or funding. Councilor Dalton asked where the cost of traffic lights was. Director Phare said that traffic lights fall under traffic guidelines. Mayor Pro Tem Marsella asked if the problems in Louisville warrant this kind of project. Director Phare said he did not think so and added that things are relatively cheap to do but expensive to enforce. Police Chief Bruce Goodman agreed and said that perception is a big factor. What may be a minor problem can be perceived as a big problem. City Manager Fleming said there is a potential for unidentified consequences and suggested that the City not pursue traffic mitigation but to continue to listen and remain open to residents' concerns. Mayor Pro Tem Marsella asked about traffic counts. Director Phare said he would check but thought that it had been cut from the budget. Councilor Sackett brought up the speed signs on a stretch of Dillon Road. He said in the same stretch on one side of the road the speed is posted at 40 mph and on the other side of the road it is posted at 35 mph and said he thought they should be the same speed based on traffic. Chief Goodman said that the criteria is based on several factors, but on the particular stretch that Councilor Sackett is talking about in one direction you are heading into a curve so the speed should be slower but in the other direction you are heading into a straight away which would allow for a higher speed limit. Councilor Muckle said that he thought the focus should be on the bigger picture both real and perceived and that it should include pedestrian safety when moving forward in new neighborhoods. Councilor Dalton said that in general the streets are safe from an engineering and police perspective. Councilor Sackett said that there will be accidents where there is traffic but thought that electronic speed indicators were effective.