Traffic & Transportation

Ventura Traffic Citizen Information Brochures

What You Need To Know About The Neighborhood Traffic Management and Calming Program

Download and view the report in pdf format

What is the City's Policy for addressing neighborhood traffic concerns?

In June 1997, the City Council adopted Policy Resolution 97-53, approving a Traffic Management and Calming Program. The Program offers various options to address speeding and cut through traffic concerns on residential streets. This policy only applies to traffic flow changes on public streets that are initiated by citizens. The Cityís policy does not apply to the modification of traffic flow on public streets initiated by the City to address specific traffic safety issues or to comply with State and Federal Regulations.

What are the options available under the City's Policy?

The Cityís Neighborhood Traffic Management and Calming Program offers 29 different options which are divided into four categories to reflect the levels of cost and restrictiveness to
traffic flow.

Levels 1 and 2, which do not involve physical changes to the street, can be implemented by the City and include such items as deploying the radar speed trailer to allow drivers to monitor their traffic speeds, directed police enforcement or posting signs restricting commercial vehicles from using the street.

Levels 3 and 4 require making physical change to the street using such devices as road narrowing or turn restriction medians. Residents west of Seaward Avenue are eligible for Level 3 and 4 measures as of July 1, 1997. Residents between Seaward and Victoria Avenue will be eligible after July 1, 1998. All City residents will be eligible after July 1, 1999.

What kind of qualifying criteria does a city street have to meet to be covered by the City's Policy?

Requests for traffic calming measures will be considered if all of the following criteria are met:

The street must be primarily residential
in nature with volumes equal to or exceeding 800 vehicles per day.
Public Safety Agencies do not have any major public safety concerns with the proposed changes.
The traffic flow modifications will not result in unreasonable liability exposure for the City.
Significant amounts of traffic will not be diverted to other residential streets.
The requested action is authorized by legislative authority in State law.

How does the Neighborhood Traffic Management process work?

The following process will be used by the City to address neighborhood traffic concerns:

A resident alerts the City about a problem area that specifically involves
speeding or cut-through traffic.
The City provides information to the resident on the options available and asks the resident to complete and return the Neighborhood Action Request Form".
The form must include a written description of the location of concern and requires signatures from at least seven separate residents per block of the impacted street(s).

What can the City do to address the problem?

Once a Neighborhood Action Request form is returned, a neighborhood meeting may be scheduled to identify the concerns and issues. The City may prepare an existing condition traffic analysis. If requested by residents, level 1 or Level 2 Traffic Calming options such as deploying the radar speed trailer or providing increased police enforcement will be quickly implemented by the City to address traffic concerns.

What happens if Level 1 and Level 2 Measures are insufficient?

If the Level 1 or Level 2 options are not adequate after being in-place for at least six months, the City will conduct additional studies to determine whether further Level 3 or 4 measures such as roundabouts or diagonal diverters are appropriate. This will include consulting the Police and Fire Departments to determine if the street is critical to emergency vehicle response and, therefore, not eligible for certain options.

Support by at least two thirds of the affected residents must be demonstrated through a petition process for Level 3 or Level 4 measures to be implemented.

The measures will be installed using temporary materials at City expense for a trial period of six months when appropriate environmental clearances have been obtained. After the trial period, residents may elect to have the Level 3 or 4 devices removed or made permanent at their expense if there is continued support by a two-thirds majority of the residents. This can be accomplished by hiring a qualified consultant to prepare design plans and an approved contractor to install the measures under an encroachment permit from the City. If a two-thirds majority of the residents elect to have the Level 3 or 4 devices installed permanently, but decide later on that the devices are not desirable, an encroachment permit will be issued to have the devices removed by an approved contractor at their own expense.

What Procedures Must Be Followed to Submit a Petition?

The following procedures must be used for submitting a petition to the City to demonstrate support for Level 3 or 4 measures involving physical changes:

The technical feasibility of the proposed neighborhood traffic management and calming measures must be analyzed by the City. This review will include items such as conformance to State law, the Circulation Element of the Cityís General Plan, the type of street involved, compliance with engineering regulations, existing traffic conditions, projected traffic conditions and the potential for traffic diversion to adjacent streets.
The boundary of the area affected by the proposed changes must be identified by the City. The affected area will include, but not be limited to, those properties whose normal travel routes to and from the "affected area" are to be altered by the neighborhood traffic management and calming measures, and/or properties which are significantly impacted by traffic that is to be diverted.
Petitions submitted to the City must include a statement that all persons signing the petition acknowledge it is the Cityís policy that they will be responsible for all costs directly associated with the construction of permanent neighborhood traffic management and calming measures. This is necessary to facilitate the funding of the ultimate improvements needed to permanently install the traffic flow modifications. The petition language must also clearly explain, and show on a drawing, the location, and exact nature of proposed changes. The petition language and attached drawing must be reviewed by the City prior to circulation to ensure its accuracy and ability to be understood.
The petition must be supported by at least two-thirds of the total number of citizens affected by the proposed changes in traffic flow. The citizens should include property owners, tenants, business owners within the "affected area" who might be significantly affected by the proposed measure. Persons submitting petitions must demonstrate that they have contacted at least 90 percent of all affected persons who may need to use the street(s) on a daily basis.

What number do I call to obtain a copy of the officially adopted City Policy?

To obtain a copy of Resolution 97-53, Neighborhood Traffic Management and Calming Report and sample petition Neighborhood Action Request Form, call the Traffic Engineering phone line at 654-7769, or visit the public counter in Room 117 at City Hall, 501 Poli Street.

You can also download and the view report in Adobe Acrobat pdf format by clicking here.

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