REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 03/06/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
SUBJECT:
Title
ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NUMBERS 3245, 3255, 3273, 3292, AND 3305 TO UPDATE THE PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS ON CERTAIN STREET SEGMENTS IN THE CITY OF CORONA
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to consider amending the prima facie speed limits on certain street segments in the City of Corona. An engineering study surveyed forty-four (44) required road segments and recommends nineteen (19) for a speed limit reduction, where the speed survey justifies the proposed speed limits.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council introduce, by title only, and waive full reading of Ordinance No. 3390, an ordinance of the City of Corona, California amending Ordinance Numbers 3245, 3255, 3273, 3292, and 3305 to update the prima facie speed limits on certain street segments in the City of Corona.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
California Vehicle Code, Section 40802, requires that engineering and traffic surveys be performed at least once every seven years on street segments whose prima facie speed limits are being enforced by radar or other electronic devices used to measure the speed of moving vehicles.
To meet this State requirement, the City updates its Speed Zone Surveys on a rotating basis, resulting in all required road segments being updated every seven years. According to the seven-year schedule, 44 roadway segments, listed on Exhibit 1, were in line to be surveyed in the spring and fall of 2023. The existing speed limits were determined in consultation with the Corona Police Department and provide enforceability and support by the courts, promote consistency and uniformity between streets of similar design, provide for a safe and orderly movement of vehicular traffic, and are reasonable and safe for those street segments.
ANALYSIS:
As noted in Exhibit 1, 44 road segments were surveyed in the engineering study. The survey was conducted by staff members in the Traffic Engineering Division using a manual radar gun during the middle of the day. Based on the data collected, the existing speed limit posted for 19 road segments are recommended for a speed limit reduction. This includes:
1) Bedford Canyon Road from Georgetown to Eagle Glen
2) Buena Vista Avenue from Sixth to Citron
3) Buena Vista Avenue from Citron to Ontario
4) Circle City Drive from E. Grand to Rimpau
5) Circle City Drive from Rimpau to El Sobrante
6) Citron Street from Lincoln to Main
7) Cota Street from Parkridge to River
8) Cota Street from River to Railroad
9) Joy Street from Parkridge to Harrison
10) Joy Street from Harrison to E. Grand
11) Ontario Avenue from California to State
12) Paseo Grande from City Limits to Green River
13) Promenade Avenue from Cresta to McKinley
14) Promenade Avenue from McKinley to Richey
15) Promenade Avenue from Richey to Buchanan
16) Rincon Street from Corydon to Smith
17) Rincon Street from Smith to Lincoln
18) Taylor Avenue from Olive to Ontario
19) Taylor Avenue from Ontario to Montoya
Bedford Canyon Road from Georgetown to Eagle Glen
The segment of Bedford Canyon Road from Georgetown to Eagle Glen is a four-lane, undivided collector street that is 0.20 miles in length and serves 6,600 vehicles per day. This roadway mainly serves a retail center via front-loading driveways towards the southern end and a fire station on the northern end of this segment. To maintain safe conditions and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Bedford Canyon Road, it is recommended that the speed limit is decreased from 40 miles per hour (“MPH”) to 35 MPH for this segment.
Buena Vista Avenue from Sixth to Citron
The segment of Buena Vista Avenue from Sixth to Citron is a two-lane, undivided collector street that is 0.9 miles in length, and serves 6,600 vehicles per day. This segment has class II bike lanes and on-street parking on both sides and serves residential uses via side streets and front-loading driveways. The segment is also fronted by an elementary school, which experiences heavy vehicular and student traffic during school let-in/let-out times. Based on the dense residential nature of the area, it is recommended that the speed limit for this segment decrease from 35 MPH to 30 MPH to maintain a safe residential and elementary school environment.
Buena Vista Avenue from Citron to Ontario
The segment of Buena Vista Avenue from Citron to Ontario is a two-lane, undivided collector street that is 0.40 miles in length, and serves 4,800 vehicles per day. This segment has class II bike lanes, on-street parking on one side, and serves residential uses via side streets and front-loading driveways. The segment is also fronted by an intermediate school, which experiences heavy vehicular and student traffic during school let-in/let-out times. To maintain safe conditions for pedestrians and students and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Buena Vista Avenue from the school and residential driveways, it is recommended that the speed limit is decreased from 35 MPH to 30 MPH speed limit for this segment.
Circle City Drive from E. Grand to Rimpau
The segment of Circle City Drive from E. Grand to Rimpau is a two-lane, undivided collector street that is 0.40 miles in length, and serves 7,000 vehicles per day. This segment has a class III shared bike route, on-street parking on both sides, and serves residential uses via side streets and front-loading driveways. To maintain safe conditions and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Circle City Drive, it is recommended that the speed limit is decreased from 35 MPH to 30 MPH speed limit for this segment.
Circle City Drive from Rimpau to El Sobrante
The segment of Circle City Drive from Rimpau to El Sobrante is a two-lane, undivided collector street that is 0.55 miles in length, and serves 2,900 vehicles per day. This segment has on-street parking and serves residential uses via side streets and front-loading driveways. To maintain safe conditions and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Circle City Drive, it is recommended that the speed limit is decreased from 35 MPH to 30 MPH for this segment.
Citron Street from Lincoln to Main
The segment of Citron Street from Lincoln to Main is a two-lane, undivided collector street that is 1.0 mile in length and serves 2,300 vehicles per day. This segment is fronted by single-family homes with on-street parking on both sides. The segment is also fronted by an intermediate school, which experiences heavy vehicular and student traffic during school let-in/let-out times. To maintain safe conditions for pedestrians and students and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Citron Street from the school and residential driveways, it is recommended that the speed limit is decreased from 35 MPH to 30 MPH for this segment.
Cota Street from Parkridge to River
The segment of Cota Street from Parkridge to River is a two-lane, undivided collector street that is 0.25 miles in length, and serves 7,500 vehicles per day. This segment has on-street parking, class II bike lanes, and serves residential uses via side streets. To maintain safe conditions and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Cota Street, it is recommended that the speed limit is decreased from 40 MPH to 35 MPH for this segment.
Cota Street from River to Railroad
The segment of Cota Street from River to Railroad is a two-lane, undivided collector street that is 0.60 miles in length, and serves 7,000 vehicles per day. This segment has on-street parking and class II bike lanes and serves industrial uses via side streets along with the Corona Police Department and Fire Department. An at-grade railroad crossing also traverses the southern end of this roadway segment. Based on the unique characteristic of this segment, to maintain safe conditions and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Cota Street, it is recommended that the speed limit is decreased from 40 MPH to 35 MPH for this segment.
Joy Street from Parkridge to Harrison
The segment of Joy Street from Parkridge to Harrison is a two-lane, undivided major collector that is 0.35 miles in length and serves 5,300 vehicles per day. The segment serves mainly industrial uses via multiple side streets with a class II bike lane on both sides. To maintain safe conditions for vehicles, and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Joy Street, it is recommended that the speed limit be decreased from 40 MPH to 35 MPH for this segment.
Joy Street from Harrison to E. Grand
The segment of Joy Street from Harrison to E. Grand is a four-lane, undivided major collector that is 0.23 miles in length and serves 7,700 vehicles per day. The segment serves mainly industrial uses and provides access to the Metrolink station via a side street. The segment has an at-grade railroad crossing, as well as a class II bike lane on the east side of the street near the north end. To maintain safe conditions for vehicles, and to ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Joy Street, it is recommended that the speed limit be decreased from 40 MPH to 35 MPH.
Ontario Avenue from California to State
The segment of Ontario Avenue from California to State is a four-lane, major arterial that is 0.76 miles in length with class II bike lanes and carries 48,00 vehicles per day. While the portion of Ontario Avenue between California and the I-15 freeway Northbound ramps is divided with a raised center median, and the remaining segment is undivided, the entire segment is fronted by retail uses via front-loaded driveways. There have been 10 speed-related collisions in this segment in the past two years, resulting in an accident rate of 54.9 accidents per Hundred Million Vehicle Miles (HMVM). It is recommended that the speed limit be decreased from 45 MPH to 40 MPH for this segment to maintain safe conditions and ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Ontario Avenue.
Paseo Grande from City limits to Green River
The segment of Paseo Grande from City limits to Green River is a two-lane collector street that is 0.34 miles in length and serves 5,000 vehicles per day. The segment serves residential uses via multiple side streets with class II bike lanes on both sides and a horizontal curve near the southern end of the segment. To the north of this segment leads to the county, which is residential and posted at 25 MPH. Based on the nature of the street, ensuring adequate egress opportunities onto Paseo Grande, it is recommended to decrease the speed limit from 40 MPH to 35 MPH for this segment.
Promenade Avenue from Cresta to McKinley
The segment of Promenade Avenue from Cresta to McKinley is a four-lane, secondary arterial that is 0.98 miles in length and serves 18,200 vehicles per day. This portion of Promenade Avenue serves residential uses via side streets and includes class II bike lanes throughout. This roadway features a vertical grade and slight horizontal curve, which raises concern for safe stopping sight distance that may not be readily apparent to the motorist. There have been 5 speed-related collisions in this segment in the past two years, resulting in an accident rate of 38 accidents per HMVM. It is recommended that the current 45 MPH limit be reduced to 40 MPH to maintain safe conditions and ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Promenade Avenue.
Promenade Avenue from McKinley to Richey
The segment of Promenade Avenue from McKinley to Richey is a four-lane, secondary arterial that is 0.20 miles in length and serves 17,600 vehicles per day. This portion of Promenade Avenue serves residential and retail uses via side streets and includes class II bike lanes throughout. There have been 5 speed-related collisions in this segment in the past two years, resulting in an accident rate of 192 accidents per HMVM. It is recommended that the current 40 MPH limit be reduced to 35 MPH to avoid an increase in speed-related accidents/injuries, maintain safe conditions, and ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Promenade Avenue.
Promenade Avenue from Richey to Buchanan
The segment of Promenade Avenue from Richey to Buchanan is a four-lane, secondary arterial that is 0.91 miles in length and serves 17,600 vehicles per day. This portion of Promenade Avenue serves residential via side streets and a public park at the west end and includes class II bike lanes throughout. There have been 4 speed-related collisions in this segment in the past two years, resulting in an accident rate of 34 accidents per HMVM. It is recommended that the current 40 MPH limit be reduced to 35 MPH to avoid an increase in speed-related accidents/injuries, maintain a safe stopping distance, and ensure adequate egress opportunities onto Promenade Avenue.
Rincon Street from Corydon to Smith
The segment of Rincon Street from Corydon to Smith is a two-lane collector street that is 0.80 miles in length and primarily provides access to the airport and a public park via a side street. Based on the nature of the street, ensuring adequate egress opportunities onto Butterfield Park, and remaining within a five-mile speed limit difference with the adjacent segment to the east, it is recommended to decrease the speed limit from 45 MPH to 40 MPH for this segment.
Rincon Street from Smith to Lincoln
The segment of Rincon Street from Smith to Lincoln is a two-lane collector street that is 0.70 miles in length with class II bike lanes along a portion of the segment with class III shared bike lanes in the remaining portion. This segment serves mainly industrial uses and provides access via multiple driveways. Based on the nature of the street and ensuring adequate egress opportunities onto the businesses, it is recommended to decrease the speed limit from 45 MPH to 35 MPH for this segment.
Taylor Avenue from Olive to Ontario
The segment of Taylor Avenue from Olive to Ontario is a two-lane collector street that is 0.81 miles in length and carries 2,300 vehicles per day. Taylor Avenue provides access to single-family residences via front-loading driveways throughout. Based on the residential nature of the street and ensuring adequate egress opportunities onto Taylor Avenue, it is recommended to decrease the speed limit from 35 MPH to 30 MPH for this segment.
Taylor Avenue from Ontario to Montoya
The segment of Taylor Avenue from Ontario to Montoya is a two-lane collector street that is 0.16 miles in length with class II bike lanes and carries 1,800 vehicles per day. Taylor Avenue provides access to single-family residences via multiple side streets. Based on the residential nature of the street and ensuring adequate egress opportunities onto Taylor Avenue, it is recommended to decrease the speed limit from 35 MPH to 30 speed limit for this segment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Signage for the road segments with changing speed limits will be funded by the "Citywide Traffic Signs" Operating & Maintenance Project No. 72160.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. The action merely reaffirms or reduces the existing speed limits on certain street segments, and there is no possibility that approving this amendment to City ordinances will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: ROSALVA URENO, P.E., T.E., CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Proposed Speed Limits
2. Exhibit 2 - Ordinance No. 3390