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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/09/2010 - TRANSPORTATION SAFETY IN FORT COLLINS DATE: February 9, 2010 STAFF: Jeff Scheick, Joe Olson, WORK SESSION ITEM Matt Wempe, Sgt. Mike Trombley, FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL Pete Hall-Poudre School District Pre-taped staff presentation: available at fcgov.com/clerk/agendas.php SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION Transportation Safety in Fort Collins EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Accidents involving motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians take a heavy toll both economically and emotionally. As outlined last year during a series of transportation related work sessions, a safe transportation system is a high priority. The City and its partners in the community, including Poudre School District, focus on education, engineering, evaluation, enforcement and encouragement (the 5 E's) to address safety concerns. City staff members from Police Services,Traffic Operations,Transportation Planning,Engineering, and Streets all have roles in the coordinated efforts to make the streets in Fort Collins as safe as possible. In keeping with the City's philosophy to be data driven, accident data is being improved and better utilized to identify the root causes of accidents and to determine possible countermeasures. Those countermeasures may involve actions within any of the focus areas or from multiple areas. The processes and the relationships necessary to coordinate these activities are in place both within the City and with its partners in the community. Staff is committed to continue to work to make the transportation system in Fort Collins as safe as possible. GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED 1. Does Council have any questions or feedback regarding the City's approach to transportation safety? 2. Does Council have any feedback or suggestions on how to improve the strategies discussed? BACKGROUND Deaths and injuries resulting from traffic crashes are a serious public health concern. Even accidents that only result in property damage are costly to society and negatively impact quality of life. In 2009,Fort Collins saw an all-time high number of fatal traffic accidents (11)within the city. With February 9, 2010 Page 2 this as background, Council asked staff to present information on transportation safety in Fort Collins and what steps are being taken to reduce the likelihood of crashes. The economic impacts to society from traffic accidents are very high. Property damage, lost earnings, lost household production, medical costs, emergency services, travel delay, vocational rehabilitation, workplace costs, administrative costs, and legal costs can all be considered when calculating the economic impacts from crashes. Using accident cost data from the Federal Highway Administration that takes these factors into account, the cost of traffic accidents in Fort Collins in 2009 is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars. The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that approximately 75% of all costs related to motor vehicle crashes are paid by society rather than just by those directly involved. These costs are ultimately passed on to citizens through insurance premiums, taxes, direct out-of-pocket payments, and increased medical costs. None of this takes into account the pain and suffering that result from tragic traffic crashes. Those costs are immeasurable. It must be acknowledged that there is a clear benefit from efforts to reduce the frequency and severity of traffic accidents. 'In conjunction with the City's partners in the community,City staff members from Planning,Development and Transportation(PDT)and Police Services are committed to working towards improved safety for citizens and visitors as they travel about the community. Traffic Safety Improvement Program Fort Collins utilizes an approach to traffic safety focused on Evaluation,Engineering,Enforcement, Education, and Encouragement(the 5 E's). The 5 E's approach provides an umbrella under which individual City departments including Traffic Operations, Engineering, Transportation Planning, Streets and Police Services can operate, along with other community organizations such as Poudre School District, Safe Kids Larimer County, and the Healthier Communities Coalition. To be most effective, the various efforts cannot occur separately in a vacuum. They are most effective when coordinated. Different groups responsible for various actions work together to produce an overall, comprehensive approach to transportation safety. Below is a discussion of transportation safety activities occurring within each of the five focus areas. While the discussion below is focused on individual elements of the 5 E's, as noted above there is significant cross coordination and overlap among the departments and activities. EVALUATION The Traffic Operations Department works cooperatively with the Police Department to obtain electronic copies of all traffic accident reports on public streets. The data is used to maintain a computerized accident database. Good accident records are critical to the success of a traffic safety program. In keeping with the City's philosophy to be data driven, Traffic Operations staff completed a comprehensive review of this database in 2009 to ensure data quality. This effort involved a review of over 10,000 records for accidents that occurred in the past three years (2007 —2009). While accident data has always been a part of safety efforts,this new level of detailed analysis will allow staff to more effectively use the data for two purposes: February 9, 2010 Page 3 1. As a tool to identify citywide accident patterns and specific problem locations so that staff can target its efforts effectively. This data is shared throughout the organization so that groups involved in engineering,education and enforcement efforts can all use a data driven approach to target safety problem areas. 2. As a performance measure to track progress as staff continues efforts to improve traffic safety. Staff will continue to update this traffic accident database annually to track trends and progress as staff strives to improve traffic safety. Based on this work, the following key points can be made about traffic accidents on public streets in Fort Collins over the past three years (2007—2009): • Overall, the number of accidents has remained fairly consistent (3,795 in 2007, 3,475 in 2008, and 3,564 in 2009). • Injury accidents have shown a decline (282 in 2007, 277 in 2008, and 240 in 2009). • Fatal accidents were higher in 2009 (11) than in any previous year for which records are available (back through 1991) • A review by both staff traffic engineers and Police accident investigators has not identified a consistent, correctable pattern in these fatal accidents. The fatal accidents were not location specific. Speed, alcohol, drugs, reckless driving, driver inattentiveness, driver inexperience, motorcycle use, medical conditions, bicycle violations and pedestrian violations were all noted as contributing factors in the fatal accidents. That being the case, staff believes that rather than focusing solely on these eleven accidents, a more comprehensive approach utilizing each of the 5 E's to focus on problem behaviors,citywide accident patterns and specific problem locations is the best approach for reducing the likelihood of serious injury or fatal accidents in the future. • Types of accidents that resulted in the most serious injuries included:bicycle accidents(23% of severe injury accidents), broadside accidents (18%), fixed object accidents (15%), left turn accidents (12%), rear end accidents (11%), and pedestrian accidents (8%). • Bicycle accidents are trending upward. The trend is undoubtedly due in part to the increasing popularity of bicycling in Fort Collins. In light of this increasing popularity and because these accidents tend to be severe, they are an area of concern. More details about specific types of accidents, causes and problematic locations is included in the staff taped presentation. ENGINEERING Traffic Operations and the City Engineering Department are primarily responsible for the implementation of engineering measures to help improve safety. Transportation Planning, the Streets Department and Poudre School District are also involved. Safety is implicitly a part of street maintenance programs, signal operations, work area traffic control, traffic signage and pavement February 9, 2010 Page 4 marking polices. Beyond these maintenance activities, three main strategies are used to address safety concerns: 1. Capital Projects Safety is considered in both prioritization and design of all capital projects. The prioritized Capital Improvement Projects list shown in the Transportation Master Plan uses accident history as one of the criteria for prioritization. Once design begins on a prioritized project, improvements are incorporated that are intended to reduce the likelihood of accidents. For example, the recently completed capital project on West Harmony, including the Shields/Harmony intersection, while not intended solely as a safety project, is expected to have a significant positive impact on the safety at that intersection and along Harmony Road by reducing congestion and the associated risk for accidents—particularly rear end accidents. 2. Use dedicated safety improvement funds to fix problem spots. Funding is-available for specific safety projects through the Federal Hazard Elimination program. These funds are allocated by the Colorado Department of Transportation(CDOT) through a competitive process. The City has been very successful in obtaining some of this funding. For example, $385,000 in hazard elimination funds are being used for the intersections of College/Hickory and College/Conifer as part of the North College improvement project. These funds are being used to increase the storage length of the left turn lanes between these two closely spaced intersections and also to add separate,dedicated right turn lanes. Also, $120,000 in hazard elimination funds is part of the overall funding for the College/Harmony project scheduled for this year. These funds will be used to increase capacity at the intersection and reduce the likelihood of congestion related accidents. 3. Low cost safety improvements Minor,inexpensive solutions funded through maintenance budgets can often be implemented that provide a very high benefit-to-cost ratio. This approach always makes sense — even more so during difficult budget times. Examples include: • Signal timing adjustments. • Signal operational changes. • Elimination of sight obstructions. • Improvement of STOP sign visibility. • Addition of warning signs to better inform motorists of unusual conditions. • Pavement marking changes. This approach relies heavily on good accident data in order to identify locations where such improvements might make a difference. A recent example is at the intersection of Shields/Plum. That intersection was identified as having an unusually high number of rear end accidents compared to other similar intersections. After reviewing the accident history and the signal timing,the signal sequencing at Shields/Elizabeth(the next intersection to the south)was changed to increase the percentage of northbound traffic arriving on a green light February 9, 2010 Page 5 at Shields/Plum. This simple, low cost change is expected to have an impact on the number of rear end accidents on Shields at Plum while also reducing congestion and delay. It should be noted that local funds are used for maintenance and for the types of improvements listed above. However, there are currently no local funds dedicated specifically for safety improvement projects. ENFORCEMENT Police Services is the lead entity for enforcement. Police and Traffic Operations work cooperatively to compile accident data as well as provide school and neighborhood area enforcement. Police Services put an increased emphasis on traffic enforcement starting in 2006. The results from this increased effort are noticeable. The percentage of 2008 Citizen Survey respondents that rated traffic enforcement good or very good was 62% compared to 49%.in 2003. The Traffic Unit currently has five officers and three camera radar operators dedicated to a strategy of high visibility traffic enforcement. The intent of this strategy is two-fold: provide direct enforcement to violators while also deterring other violators through a high visibility presence. Two types of photo enforcement are used in Fort Collins: speed enforcement and red light enforcement. Speed enforcement units are deployed primarily in neighborhood complaint areas and also in problem areas identified by officers. Data from the camera radar units show that compliance with neighborhood speed limits has improved from 25%to over 50% since 2004. Red light cameras are located at Timberline/Harmony and at College/Drake. The impact of the red light cameras is difficult to measure due to other, varying conditions such as signal changes, road construction etc., that also contribute to accidents. At this time it is not possible to show a specific change in accidents related to these cameras. The other area of emphasis for enforcement is in school zones. The Police Traffic Unit makes the forty-eight school zones in the City an enforcement priority. Other patrol officers also supplement enforcement as call load allows. School zones are selected for enforcement based on calls from schools, parents and Traffic Operations (who also receives some of the calls from residents). Five Traffic Unit officers work to enforce traffic laws on the 1,800 miles of streets within the City. This is a challenging task but officers are committed to targeting enforcement of contributing factors in accidents such as speed, alcohol,drugs,reckless driving, inattention and right-of-way violations in an effort to improve traffic safety. EDUCATION Transportation Planning is the lead entity for the City's traffic safety education activities. The City and its community partners are engaged in a myriad of activities focused on educating citizens on how motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians can share the road safely. Examples include: February 9, 2010 Page 6 Coexist Campaign The Coexist Campaign was designed to address six of the most important educational messages for bicyclists and motorists such as how to ride respectfully in an urban setting and how to drive cautiously, while stressing to both motorist and bicyclist the importance of mutual awareness, patience, and courtesy. The Coexist Campaign will expand its efforts in 2010 to target the root causes of bicycle accidents such as wrong-way riding and sidewalk riding. FC Bikes Website The City's bicycle website offers a variety of educational resources, including bike accident reporting, vehicular cycling and rules of the road, Coexist Campaign images, "Share the Road" information,bicycle registry, downtown bicycling information, and hazard reporting. The website also contains youth bicycling information including bike rodeo kit rental, bicycle recycling,bicycle library, and links and to several other educational and safety resources. Bicycle Education Classes FC Bikes is hosting three, 6-hour bicycle safety courses specific to City and Poudre School District employees in 2010. Several courses are also planned for the general public through the FC Bikes year-round education and encouragement event campaign. Bicycle and Pedestrian Education'Coalition The Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition (BPEC) is a newly formed coalition that brings together multiple community stakeholders that have a vested interest in bicycle and pedestrian education, specifically for K-8th grade school age children. The primary goals of the Coalition are to reduce the numbers of motor vehicle/bike/pedestrian crashes in Fort Collins while increasing knowledge and awareness of all users on how to safely share the road. In addition,the BPEC works to increase the number of bicycle riders in the community to nurture health and wellness. The City is a member of the coalition, along with Poudre Valley Health System, The Bike Co-op, Colorado State University, Poudre School District and other local advocacy groups. The City has partnered with BPEC on the 2010-11 Safe Routes to School grant application to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)to provide resources for local education activities. Other Education Efforts Traffic Operations is also involved in educational efforts, primarily through the Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation Program. Yard signs asking motorists to"Slow Down in Our Neighborhood"are made available to residents. Radar speed display trailers are rotated around neighborhoods and near schools to remind motorists of their speed as well as the posted speed limit. Radio advertisements reminding people that school is in session and to drive safely are also funded through this program. City staff is supportive of the recommendation from the Bicycle Advisory Committee, Transportation Board, and others from the community to prepare a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian education plan. Existing efforts and partnerships can be leveraged to develop a plan to provide bicycle and pedestrian education to all ages. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Education February 9, 2010 Page 7 Coalition (BPEC), has offered to lead the planning process, and City staff agrees it would be an excellent leader on this project. ENCOURAGEMENT Walking and bicycling must be safe and enjoyable activities to be viable transportation modes. Encouragement events help people feel they are part of a community and are excellent ways to tie together the 5 E's. The City's encouragement efforts are designed to reach people of all ages and include safety messages as part of the event programming. Examples of encouragement activities include: • Year-Round Encouragement Event Campaign - Campaigns include Roll into Spring, Bike Week, and Bike Winter Fort Collins. • End-of-Trip Facilities — The City has helped install end-of-trip facilities (i.e., on-street bicycle parking) throughout the downtown area. • Collaboration with other City efforts—Transportation Planning works to integrate bicycling into City departments and community initiatives including ClimateWise,the City Wellness program, and the PDT Safety and Wellness Committee. Other encouragement efforts are aimed primarily at school children and are discussed below. School Safety Program Helping children get safely to and from school is an ongoing effort in the community. The City and Poudre School District work closely coordinating school safety efforts. Similar to the overall transportation safety program, a 5 E's approach to school safety is used, as well. Traffic Operations maintains 20 school crossing traffic signals,48 reduced speed limit school zones and over 100 school crosswalks that are repainted each year. Last year, City staff conducted a comprehensive evaluation of all school related traffic control devices, identifying approximately $40,000 in upgrades and new installations required to standardized and update the sign system. Work is now underway implementing those improvements; however, additional funding is needed to complete the improvements. City and Poudre School District staff work together to develop school traffic circulation plans, safe crossing locations, pick-up and drop-off areas, parking restrictions etc., on both public streets and internally on school grounds. The most recent example is the construction of an enhanced pedestrian crossing on Swallow Road at Rocky Mountain High School that was completed in December. This project, which includes curb "bulb outs" and a pedestrian refuge island, was conceived by Traffic Operations,designed by City Engineering and constructed(and funded)by the Poudre School District. The result is a much safer crossing opportunity on Swallow for students at Rocky Mountain High School. This is only one example of the coordination between organizations and the commitment to school safety. Poudre School District has invested $3,368,220 on 56 construction projects since 2000 intended to improve safety for kids accessing the schools within Fort Collins. February 9, 2010 Page 8 As noted above,Police Services puts an emphasis on school zones throughout the City,bringing that Enforcement "E" to the school safety program. Transportation Planning is the lead entity related to Education and Encouragement. Transportation Planning staff coordinate the City's Safe Routes to School Program (SRTS), which utilizes Federal grant money administered by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), as well as local funds to develop safety education and encouragement programs for school children. This work is also coordinated closely with Poudre School District and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition. Specific Safe Routes to School projects include: • 2009-2010 Education Classes The City has contracted with Bicycle Colorado to teach students rules of the road, street crossing safety and other necessary skills to help prevent bicycle,pedestrian,and automotive crashes. Local advocates and volunteers will participate in order to provide teachers for future classes. o -Classes held to date: Bennett IB World School—460 students educated o Remaining Classes .to' be held: Dunn IB World School (410 students), Tavelli Elementary (543 students), McGraw IB World School (470 students), and Lesher Middle School (675 students) • SRTS Website Resources Information and resources are available for parents and students. This includes school area walking and bicycling maps, safety tips, and upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. • PSD Principals Meetings The City SRTS coordinator meets with principals during their annual planning meetings to explain the program,the City's resources,and how to get more parents and students walking and bicycling to school. • Weekly Walking and Bicycling Events These Wednesday events celebrate parents and students who walk or bike to school. The City provides prizes that encourage safe and fun walking and bicycling. Summary Traffic accidents are:costly both economically and emotionally. Thus,there is a desire to make the transportation system in Fort Collins as safe as possible. As noted at a work session in 2009 where staff discussed transportation issues with Council, safety is a high priority. Through a coordinated approach utilizing evaluation of accident data and trends to help focus engineering, enforcement and education efforts, staff is working to improve traffic safety. While the use of accident data has always been a part of these efforts, staff is incorporating a new analysis approach with newly verified data. This new approach includes looking at the details on types of accidents,causes of accidents and also at locations that have an unusually high number of accidents. February 9, 2010 Page 9 This approach will allow staff to better target specific problem areas and types of accidents. It will also let staff better track progress in reducing accidents while striving to improve safety. With the City's partners in the community, such as the Poudre School District, staff will continue to work to provide as safe a transportation system as possible for all users, regardless of mode of travel. ATTACHMENTS 1. PowerPoint presentation ATTACHMENT 1 CITY OF FORT COLLINS TRANSPORTATION SAFETY mill Sc»OOL SPEED LIMIT 20 R4• linLS OOIIRL[0 !OR PCCNIN '21 i ` *IMP City of Fit Collins Fort Collins Compared to Other Cities • 5t" Annual "Allstate America 's Best Drivers Report" • Fort Collins Ranked 2nd in the Nation in 2009 • Top 5 : — Sioux Falls , SD , ( 13 . 5 years between collisions ) — Fort Collins , CO ( 13 . 3 years between collisions) — Chattanooga , TN ( 12 . 7 years between collisions) — Cedar Rapids , IA ( 12 . 6 years between collisions) — Knoxville , TN ( 12 . 3 years between collisions ) City of Fort Collins 1 Traffic Safety Improvement Program Model The 5 E ' s DUCAfION NGINEERING NCOURAGEMENf NFORCEMENf VALUATION 3 Evaluation • Traffic Crash Data — Help Identify City-Wide Crash Patterns and Specific Problem Locations that can be Targeted for Improvement — A Performance Measure to Track Progress on Safety Improvements City of Fort``_ 4 2 Total Crashes , 2006 — 2009 a) 4000 3523 3791 3470 3582 2 3000 U o 2000 L 1000 Z 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year Includes motor vehicle crashes , City of bicycle crashes and pedestrian crashes Fort Collins f� 5 Injury Crashes , 2007 - 2009 a) 400 L 300 282 276 240 U 0 200 L 100 E Z 0 2007 2008 2009 Year Includes motor vehicle crashes, City of bicycle crashes and pedestrian crashes Fit Collins 6 3 Fatal Crashes , 2006 - 2009 a 20 � 11 0 10 6 4 a) 2 M 0 z 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year Includes motor vehicle crashes, City of bicycle crashes and pedestrian crashes Fit Collins f� 7 Fatal Crashes • Despite a declining trend in injury accidents , 2009 produced a record 11 fatal collisions on city roadways — No consistent pattern in the causes of these collisions has been identified — Rather than focus solely on these eleven accidents staff will continue to focus on : • Behaviors • City-Wide Crash Patterns • Specific Problem Locations City of Fort Collins 4 Types of Crashes , 2007 - 2009 Pedestrian Bike 1 % Other 4% 7% Sideswipe 6% Approach Turn 7% Rear End 45% Fixed Obj . 7% Parking 10% Broadside city of 13% Fit Collins 9 Types of Severe Injury/ Fatal Crashes , 2007 = 2009 Other Rear End Pedestrian 6% 11 % 8% Broadside 18% Bike 23% Parking Sideswipe 5% 2% Fixed Obj . Approach Turn ° 15 /o City of 12% Collins 10 5 Bicycle Crashes , 2000 =2009 U) 160 140 113 118 120 �j 100 0 80 60 40 z 20 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year F�t` Collins 11 Bicycle Crashes • 83 % of bicycle crashes occurred at intersections . Most involved right of way violations by motorists and /or bicyclists _ SSs SS _ ry•� f • 36 % of bike crashes involved bikes riding against traffic ( usually from the sidewalk ) City Fort Collins conflicting with cross street vehicles 12 6 Pedestrian Crashes 50 � 42 42 40 � in 34 32 L.U 30 O 20 L a) 10 Z 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year Fort Gown 13 Pedestrian Crashes • Most common type of pedestrian crash (33 % ) involves turning motorists at signalized intersections . Fort Collins 14 7 Broadside Crashes Other Rear End • 63 % of Broadside Pedestrian 6% 11 % 8% Crashes Occurred at Broadside Unsignalized 18% Intersections Bike 23% Parking • 19 % of Broadside Sideswipe____ 5% Crashes Involved Red 2% Fixed Obj. Light Running at Approach Turn 15% 12% Signals `y Wins 15 Fixed Object Crashes Other Re11°End • 4 % of Crashes of All Pedestrian 8% Types Involved Alcohol Broadside ' $°'° • 18 % of Fixed Object Bike 23% Crashes Involved Parking Alcohol 5% Sideswipe 2% Approach Turn 935 % of Serious Injury 12% Fixed Object Crashes Fixed obj . Involved Alcohol 15% 16 8 Approach Turn Crashes Other Rear End Pedestrian 6% 11 % • 73 % of Approach Turn 8% Accidents Occurred at Broadside 18% Signalized Intersections Bike 23% Parking • Confusion at the end of Sideswipe.---- 0 signal phases is a major 2% Fixed Obj. contributing factor 15% Approach Turn 12% FitCollins 17 High Crash Locations • College/Mountain • Timberline/Harmony • College/Drake • Snow Mesa/Harmony • College/Foothills* • Corbett/Harmony • College/Monroe • Shields/Plum* • College/Horsetooth • Shields/Drake • College/Kensington * • Shields/Harmony* • College/Trilby • Mason/Mulberry • Lemay/Lincoln • Taft Hill/Horsetooth • Lemay/Horsetooth • Meldrum/Laurel • Lemay/Harmony* • Worthington/Drake • Lemay/Carpenter Locations marked with an have City of improvement projects completed or Fort Collins planned for completion this year 18 9 Engineering F�t` ns 19 Engineering • Capital Projects Safety considered in prioritization and design along with capacity �- improvement, construction feasibility , environmental impacts and sustainability City of Fort Collins 20 10 Engineering • Low Cost Safety Improvements v r- • Signal modifications , • Visibility Improvements • Improvement of STOP sign visibility $ f • Other signage additions j i" CROSS TRAFFIC � ! a• STOP • Pavement marking changes . DOES NOT , City of Fort Collins 21 Engineering * Street Maintenance * Pavement Management * Snow Removal *Traffic Signal Maintenance Y- * Sign ing/Marking 22 1 1 Engineering • Neighborhood Traffic � t :�il: • Pedestrian Crossings 1 40 •Work Area Traffic Control * School Area Traffic Control City of Fort Lt Collins r� 23 Enforcement City of Fort Collins ``_ 24 12 Enforcement • Concern about "traffic" is a consistent theme in past customer satisfaction surveys • 2006 — Increased emphasis on traffic enforcement throughout Police Services agency `y Collins 25 Enforcement • Police Services Traffic Unit was expanded from 3 officers and one Camera Radar operator to current staffing of 5 officers and 3 Camera Radar operators • A strategy of high visibility traffic enforcement was pursued by FCPS as a means of direct enforcement of violators and to deter future violations Fort Collins 26 13 Enforcement 35000 30000 25000 20000 o Total Crashes M Injury Crashes Total Traffic Stops 15000 f Total Citations 10000 5000 4281 4680 4287 4408 0 114 [L355 []316 F1 276 City of t Collins zoos zoo? 2008 Zoos r� 27 Enforcement 20000 18000 16000 14000 m Y 12000 0 C Speeding Tickets 0 10000 ■ All Other Types ZI:t 8000 ❑ Total Tickets 6000 4000 2000 0 City of 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Fort Collins 28 14 Targeting Enforcement Efforts • Police Services employs three primary methods to direct traffic enforcement — Neighborhood Complaints • Received on citizen hotline , officer field contacts , etc . — Officer initiated enforcement • Violations observed during patrol duties , observed problem areas , etc . — Traffic data • Information relayed by Traffic Engineering regarding collision data , speed studies , and citizen complaints . City of Fort Collins 29 Camera Radar / Red Light • Camera radar units deploy primarily in neighborhood complaint areas and officer observed problem areas • 30 mph speed compliance tracked as a component of Camera Radar — Data shows compliance with neighborhood speed limits is improving City of Fort Collins ``_ 30 15 30 MPH Speed Limit Compliance so 50 m 40 Om 30 E 0 20 0 Rll 10 0 Ir -1 - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 City of Fort Collins 31 School Zone Enforcement • School Zone enforcement is a Traffic Unit priority , and supplemented by patrol officers as call load allows — 48 school zones are located within city limits , at least half are active 3 times a day — 5 Traffic Unit officers have responsibility for enforcement of these zones , as well as the full 1 , 800 lane miles of roadway within city limits — School zone enforcement also involves neighborhood complaints and officer observations outside of the immediate 20 mph school zone City of Fort Collins 32 16 Education F�t` ns 33 Education * Education is . . . • Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety '' Classes - • Awareness Campaigns ( i . e . Co- Exist posters ) • Sharing Information ( i . e . FC Y. 'x " - Bikes and Safe Routes to School websites , collision data ) • Integrated with Encouragement Activities and Events • A Community Solution City of Fort Collins 34 17 Encouragement • Encouragement is . . . • Fun ! : ALsP` � 1 • Year- Round i • Roll into Spring , ; Bike Week , Bike Y Winter Fort Collins , E Bike to School Days z r • Providing End -of-Trip Facilities • On -Street Bike Parking • Collaboration between City , PSD , and City of Community Partners Fort nS 35 Traffic Safety in P o u d re School District POUDAE SCHOOL DISTRICT • 36 18 Overview • 91h largest district in the State • 1 , 856 square miles w • 50 schools t _ - • 24 ,250 students enrolled :. • 9 , 100 students transported each day • 164 buses • 30% of students utilize school of choice district widePOUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT • 37 Process AoIr • 2000 Bond : Carter Burgess traffic study included 12 school sites • Developed traffic improvement committee • Collaboration with other entities • Recommendations fall into 3 tegories : . Construction (physical changes) — Behavioral (Student, Staff, Parent, Community) . Ongoing review of traffic plans at all schools POUDFE SCHOOL DISTRICT • 38 19 Goals • Student safety u Y • Smooth traffic flow • Separation of PSD buses and cars • Integration onto City streets Lambkin way exits out onto Timberline Road in front of Ft. Collins High School POUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT • 39 Results • Construction : — $ 3 ,220 spent since 2000 — construction projects • Behavioral : — Bell Schedule changes District-wide Case-Study: Zach,Fossil Ridge, an inard • Ongoing : — Continued collaboration with City Staff — Safe Routes to Schools — School Crossing Guards POUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT • 40 20 Webber MS/ Johnson Elementary r� ■ J _y Increase width of entry lane for -striped and re-configured parent drop-off Seneca St. POUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT • 41 Lesher Middle School "At Lesher we are very appreciative of the great support -- .r we 've received from PSD facilities and the City of Fort Collins. " Tom Dodd, Principal Lesher Middle School October 6, 2009 POUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT • 42 21 Rocky Mountain High School rr , "Th t two years have been an o nding example of how the City ort Collins and PSD can and do work well together. " Tom Lopez, Principal, RMHS, January 2010 POUDAE SCHOOL DISTRICT 43 Summary • These are just a few examples of the many cooperative projects that PSD and the City of Fort Collins collaborated on . • It is only through these continuing efforts that we can ensure a joint focus o raffic and student safety . - POUDRE SCHOOL DIST 44RICT 44 22