Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, May 01, 2018
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION NO. 18-054 APPROVING THE INSTALLATION OF STOP SIGNS ON HILLFORD AVENUE AND NESTOR AVENUE AT ABBOTTSON STREET (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
A request was received to install stop signs on Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue at the location where each of these streets intersects with Abbottson Street (Exhibit No. 1). These are “T” intersections that currently have no stop signs. The primary reason for the stop sign request is to improve safety for motorists and pedestrians by making the traffic control at these two intersections consistent with the other “T” intersections in the neighborhood.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
WAIVE further reading and ADOPT Resolution No. 18-054, “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE INSTALLATION OF STOP SIGNS ON NORTHBOUND HILLFORD AVENUE AND NESTOR AVENUE AT THE LOCATION WHERE EACH OF THESE STREETS INTERSECTS WITH ABBOTTSON STREET.”
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III. ALTERNATIVES
1. DENY the request to install stop signs on Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue at Abbottson Street.
2. TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
The intersections of Hillford Avenue at Abbottson Street and Nestor Avenue at Abbottson Street are “T” intersections that are not currently equipped with traffic control (stop signs or yield signs). Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue are two-lane north-south local residential streets that connect with Abbottson Street, which is a two-lane east-west local residential street. These streets are in the neighborhood north of Del Amo Boulevard and east of Central Avenue near Mills Park.
As the intersections of Hillford Avenue at Abbottson Street and Nestor Avenue at Abbottson Street do not have stop signs on any of the approaches to the intersections, the right-of-way rules that are stated in Section 21800 of the California Vehicle Code are applicable to motorists passing through the intersections. Subsection (b)(1) of this Vehicle Code section states, “When two vehicles enter an intersection from different highways at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on his or her immediate right, except that the driver of any vehicle on a terminating highway shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle on the intersecting continuing highway.” This means that drivers approaching Abbottson Street on northbound Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue, which are terminating highways because they do not continue beyond the intersection, must yield to all vehicles on Abbottson Street (eastbound and/or westbound).
While the right-of-way rule from the Vehicle Code is generally acceptable at the intersection of two local residential streets, particularly at “T” intersections, it has reportedly created safety issues at these two intersections because the other “T” intersections in the neighborhood have stop signs on the side street. This inconsistency is particularly noticeable because the south ends of Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue, where they intersect with Cyrene Drive, have stop signs.
In addition to the consistency issue, there are constraints at the Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue intersections at Abbottson Street that result in visibility restrictions. The sight distance along Abbottson Street is restricted to the east and west of because of houses, vegetation, walls, and parked vehicles, particularly for motorists approaching the intersection at the legal speed of 25 miles per hour. This situation results in potential safety conflicts that could be alleviated by installing stop signs on the side streets, which would require motorists on Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue to stop before turning onto Abbottson Street. Currently, drivers are not required to stop while approaching these intersections.
The guidelines in the “California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices” (MUTCD, 2012 edition) state that stop signs should be used if engineering judgment indicates that one or more conditions exist. Among the conditions that are listed in the manual that would be appropriate for a stop sign installation at these locations are:
A. Intersection of a less important road with a main road where application of the normal right-of-way rule would not be expected to provide reasonable compliance with the law, and
B. Street entering a through highway or street.
Observations at the intersections of Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue at Abbottson Street and reports from representatives of the neighborhood indicate that both of these scenarios are applicable. Criterion A is applicable because many drivers on Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue turn onto Abbottson Street with only minimal slowing and thereby create conflicts with vehicles and pedestrians on Abbottson Street. Criterion B is applicable because Abbottson Street is a through street that provides access to Central Avenue via Radlett Avenue and Dimondale Drive.
As the right-of-way rule from the Vehicle Code does not provide reasonable compliance with the law and as the visibility constraints at these locations create potential safety risks for motorists and pedestrians, it is recommended that stop signs be installed on northbound Hillford Avenue and Nestor Avenue at their intersections with Abbottson Street. Included in the installation are stop bars (limit lines) and STOP legends that would be painted on the pavement.
The MUTCD also has guidelines for the installation of multi-way stop signs (three-way or four-way stop signs), including such criteria as traffic volumes, pedestrian volumes, and accident statistics. The conditions at these two intersections do not warrant the installation of three-way stop signs.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The cost of installing stop signs and painting the STOP legends and stop bars is approximately $1,000 ($500 per intersection for two intersections). Funds are available in the adopted FY 2017/18 Public Works Sign Maintenance budget in account no. 01-80-840-083-8028.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Aerial Photo. (pg. 4)
2. Resolution No. 18-054. (pg. 5)
Prepared by: Richard Garland, Traffic Engineer