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II. PROGRAM GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES

Program Goal: The goal of the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) is to establish procedures and techniques to promote community and neighborhood livability by mitigating the negative aspects of automobile traffic in the city's neighborhoods.

Objectives:
The overall objectives for the NTMP are derived from existing city policy. They are:

Policies:
The following policies are established as part of the NTMP:

  1. Streets eligible for the City of Santa Fe's Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NMTP) must be publicly dedicated and maintained streets located within the City of Santa Fe.

  2. Prinicipal arterials as designated on the City of Santa Fe Functional Road Classification (FRC) Map are not eligible for the NTMP. Roads classified as locals, collectors or minor arterials are eligible for the program.

  3. Through traffic shall be routed to major roadways such as principal and minor arterials as designated on the City of Santa Fe FRC Map.

  4. Some traffic may be rerouted from one local residential street to another as a result of an NTMP project. Traffic rerouting can occur due to the implementation of such devices as divertors, cul-de-sacs, or partial road closures. The amount of rerouted traffic that is acceptable will be defined on a project-by-project basis by the Citizen Traffic Committee for that project and city staff. Generally, adjacent local streets should not receive an increase of more than 250 vehicles per day or an increase in traffic greater than 50%, whichever is less. If adjacent streets receive higher than acceptable levels of rerouted traffic, additional studies will be undertaken by staff in order to consider possible mitigation of those impacts.

  5. To ensure that essential City services are not compromised, the following guidelines will be followed. Reasonable emergency vehicle access will be preserved, and the appropriate agencies will be asked to review proposed traffic management plans and to comment in writing.
    1. The Citizen Traffic Committee invite a Fire Department staff member to explain the Department's criteria for access to the neighborhood. All NMTP projects must meet the approval of the Fire Department.
    2. Traffic calming devices shall not block access to a fire hydrant as determined by the Fire Department.
    3. On city-designated Emergency Response Routes, speed humps or bumps shall not be used as a matter of public safety. The city and the Citizen Traffic Committee shall work to find other devices or techniques that can achieve the desired level of traffic management.
    4. If a roadway segment is narrowed by a traffic calming device, it must leave travel width adequate for Fire and Solid Waste vehicle access.
    5. A divertor at an intersection must allow for a forty foot turning radius.
    6. If a road is closed and the resulting dead-end segment is more than 150 feet long, the closure must include a Fire Department approved turn-around.
    7. If a project includes a street that is part of an operating regular service transit route, the use of traffic calming devices will be reviewed with the city's Transit Division and the Santa Fe Public School District Transit Department prior to approval.
    8. All streets selected for traffic calming need to be evaluated to determine drainage impacts. These concerns will be reviewed with the Streets and Drainage Division prior to approval.
    9. If a street is a major conduit of storm water and its slope is steep enough that a traffic calming device would deflect storm water out of the public right of way, device(s) will be selected to minimize or eliminate this problem.


  6. The variety of traffic calming devices that shall be employed shall meet objectives in accordance with sound engineering practices. The City of Santa Fe Traffic Division directs the installation of all traffic control devices in compliance with applicable laws and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

  7. Speed humps shall not be used on any street with more than one travel lane in each direction.

  8. Reasonable automobile access will be maintained. Pedestrian, bicycle, and transit access will be enhanced where possible and practical.

  9. Parking removal shall be considered on a project by project basis. It shall be balanced with other needs.

  10. The program shall be implemented according to city codes and related policies within applicable resources. The procedures outlined in this document shall be used.

  11. A survey of the residents and property-owners who were surveyed for initial approval of the traffic management plan may be conducted by city staff after the evaluation period to determine if some aspect of the installation no longer meets the needs of a neighborhood. If 75% of the people surveyed agree that a device or devices no longer meet the needs of the neighborhood, staff will review the performance of these devices and will estimate the cost of mitigating, revising or removing these devices.

  12. If a project meets criteria to be considered for a traffic management and is ranked on the priority list, but is unfunded, a neighborhood association may elect to provide funds for the design and construction of such devices upon approval of the Traffic Division in accordance with city policies and these procedures.

  13. Special events are not eligible for the funding and installation of traffic management devices via this program.

  14. After a project is implemented, if tests indicate hazards which had not been forseen, the installation may be revised or removed at any time at the discretion of the Traffic Division. The City will not forward a survey in this situation, although notice will be provided to residents in the project area.



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Last update 14 July 2000 - HvH