AgdaPkt 2003-02-10 - Laserfiche WebLink

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4.2 C-) REPORT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From the City Manager February 10, 2003 Subject Stop signs on Northumberland Avenue at Cypress Street. Recommendation Adopt a resolution approving and authorizing installation of stop signs on Northumberland Avenue at its intersection with Cypress Street. Background In November, 2002, residents of Northumberland Avenue and Cypress Street petitioned the City to install stop signs on Northumberland Avenue at Cypress Street. Neither street is currently controlled (no stop signs) at this intersection. A total of 30 residents representing 20 properties near the intersection in question, including all four properties on the corners, signed the petition. The intersection of Northumberland and Cypress has had a reasonably good safety record until recent months. From the beginning of 1996 through the end of 2001, there had been only a single accident recorded there in police accident records. Approximately 2.5 million drivers safely passed through the intersection in that period of time. However, there were two reported collisions in the intersection in the latter half of 2002. Traffic volumes at the intersection do not meet the quantified criterion of Redwood City's local street stop sign policy. At about 1100 vehicles per day, Cypress Street — the busier street - would just qualify under Redwood City policy as the major street (1000 to 4000 vehicles per day required) but Northumberland Avenue would not come close to meeting the criterion for the minor street (at least 900 vehicles per day). Although the traffic statistics do not exceed the quantified eligibility thresholds in the City's local street stop sign policy, staff believes there are circumstances such that the Council could reasonably make a finding that stop signs are warranted on Northumberland Avenue at Cypress Street. In a site visit, staff observed that, given the sight lines that result from a combination of narrow streets and many parked vehicles, the intersection could possibly benefit from stop controls on Northumberland. It is possible that the recent accidents and the many near - misses reported by neighbors result from drivers on both streets not realizing that traffic on the cross street does not stop and failing to behave as is their obligation under the Vehicle Code at an uncontrolled intersection.