HERONDO AND MONTEREY

LEFT AND RIGHT TURN RESTRICTIONS

Recommendation:

It is recommended that the City Council retain the existing turn restrictions at the subject intersection.

Background:

On March 24, 1998, after hearing testimony from concerned residents of Monterey, Council directed staff to place turn restrictive signing for "NO RIGHT TURN" from westbound Herondo onto Monterey and "NO LEFT TURN" from eastbound Herondo onto Monterey between 7 AM to 9 AM except weekends and holidays with no PM restrictions. This action was taken to mitigate traffic intrusion on Monterey between 7 AM and 9 AM.

On June 26, 1998, the signs were installed. The Police Department immediately began the period of warning to violators before citations were issued. Shortly after the warning period, the Police Department began to issue citations to violators.

Analysis:

Officers monitored Herondo and Monterey during the month of June on a daily basis. It was estimated that approximately 500 warnings were issued to motorists that violated the posted no turn signs. During the month of July, 114 citations were issued to violators. It was discovered that despite the very clear signage at this location and despite the presence of a motor officer standing on the corner, drivers continued to violate the posted signs.

There were many mornings when a patrol car was parked blocking the northbound entrance to Monterey. In addition to ignoring the posted signs, the drivers drove around the parked police car that had been parked to block their entrance onto Monterey. Motor officers at times were pulling over up to 4 cars simultaneously to issue citations. However, as the officer was writing the citations as fast as he could to these four drivers, additional violators continued to make the illegal turns driving past the officer and stopped violators.

During the month of August, 52 citations were issued and during September, 28 citations were issued. The drop in citations was not primarily due to compliance but due to the fact that the motor officers were detailed to school zones in September when school started. As a result, continuance of coverage did not remain constant after school began.

It is apparent that despite the efforts of the City to stop northbound traffic on Monterey during the morning hours, motorists have continued to ignore the posted signs. It is apparent that to date, a significant degree of compliance has not been achieved at this location. During the holiday months of November and December 1998, 20 and 47 citations were issued respectively. Compliance to the signing continues to be violated.

The City Traffic Engineer counted the vehicular traffic at the subject intersection in August 1998. The amount of traffic violating the turn restrictions between 0700 and 0900 was low. They were approximately 10 per hour. Notwithstanding the work that the police did, it appears that motorists still wish to travel along Monterey regardless of the signing.

According to the last CHP SWITRS (State Wide Integrated Traffic Report Survey) the majority of traffic accidents are occurring on Pacific Coast Highway during peak commuter hours. Morning commuters travelling on secondary collector streets haven't been a significant traffic problem. There is no recollection of traffic accidents at Herondo and Monterey resulting from turn violations.

Alternatives:

1. Placement of a physical barrier to restrict movement is still not a guarantee that the drivers will not violate the intent of the barrier. The test barriers at two other City locations have been violated from our field observations. We have observed this at 6th Street west of Pacific Coast Highway and 3rd Street east of Pacific Coast Highway. Drivers do travel around said barriers going the wrong way, on purpose.
2. Returning to status quo by removing the turn restrictions would not be a major negative from a safety standpoint. Accident history has not been a problem at this location. The intrusion to the Monterey residents is the bigger issue.

Conclusions:

None of the mitigations has proven to be totally effective. The retention of the restrictive signing will allow the Police Department to occasionally cite violators and hopefully implant the message that the officers may be there at any time. As such there will be less intrusion along the Monterey corridor that was in effect prior to the signing.

The overall study of neighborhood traffic calming and the study of an 8th Street closure together with the 6th Street closure will have an effect on the Monterey/Herondo operation. Continual monitoring will be done as these other projects evolve. Reports in March 1999 will reflect 8th and 6th Street impacts upon this area.

Fiscal Impact:

If a barrier is placed then the cost could be approximately $2,000. Sign removal could be done with current staff.

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