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Council approves stop signs and a Wisteria speed-limit change after debate over process and resident petitions
Summary
Council approved new stop signs on Gramercy intersections and a 25 mph speed-limit sign for Wisteria Road after discussion about petition processes, traffic studies and notice to residents when petitions are denied.
The Atlantic City Council approved ordinances on Sept. 17 to add stop-control signs at several Gramercy Avenue intersections and to set a 25 mph speed limit on Wisteria Road. The items prompted extended discussion about the city's process for evaluating resident petitions for traffic-calming measures, including speed humps, and whether petitioners receive formal written notice when their requests are denied.
Council members and staff described the process used to evaluate requests: traffic studies are performed in the field, police and engineering staff make recommendations and state rules allow more expedited controls within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds or community centers. "Every stop sign request we get, we do a study. Folks go in the field and based on the field that the study that's done, that's we come up with, recommendation to city council as to whether to, approve it or not," a city director told the council.
Councilwoman Laca and others recounted a resident petition for speed humps on a 600 block of Wisteria Road and asked why the petition was resolved with a speed-limit sign recommendation instead of humps. City staff said the available mitigation that met technical criteria in that location was a posted speed limit; when a request is within a larger street-rehabilitation project, engineering consultants working on the project can perform the study more quickly and funding for certain measures can be covered by the project budget.
Council members suggested a process improvement: if a resident petition is investigated and the request cannot be granted, the resident should receive formal notice explaining the decision and alternatives. One councilor said he would propose an ordinance amendment to require formal notification to petitioners.
Implementation: Several ordinances authorizing stop controls and the Wisteria speed-change were adopted (roll-call votes recorded in the meeting transcript). The council also discussed amending process rules to require written notice to petitioners when a traffic-calming request is denied.
