Residents press Keizer committee for action as speed study finds Verda Lane volumes below project threshold

Residents from Verda Lane and nearby streets told the Keizer Traffic Safety, Bikeways & Pedestrian Committee on Jan. 16 that traffic volumes and speeding have increased and that pedestrian safety has deteriorated since nearby apartment construction.

Lisa Barker and Robert Barker, who live north of the roundabout on Verda Lane, described frequent high speeds, sight-line problems around curves and a rise in truck traffic. “People fly down that street,” Lisa Barker said. She and other residents urged the committee to pursue speed humps or other calming measures.

Angela Clark, who lives on Verda Lane with an 11‑year‑old son, said the street “feels like a thoroughfare” and that families avoid letting children play in the street. “It doesn't feel safe,” Clark said.

Janine Kidd, whose complaint prompted a Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan (NTMP) request for Park Meadow Drive, said staff had scheduled speed-recording devices and that she expected the committee to evaluate results at the next meeting.

Officer Powell presented findings from a speed study conducted about a year earlier. He said the study recorded average daily volumes in the range of approximately 150–300 vehicles per day on the sampled segments and that the 50th‑percentile (median) speed was about 26.5 mph, with the 80th percentile just under 31 mph. The committee’s project-qualification thresholds include both a volume threshold (about 800 vehicles per day) and a percentile threshold (typically requiring the 50th percentile to be within 5 mph of the posted limit). Based on the older data, Officer Powell said Verda Lane did not meet the committee’s formal thresholds for an engineering project.

“That study is a year old,” Officer Powell acknowledged; he offered to re-deploy monitoring equipment and suggested capturing two weeks of data, possibly after the Park Meadow instruments are rotated, to see whether apartment occupancy has increased traffic enough to change the result.

Committee discussion weighed options beyond an engineering project. Members and residents suggested: - Installing speed humps (several speakers and committee members said speed humps are preferable to small “speed bumps”). - Deploying portable solar speed-display signs to remind drivers of posted speed. - Adjusting posted speed limits in some residential corridors. - Targeted enforcement by Keizer police, where staffing permits.

Committee members noted practical limits: speed humps require funding and city engineering; enforcement is contingent on police staffing; and posted-speed reviews require formal city engineering studies.

Although residents pressed for immediate action, the committee did not adopt a new engineering project at the meeting. Officer Powell said he would consider collecting updated traffic counts; the committee agreed to keep the matter on the agenda for follow-up and to explore interim countermeasures (portable speed displays, targeted enforcement, neighborhood parking strategies). The Park Meadow NTMP instrumentation is expected to produce data the committee can evaluate by its next meeting.

Why it matters: The discussion combined residents’ safety concerns — especially for older residents and those who must cross Verda Lane to retrieve mail — with the committee’s procedural thresholds for funding and engineering. The committee balanced immediate neighborhood pressure with its formal criteria for moving a project into the city’s capital program.

Next steps: Officer Powell may reposition speed-recording equipment to provide updated counts; staff will present updated NTMP data and the committee will consider interim devices and budget advocacy for traffic-calming if data support engineering.