Commission recommends city council approve Las Casitas Drive traffic-calming plan

The Traffic and Transportation Commission voted to recommend that the Salinas City Council approve a neighborhood traffic-calming plan for Las Casitas Drive that would install three speed cushions between Ranchero (the school driveway) and Ryder Avenue.

The plan matters because staff said Las Casitas Drive ranked highest on the city—s traffic-calming prioritization list for fiscal year 2024—25 and met the neighborhood-support thresholds required by policy. "The neighborhood met the support required criteria by the policy," staff told the commission, and staff recommended the council approve the plan for implementation.

Staff described the basis for the recommendation: engineers scored the street under the city—s prioritization criteria (volume, speed, land use, roadway geometry and collision history as amended by a 2017 council resolution). Data collected showed 80th-percentile speeds near the school reached as high as 40 miles per hour on a 25 mph street; staff reported five collisions in the prior three years, two involving pedestrians or bicycles. The neighborhood submitted 25 ballots of 48 households (a 52% return rate), and all returned ballots were in favor, meeting the city—s two-part threshold (50% return and 67% in favor). Staff estimated the project cost at $32,300 and said funds are available in the traffic-calming CIP (CIP 9163) and the adopted FY24—25 program budget of $200,000.

Commissioners asked staff about design details and effectiveness. Commissioner Hammer asked whether the cushions would be effective and staff replied that the policy—s spacing and engineering formula are intended to reduce speeds when cushions are placed per that guidance. After public comment and discussion, a motion to recommend council approval passed on roll call with all commissioners present voting yes.

Implementation next steps are for the commission—s recommendation to be transmitted to the city council for final approval and allocation from the CIP. If council approves, staff would schedule installation per the department—s implementation procedures and existing project budget.

Less-critical details: staff said the traffic-calming program follows a four-phase process (plan initiation, plan development with residents, plan-support voting, and implementation). The plan-development and voting materials included a ballot package and a prepaid envelope for residents to return votes.