Council shifts routine traffic-control authority to city engineer to strengthen design immunity
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Summary
Council approved Ordinance 1077B to give the city engineer authority over routine traffic-control decisions—stop signs, red curbs and crosswalk locations—while retaining the council’s right to overrule decisions by majority vote.
The Lincoln City Council adopted Ordinance 1077B to amend Chapter 10.8, transferring authority for routine traffic-control decisions to the city engineer. Staff framed the proposal as a modernization and liability-management measure: relying on a licensed professional engineer preserves design immunity and supports data-driven traffic decisions.
Staff and the city engineer explained the change is intended for routine, staff-level decisions; councilmembers retain the power to overrule staff by majority vote for actions they feel strongly about. Staff also described plans for informal, cross-departmental coordination (engineering, law enforcement, public works) and suggested an internal traffic-safety staff committee to review recurring concerns.
A short public comment period produced a suggestion to form the staff traffic-safety committee; no member of the public urged denying the ordinance. The council moved and adopted the ordinance by voice vote.
Next steps: staff will document the administrative procedures for the city engineer’s decisions, notify relevant departments, and present any significant traffic changes to the council as needed.
