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Neighborhood association urges 20 mph limit, active beacons and traffic-calming on Verta corridor
Summary
Residents and the Greater Northeast Keizer Neighborhood Association asked the multimodal safety committee to lower the speed limit on the Verta corridor from 25 to 20 mph, add active school‑zone beacons and deploy intermittent radar trailers; staff said the petition’s wording about shifting data collection requires clarification and staff will work with the neighborhood to redraft it.
Tammy Kuns, speaking for the Greater Northeast Keizer Neighborhood Association, told the multimodal safety committee on July 16 that the neighborhood has documented a surge in traffic and reckless driving around the Verta corridor and near Claggett Creek Park and that families and students feel vulnerable crossing and walking in the area. "We strongly support the recommendation by traffic committee to reduce the speed limit on Verta from 25 to 20," Kuns said, and asked the city to "implement a 20 mile speed per hour limit, establish active school zone signage" and deploy mobile radar trailers as a visible, intermittent calming measure.
Jacqueline Green, also representing the association, read a formal letter that urged both short-term and procedural reforms: reduced speed thresholds to trigger neighborhood traffic management actions, expanded petition rights so renters can sign petitions, simplified application forms, and a small baseline fund for quick, temporary traffic-calming measures. "Historically, many municipal NTMP processes have restricted petition signature strictly to property owners," Green said, arguing that renters experience traffic-safety harms firsthand and should be able to participate in petitions.
Committee members pressed for a clarification of one line in the association’s letter that asked to “shift the responsibility of technical traffic data collection such as speed and volume studies from resident volunteers to the city's staff.” Council liaison and staff said the request as written sounded like a change in who conducts official surveys; petitioners said their intent was to request easier access to the survey results and other technical data, not that residents be relieved of all participatory roles. Blaylock (public works staff) said she would ask the association to revise the language. "Terminology can be fixed, and I will have them work on an updated one, specifically requesting access to the data," Kuns agreed.
The committee also discussed equipment options. A staff member said the council had previously considered dynamic radar speed signs for the corridor; members exchanged recollections of unit cost. One staff speaker estimated the signs at about $12,000 per unit, while another said the figure could be closer to $8,000 each; staff said they would confirm and circulate firm pricing. Members noted solar‑powered units can be configured to limit battery drain and that some units are not tied to school‑hour flashing by default. "If it could be set to just during those times, it would kick on a separate one," the chair said; staff responded they would investigate availability and configurations for school‑time activation.
Next steps: Blaylock and staff said they will work with the association to redraft the petition language to clarify whether the request seeks data access or a change in who conducts official speed/volume studies, and staff will provide firm cost figures for dynamic signs. The association asked staff to route copies of their data and materials through Don (staff) so the committee can review them at an upcoming meeting.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the neighborhood’s requests at the July 16 meeting; staff will return with clarified language and cost estimates for committee review.
