That the City Council approve Neighborhood "E" Traffic Management Plan and direct staff to proceed with the design and construction of the traffic calming devices as indicated on the Neighborhood "E" Traffic Management Plan.

On June 17, 2019, the City Council approved the development and implementation of traffic management plans for Neighborhoods "E," "C," and "A," as indicated on the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) Priority List Report.  The boundaries of the three neighborhoods are as follows:

The Neighborhood Traffic Committees (Committees) were formed in each respective neighborhood segment to work in collaboration with the City's consultant and City staff to develop traffic-calming plans for their respective neighborhoods. The Committees for Neighborhoods "E," "C," and "A" consisted of volunteer residents who met periodically beginning in March 2020. Due to the COVID pandemic, the Committees met three times over the span of one year to discuss traffic mitigation efforts and to reach consensus for a traffic management plan that would work in their respective neighborhoods.
 

On September 20, 2021, the City Council approved the traffic management plans for Neighborhoods “A” and “C.”  The design plans for these two neighborhoods are currently being prepared; however, the Committee members for Neighborhood "E" were unable to reach a consensus on a plan for that neighborhood at that time.  While there was no consensus achieved for Neighborhood "E" at that time, there was momentum from a few members of the Committee who continued to host “unofficial” neighborhood meetings, with City staff participation, in an effort to find a compromise.  
 

During this time the Committee members continued to solicit resident input, but also reviewed an array of information, such as traffic data and collision history reports, toward the goal of crafting an acceptable draft traffic management plan. The draft plan was shared with stakeholders, including the La Habra School District, La Habra Police Department, the City of La Habra Public Works Department, and Los Angeles County Fire Department, for review and comment.  Stakeholders had no objections or concerns about the draft plan for Neighborhood "E", and stated an appreciation for the opportunity to participate in the review process and provide feedback.

Consistent with the City's process for gauging neighborhood support, in January 2022 Traffic Division staff sent a mailer to all residents from Neighborhood “E" regarding the draft plan.  The mailer included a cover letter, the proposed neighborhood traffic management plan, a description of the traffic-calming devices, and a survey postcard to be completed and returned to the City by each household.  That survey resulted in a response rate of 51% and an approval rate of 85%, both of which satisfy the minimum thresholds for response rate (50%) and approval rate (67%). 

As noted in the Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan, once a traffic-calming plan meets this minimum criteria, it is then presented to the City Council for consideration and approval.  The City Council may approve, modify, or deny the proposed plan at its sole discretion of the Council.  In the event the plan is approved by the City Council, staff will then proceed with design and construction of the traffic-calming project in that neighborhood.

In light of the support for the proposed traffic-calming plan in Neighborhood "E", staff requests the City Council consider and approved the proposed plan and authorize staff to proceed with the design and construction of traffic-calming devices as indicated on the Plan (Attachment A).  Notices have been sent to the residents of Neighborhood "E" notifying them about the date, time, and location at which the City Council will consider this matter. 

Final approval of the costs associated with the proposed Plan will be brought back to City Council for consideration at a future meeting once the project is bid out for construction.

This project is included in the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Capital Improvement Program with a budget of $150,000, which should be sufficient to complete the proposed traffic-calming measures in Neighborhood “E"; therefore, no additional funding is being requested at this time.