LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week will discuss new traffic control measures in a residential area where speed limits recently were raised in accordance with state law.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and acting Public Works Director Doug Grider will take the proposal for new roadway striping on 20th Street between Alden Avenue and Hartley Street to the council.
In November, after a public hearing and discussions at two separate meetings, the Lakeport City Council voted to raise the speed limit on 20th Street from 25 to 30 miles per hour, based on a speed survey that the state requires be completed if a jurisdiction intends to enforce speed limits with means such as radar, as Lake County News has reported.
Because of prevailing speeds on the road, the speed limit should have been raised higher, to 35 miles per hour, but traffic engineer Phil Dow was able to roll it back to 30 miles per hour using the limited discretion he has under state law.
Neighborhood residents voiced their opposition to the speed limit increase. In turn, Rasmussen pledged to increase traffic enforcement in the area, with a number of traffic stops reported in that corridor since the speed limit was raised.
“Since the public hearing, the police department has developed a traffic enforcement plan for the area and has released public education materials,” said Rasmussen and Grider in their report. “Additionally, the Police, Community Development, City Engineer and Public Works Departments have met to discuss traffic control measures. Based on our review of the situation, we believe that the most effective and affordable traffic control option is to stripe the street with white fog lines 8 feet out from each curb and add a double yellow center line, including raised traffic dots, which would narrow the travel lanes to approximately 12 feet wide. This is expected to create a visual narrowing effect and cause drivers to reduce speed.”
They said that staffers believe that without the proposed striping, it will be more difficult and take longer to reduce the speeds in the area. That's important, because speed limits are determined based on the 85th percentile speed that's recorded during the speed surveys.
Rasmussen and Grider are asking the council to authorize staff to begin working on the roadway striping project, with costs not to exceed $10,000.
In other business, the council will hold a public hearing to award a bid to Leete Generators in the amount of $65,931 for the procurement of two trailer mounted generators. The action will include authorizing the city manager to sign the purchase contracts, with the fiscal year 2016-17 budget for Fund 601 to be amended in the amount of $65,931.
The council also is expected to authorize an amendment in the Public Works budget's Fund 110 in the amount of $45,000 to correct for an error, and will consider appointing a member to the board of directors for the county's cable access television station.
Also on Tuesday, Grider will present new employees Chris Pion and Larry Meldrum, and Jack Long will make a presentation on a proposed Lakeport sprintboat event.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the regular Lakeport City Council meeting on Nov. 15; Application No. 2016-029 with staff recommendations for the Lady of Guadalupe Walk on December 12, 2016.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
120616 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd