Traffic-calming studies underway in Jersey Village gauge problem areas for speeding and cut-though traffic, including along Village Green Drive.[/caption]
Jersey Village City Council approved a resolution at its Nov. 16 meeting to start the next phase of a traffic-calming study within city limits.
The first phase, completed through September and October, analyzed traffic patterns and identified problem areas in the city. The second phase is intended to further analyze problems and come up with solutions that can be implemented to mitigate them, said Raghu Veturi, project manager with Gunda Corporation, the company hired to conduct the studies.
“We hosted a stakeholder meeting before we began to get an idea of what we needed to focus on,” he said. “Some concerns brought up were speeding, cut-through traffic through neighborhoods, truck traffic on Seattle Street and the Hwy. 290 expansion.”
Gunda collected weekday speed data at 16 locations throughout the city. Speeding problems were identified at areas where people drive at least five miles per hour over the limit on a regular basis.
Eight roadways were identified as having speeding problems, Veturi said, including Village Green Drive, Lakeview Drive, Seattle Street, Congo Lane, Jersey Drive and Rio Grande Street.
“[The study] identifies almost all the streets that are the perceived problem streets,” Jersey Village Mayor Justin Ray said. “I’m glad to see the perception the residents have is backed up by the data.”
Cut-through traffic studies showed entrance and exit points to the city—including Jersey Village Drive, Village Green Drive, Village Drive and Jersey Drive—were being hit the hardest.
Cut-through traffic was measured based on a methodology from the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Veturi said. Traffic volumes were measured at each location and compared to expected traffic as noted in ITE’s Trip Generation Manual.
Using the latest information, Gunda officials accounted for new single-family units and developments to come up with an estimation for total trips.
“The expected number of trips is very approximate,” Veturi said. “For example, a new single-family unit can be estimated to generate about 10 more trips per day.”
Studies showed 37,477 vehicles using the main entrance and points per day, compared to the expected number of trips, estimated at 34,278. The 3,199 vehicle difference is cut-through traffic, Veturi said.
“Typically at an entrance you would consider heavy cut-through traffic to be 20 percent or more,” Gunda’s Traffic Engineering Manager Michael Ereti said. “In Jersey Village, it’s about 8 percent. That’s kind of an acceptable level, but it’s relative. Most traffic is related to Hwy. 290. When that project is completed, you should assume it would get better.”
Gunda officials expect Phase 2 of the study to take roughly two months. Next steps would include presenting determinations to city council, workshopping solutions and coming up with an implementation strategy.
