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1 30 12 Automated Traffic Enforcement_Work Session MaterialsMasterpiece on the Mississippi TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Work Session — January 30, 2012 Automated Traffic Enforcement Vendor Recommendation DATE: January 27, 2012 Dubuque bierd All-America City 1 2007 Attached is the material for the work session on automated traffic enforcement. There will be a presentation by Chief of Police, Mark Dalsing; City Engineer, Gus Psihoyos; and the representative of Redflex Traffic Systems. Michael C. Van Milligen MCVM:sv Attachment cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager Mark Dalsing, Chief of Police THE CITY OF DUB TE MEMORANDUM Masterpiece on the Mississippi January 27, 2012 TO: Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager FR: Mark M. Dalsing Chief of Police RE: Automated Traffic Enforcement Vendor Recommendation INTRODUCTION This memorandum will detail the selection process and vendor recommendation for the City of Dubuque's proposed Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) system. BACKGROUND In the early 2000's, the City of Dubuque and the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) did a grant funded project called "Red Light Running," to study the practicality of a camera system to detect vehicles running red lights. The northbound traffic on John F. Kennedy Rd. at Pennsylvania Avenue was the only monitored intersection. Based on the study it was determined that the reliability and cost of the equipment, combined with staff levels needed to monitor the violations, made the system impractical. The Dubuque Police Department has continued to monitor the developments in technology and quality of these systems since this initial study. Over the past several years, various cities in Iowa have been implementing Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) systems as a means to reduce traffic violations and prevent accidents. These cities include but are not limited to Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Clive, Des Moines, Muscatine, Fort Dodge, Council Bluffs and Sioux City. As these cities developed their systems, the Dubuque Police Department monitored them to see what successes they were having in accident reduction. The Davenport Police Department implemented ATE in 2004. They conducted a study of the year prior to red light cameras being installed and the two years after the lights were installed and reported finding a 60% reduction in accidents caused by running red lights and a 47% reduction in rear end crashes. They also found an 8.5% reduction in personal injury accidents and a 9.5% reduction in total accidents citywide. The Cedar Rapids Police Department implemented ATE in 2010. They compared accidents data from before the cameras were instituted through 2011 and found traffic accidents throughout the City of Cedar Rapids are down 22 %, injury accidents are down 1 19 %, and fatal accidents are down 80 %. Traffic accidents at the monitored intersections are down 12 %, traffic accidents on Interstate 380 are down 76 %, and accidents on Interstate 380 are down 75 %. Traffic accidents in the curves on Interstate 380 are down 82% and injury accidents in the curves are down 87 %. The Des Moines Police Department has had an ATE system active for only six months, but they report an average accident decrease of 33% at the five monitored intersections when compared to the same six month period over the previous four years. An Iowa State University - Center for Transportation Research and Education study entitled "The Effectiveness of Iowa's Automated Red Light Running Enforcement Programs," was submitted in December 2007. This lengthy study addresses the pros and cons of engineering countermeasures, legal challenges, and accident data. The study found cities in Iowa with ATE saw accident decreases ranging from 20 -44% in total accidents, and a 40 -90% decrease in ATE intersections. The entire study can be reviewed at http: / /www.intrans.iastate.edu /reports /rlr- phase2.pdf. Based on such data and the fact that the Mayor and City Council made automated traffic enforcement one of the priorities in September 2011, the Dubuque Police Department, partnering with multiple other City departments, has once again been exploring automated camera systems for the City of Dubuque. Over the next several pages I will review the specific items to consider when developing a plan to reduce red light running. The items include: • Education • Engineering • Enforcement • Evaluation In calendar year 2010 the Dubuque Police Department responded to 2965 accidents, and in 2011 we responded to 2836 accidents. While accidents occur for a variety of reasons, speed, failure to obey traffic control devices (traffic signals, signs) and other intersection related issues are common causes. A Dubuque Police Department study of IDOT crash data was completed for the years 2001 through 2010. The study showed that there were 13,334 accidents in the City of Dubuque that were reported to the IDOT. These accidents resulted in an average property damage of $4,001 per accident, for a total of $53,345,745. More importantly, there were 20 fatal accidents, 160 major injury accidents, and an additional 3,556 accidents with minor /possible injuries. When accidents are reported to the IDOT, a major cause is listed. The major cause is the primary factor the reporting officer believes led to the accident. Of the 13,334 accidents reviewed, 1058 listed driver ran traffic signal as the major cause, 371 showed 2 speed related violations as the major cause, and 2,900 showed failure to maintain control, which is often a speed related violation. Ran traffic signal was also listed as the major cause in 21 of the 160 major injury accidents, and 3 of the 20 fatal accidents. A Dubuque Police Department study of IDOT accident data was also completed for years 2003 to 2010 for accident intersections in Dubuque (Attachment 1). In the study, the top accident intersections were identified for each year. While the specific intersections and ranking of the intersections change over the years, the same intersections routinely show up in each year's statistics. The study also showed that the 10 -15 intersections identified each year also comprise approximately 10% of all of the City's accidents in the given year. With the hundreds of intersections and streets in the city, having one out of every ten accidents occur at ten individual locations is cause for concern. It is with data like this that we encourage and direct our officers to concentrate their enforcement efforts. We encourage and direct our efforts on known problem areas, however there are several shortcomings to this method. First, not all locations are physically designed to allow for traditional observation and enforcement. Multi -lane intersections without adjoining off street spaces for squad cars make observation and enforcement activities very difficult. As an example, the intersection of Dodge & Locust at the foot of the Julien Dubuque Bridge is traditionally one of the top five accident intersections. The lack of off - street observation points and overall traffic congestion makes enforcement very difficult. A second factor is staffing and calls for service. While the department has added additional officers over the past five years, we have also experienced a high level of turnover. As of this memo, we are down seven officers and have four additional officers in training, who are therefore not available to assist in traffic enforcement. This combined with the fact that we experience an increase in calls for service every year, generally results in decreased time available for extra traffic enforcement. The Safe Community Task Force made increased traffic enforcement a recommendation to the City Council. Despite staffing and call issues, the department responded and had a major increase in traffic enforcement. While we hope the increase in enforcement had a positive impact on traffic safety, we also recognize the fact that enforcement time is limited and we cannot begin to cover the multitude of intersections and streets in the City. Additionally, traffic is moving 24 hours a day in the City and it is impossible to try and watch each and every intersection and roadway at all times to prevent violations and accidents. This is where automated enforcement can assist the City. Automated enforcement can monitor intersections and roadways at all times, and enforcement action can be taken on violators at a later time. Just as important as enforcement, is driver awareness and education. A well publicized traffic camera campaign, as well as obvious signage for enforcement zones, will hopefully contribute to better driving habits. 3 The locations for any ATE system implementation would be a joint decision made by the City and the vendor. The Police Department and Engineering would provide the primary input, which would include accident data, enforcement limitations, roadway /intersections specification, traffic volume, etc. The vendor would also conduct its own research into proposed areas and would look at the factors such as infrastructure to support the system, violator counts and other details that would support installation of a system. We also propose that enforcement data in ATE areas be available for public review and that accident data both in ATE areas and citywide be regularly analyzed and available for public review. ENGINEERING (Contributed by the City of Dubuque Engineering Department) Typically an Engineering Study /Safety Analysis will be conducted at the intersection in question prior to the installation of automated enforcement. This study would document the following parameters: • Signal visibility and signage (including advanced warnings). Ensure the vision triangle is met • Pedestrian signal locations at the intersection • Pavement markings, conditions and treatments • Traffic volumes • Vehicle detection type and location • A diagram of the intersection showing the locations of the traffic signal equipment and phasing • Current signal phase timings, including minimum and maximum green times, yellow clearance times, all red clearance, passage timings and cycle lengths • Posted limits or 85 percentile speed • Intersection geometrics, number of lanes, roadway widths and grades. • Consistency from one signal to the next The City of Dubuque Engineering Department evaluates intersections on a yearly basis for improvements as they relate to safety and congestion. Once an intersection is flagged and a solution is engineered, funding is sought. The City has been successful in acquiring state funding to aid in the construction of improvements. Most of this state funding has come through competitive Clean Air Attainment, Traffic Safety, and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding. Recent examples of safety and congestion improvements include: 1. Northwest Arterial Improvements (2010) • All protected left -turn movements. • Interconnection of all signals via fiber optics for progression. • The addition and lengthening of turn lanes. • Installation of new microwave vehicle detection and advanced detection. 4 2. Pennsylvania Avenue by Hempstead High School • Roadway change from 4- to 3 -lane. • Revised striping. • Addition of a new signalized crosswalk. • Improved school bus egress near signalized crosswalk. • Speed reduction during school arrival /dismissal. • Signals tie into central management system. 3. US 52 at Northwest Arterial • Installation of new vehicle detection. • Conversion of left turns to protected -only. 4. John F. Kennedy Road at Northwest Arterial: Changed to protection -only left turns. 5. Middle Road at Radford Road: Intersection modified to a four -way stop. 6. US 52 (Central Avenue) • Signal improvements in downtown Dubuque from 14th to 32nd Street. • Complete traffic signal reconstruction to update to latest standards and uniformity. 7. US 61/151 at US 52 and Maquoketa Drive (2011/2012) • Improvement of intersection efficiency. • Minimization of pole obstacles in right -of -way. • Installation of advanced senior and remote management. • Installation of new microwave vehicle detection and advanced detection along with remote management. 8. Installations to comply with standard Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) practices. • Battery back -ups. • Pre - emption. • Traffic monitoring cameras. (Provides the capability to see and adjust live traffic and view what occurs prior to an accident.) • Pedestrian countdown signals. 9. Installation of LED lighting to improve intersection visibility. 10. Installation of 12 -inch LED signals that are more defined and brighter. 11. Installation of pedestrian countdown signals as a standard City practice. 12. Installation of advanced flashers • US 52 southbound at Northwest Arterial. 5 • Every first signal on all major corridor points. 13. Installation of optically limited signals heads. (Prevents a signal head from accidentally being viewed from the wrong approach.) 14. Mastarm retrofit projects have been installed at intersections such as Loras at Bluff, Locust, Main, and Iowa. Along Central at 17th 7th and 6th Streets. The goal of this program is to have mastarm standards at all the signals along main corridors in downtown Dubuque. A review is underway to study the use of roundabouts at selected City locations. Roundabouts can offer the following benefits: • 90 %+ reduction in fatalities. • 76% reduction in injuries. • 35% reduction in all crashes. • Greater safety for pedestrians due to lower speeds. • More efficient traffic flow since it reduces the "stacking" effects that occur with traffic signals. • Possible access points closer to the intersections. As part of this ongoing review, the City is also analyzing the potential cost of roundabouts as compared to traditional intersection safety improvements. CITIZEN CONCERNS (ENGINEERING) Citizen input has also provided the following suggestions for intersection safety: • Lengthening the Yellow Clearance Time by One (1) Second The City utilizes the recommendations of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to set clearance timings on traffic signals. Uniformity is a necessity to ensure that motorists know what to expect when they approach a traffic signal. The Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE) suggests "relatively long change intervals encourage motorists to proceed through when they otherwise had an opportunity to stop." The City of Dubuque uses an equation of the ITE to calculate yellow clearance times. The yellow timing is never less than 3 seconds or more than 6 seconds. • Installation of Countdown Pedestrian Signals at All Intersections There are two types of signals (1) pre- timed; and (2) actuated. Pre -timed signals, like those in the Central Business District (CBD) in downtown Dubuque, all run on the same cycle length (1 minute) and do not use vehicle detection. The pedestrian countdown signals also come up in recall with their corresponding phase. This works well in a CBD where there are shorter pedestrian crossings and coordinated routes. 6 Along major roadways, it is much further for a pedestrian to walk to cross the roadway. MUTCD recommends the speed of a pedestrian be assumed at 3.5 feet per second. The distance across the roadway divided by 3.5 feet per second equals the pedestrian clearance time required (the flashing "Don't Walk" time). This time can be to 40 seconds along larger intersections. This is often many times longer than the maximum green time needed for vehicles to cross the same roadway. When this occurs, it takes the intersection out of coordination to allow the pedestrian phase the time needed to cross. After a pedestrian crossing at a larger intersection, such as along US 20 or the Northwest Arterial, the signal typically takes multiple cycles to synchronize back into coordination. The City is planning to ultimately convert all pedestrian signal heads to the count- down style; however, if there is not a pedestrian present to initiate the count -down head (such as at an actuated signal), no count -down clock will be seen. Reliance on pedestrian count -down signals to aid in the awareness of yellow lights would basically put all signals into a pre -timed state and the signals would no longer be reactive to traffic. Thus it would lead to extreme inefficiencies. • Installation of Larger Signal Heads The MUTCD recognizes two sizes of signal heads -8 -inch and 12 -inch. MUTCD states that all new signal installations are to be the 12 -inch style. All signals within the City of Dubuque are currently using the 12 -inch head size. ADDITIONAL CITIZEN CONCERNS Communities with ATE systems have heard citizen concerns about the systems, and Dubuque is no different. Several concerns were brought up and I will try to address them. One of the concerns is the "right to face your accuser." The courts have ruled many times on the admissibility of photos and video. As long as the City can produce information as to the authentication of video /photos through witness testimony and the proper chain of custody of the information, videos and photos have been deemed admissible. Also, the right to "face your accuser" is associated with prosecution in a criminal case. Violations under ATE are not processed as criminal violations. ATE violations across the state are written as civil violations. A concern also tied in with this concept is that some company will be issuing the violations based on its own subjective standards, or a "machine" will automatically issue violations. Most ATE vendors work with cities to determine parameters of what is a violation, and the ATE systems are then programmed to these parameters. The ATE system simply detects violators within these parameters and then stores photos and videos for multiple levels of human review. The vendor then evaluates whether an event constitutes a violation and forwards it to the City for review. The City makes the final determination on all violations. A Dubuque Police Department employee would be the final decision maker on a violation. 7 The proposed process also gives people the right to due process. The violations would be issued as civil infractions with the right to view violations, and an appeal process including the option of trial at the District Court. Some opponents of ATE have questioned the constitutionality of the systems. In all challenges thus far, the Iowa Supreme Court has supported cities' right to use ATE systems. (City of Davenport vs. Seymour). Another concern expressed is the fact that a vehicle's registered owner is given the violation and not the driver. As this is a civil violation and not a criminal violation, the responsibility falls on the registered owner in much the same manner as parking violations, impounded vehicles, and private property /home issues. We do recognize special circumstances may exist, so we propose that any system we use would allow for a vehicle's registered owner to identify and "nominate" the driver and have the infraction redirected to that individual. An awareness campaign would also target leased vehicle providers, although many of them already cover this issue in their contracts. We also propose a widespread education and public awareness campaign including advertising and informational materials for citizens. Because accident prevention and driver awareness are the primary goals of an ATE system, we would also propose that the City's program be very visible. We propose that all intersections or roadways with ATE systems be marked with high - profile signs alerting drivers to the enforcement areas. We would also regularly publish the enforcement locations the City's website and provide media releases about the enforcement locations. REVIEW & RFP PROCESS Members of the Dubuque Police Department traveled to Cedar Rapids and Davenport to review their ATE systems in operation. Additionally several members of City staff attended a large regional meeting with representatives from most of the other cities who have implemented systems. These departments were able to review the capabilities of their systems, provide accident data and also share their learning experiences. The Dubuque Police Department also hosted three vendors who provided attendees an overview on some of the available ATE systems. In order to estimate City expense or potential number of violations, the City recognized the need to receive formal proposals from vendors about implementation of an ATE system. To this end, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was created and released on November 25, 2011. A total of five proposals were received and forwarded to the RFP Review Committee comprised of staff from the Dubuque Police Department, Finance Department, Budget Office, Information Services, Engineering and the City Legal Department. 8 Following initial review of the proposals, the committee met on January 12, 2012 and narrowed the review to two vendors. These final two vendors were invited to Dubuque on January 19, 2012 where they provided product demonstrations and overviews and answered interview questions about their products and services. After the demonstrations and interviews the committee met and recommends the selection of Redflex Traffic Systems to City Council based on the following selection criteria outlined in the RFP: • Experience, Qualifications and Expertise • Capabilities and Resources • Project Understanding and Approach • Pricing • Quality, Thoroughness and Responsiveness of Proposal • References • Geographic Location of your Firm This recommendation was made to City Manager Mike Van Milligen on January 24, 2012 and he concurred with recommending Redflex Traffic Systems to Council. Redflex will also present at the January 30, 2012 work session. If at the conclusion of the work session the City Council does not end the process, City staff will be bringing back to a regular City Council meeting a recommendation for direct negotiation of a contract with Redflex. City staff will also bring back an enabling ordinance for consideration. ACTION REQUESTED This is an informational memo only. No further action requested. 9 ATTACHMENT 1 The Dubuque Police Department continually examines accidents data; however, as a department Technical Accident Investigator, Cpl. Travis Kramer has additional access to Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) accident data and is able to filter the data with Crash Mapping Analysis Tool. In October 2011 I asked Kramer to identify the most accident prone intersections in Dubuque and he provided me with the following information: 2010 1. Dodge / Locust 2. Dodge / Hill 3. JFK / Pennsylvania 4. 20th / White 5. Dodge / University 6T. Dodge / JFK 2009 1. 20th / White 2. Dodge / Wacker 3T. 17th / Central 3T. Arterial / Pennsylvania 5. Arterial / Asbury 2008 1. Dodge / Locust 2. Dodge / Hill 3. JFK / Pennsylvania 4T. Asbury / Holliday 4T. Asbury / Arterial 2007 1. Dodge / Locust 2. JFK / Pennsylvania 3. Asbury / NW Arterial 4. Dodge WB on -ramp / Hill 5. Dodge / NW Arterial 2006 1. JFK / Pennsylvania 2. Dodge / Wacker 3. Dodge / Locust 4. Asbury / NW Arterial 5. Dodge / NW Arterial 6T. 9th / Elm 6T. 9th / Central 6T. 14th / Central 6T. 14th / Iowa 6T. Arterial / Chavenelle 6T. 14th / Central 6T. JFK/ Pennsylvania 8T. Dodge / Locust 8T. Grandview / Loras 8T. Dodge / Cedar Cross 4T. Hillcrest -North / JFK 4T. 17th / Jackson 8T. Asbury / JFK 8T. 20th/ Central 10. 14th / Central 6T. 14th / Central 6T. Dodge / Cedar Cross 6T. Dodge / University 6T. Dodge / Wacker 6T. NW Arterial / Pennsylvania 6T. 20th / Central 6T. Carter / JFK 6T. JFK / Wacker 9T. 17th / Central 9T. NW Arterial / Pennsylvania 10 2005 1. Asbury / NW Arterial 2. Cedar Cross /Dodge Frontage 3. Dodge / Wacker 4T. Dodge / Cedar Cross 4T. Dodge / Locust 6. 14th / White 7T. Dodge / NW Arterial 2004 1. JFK / Pennsylvania 2. 17th / Central 3. Carter / JFK 4. Dodge / Wacker 5. Devon / Dodge 6T. 20th / Central 2003 1. Dodge / Locust 2. Asbury / NW Arterial 3T. Asbury / JFK 3T. Carter / JFK 3T. JFK/ University 6. Iowa / Loras 7T. 17th / Central 7T. Asbury / JFK 7T. 14th / Locust 10T. Carter / JFK 1 OT. Century / Dodge 1 OT. Devon / Dodge 10T. JFK / Pennsylvania 6T. Asbury / JFK 8. Loras / Main 9T. Dodge / Cedar Cross 9T. Dodge / Locust 11T. 20th / Elm 11T. Dodge WB ramp / Grandview 7T. Dodge / Wacker 9T. 20th / White 9T. Dodge / Century 9T. Arterial / Pennsylvania 9T. Hillcrest (South) / JFK 9T. JFK / Wacker 9T. JFK/ Pennsylvania 11