FW_ Speed Zone Investigation Completed on Cascade Hwy South (OR 213)_ for Request 8398

From: Gerald Fisher

Sent: Thu Jul 11 13:00:08 2019

To: Dan Huff; Keith Swigart; Elizabeth Klein; Leota Childress; DeLise Palumbo; Terry Shankle; Jody Newland

Cc: Connie Farrens; Debbie Lumb; Doug Eaglebear; Jacob Giberson; Rae-Lynn Botsford; Steven Deller; Frank Schoenfeld; Mike Penunuri; Chris Long; 'Chief Vince Stafford'

Subject: FW: Speed Zone Investigation Completed on Cascade Hwy South (OR 213), for Request 8398, recommending new order

Importance: Normal

Attachments: 8398_invest_for_jurisdiction_approval.pdf;

All,

So as not to create a public meeting, if you have comments about this please only reply back to Dan Huff and I.

After the results of the Road Safety Audit prepared by ODOT consultants, it gave me the background I needed to prepare and send in a speed reduction request with the support of the Police and Fire Departments. I submitted the speed study on Nov 8, 2018. Eight months later, I received the attached study that only recommended 40 MPH versus my recommendation for 35 MPH. If we are ever going to make a dent in safety along this section of roadway it starts with a speed reduction commensurate with an urban area. Commercial and residential lands adjoin this section of roadway and with 90%+ of our residents commuting out of town for work plus the traffic from commercial sites and through traffic from Silverton to Oregon City and other areas, I continue to struggle as an engineer with the decisions made by ODOT.

Please let me know if and how you all would like to participate and as soon as I hear back from ODOT then I will let you know when the hearing is supposed to take place. Note that I included Rian Windsheimer, Region 1 Manager in my email below because he has at times been a voice of reason at ODOT with those below him when conditions in the field and impacts to our community don’t necessarily align with what fits neatly in the ODOT rule box. Thanks.

Regards,

Gerald Fisher, P.E. | Public Works Director

City of Molalla

117 N Molalla Ave. | PO Box 248 |Molalla, OR 97038

Office: 503.829.6855 | Direct: 503.759.0218

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient and have received this communication in error, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message. Thank you.

From: Gerald Fisher

Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2019 12:43 PM

To: 'ODOT Speed Zoning' <ODOTSpeedZoning@odot.state.or.us>

Cc: 'FREITAG Kathleen M * Kate' <Kathleen.M.FREITAG@odot.state.or.us>; 'PRUSAKIEWICZ Laura' <Laura.PRUSAKIEWICZ@odot.state.or.us>; Rian Windsheimer (ODOT R1) <rian.m.windsheimer@odot.state.or.us>; Dan Huff <dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>

Subject: RE: Speed Zone Investigation Completed on Cascade Hwy South (OR 213), for Request 8398, recommending new order

Sorry, I left out the page. It is on Page 67 of the document sent to the City on Oct 10, 2018. Traffic Volumes (ADT) are 12,500 on OR 213.

Regards,

Gerald Fisher, P.E. | Public Works Director

City of Molalla

117 N Molalla Ave. | PO Box 248 |Molalla, OR 97038

Office: 503.829.6855 | Direct: 503.759.0218

From: Gerald Fisher

Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2019 12:26 PM

To: 'ODOT Speed Zoning' <ODOTSpeedZoning@odot.state.or.us>

Cc: FREITAG Kathleen M * Kate <Kathleen.M.FREITAG@odot.state.or.us>; PRUSAKIEWICZ Laura <Laura.PRUSAKIEWICZ@odot.state.or.us>; Rian Windsheimer (ODOT R1) <rian.m.windsheimer@odot.state.or.us>; Dan Huff <dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>

Subject: RE: Speed Zone Investigation Completed on Cascade Hwy South (OR 213), for Request 8398, recommending new order

Hi Craig and Kathi,

I will have to discuss with my City Council, the Police Department, and the Fire District first, but I don’t agree with only dropping to 40 MPH. Molalla is an urbanized area, an incorporated City in Clackamas County, OR 213 has over 12K vehicles per day as stated in the All Roads Safety Audit on Page XX , OR 213 and Toliver Road is the #2 serious injury accident intersection in Region 1, and traffic with development under construction and coming soon will only increase the problems we have here due to high speeds.

Compare this section to the 35MPH zone in Mulino and the one in Marquam and it makes no sense that ODOT feels that higher speeds in an urban area are OK when they’ve granted lower speed in un-urbanized areas. If you set the speeds higher, drivers will drive faster regardless of what is around them. So you know, we have been documenting all of the accidents along this section of highway since the audit and the accidents continue and we anticipate the frequency and severity of these crashes to increase. I believe the only way to fix this problem is to slow motorists down through our urban area. ODOT is concerned about mobility and moving traffic. The distance that we are requesting the speed reduction in is approximately 5,900 lineal feet. Assuming a green light at the intersection of OR 213/OR 211, the time to drive this stretch of road at 40 MPH is 1 minute 41 seconds. At 35 MPH the time increases to 1 minute 55 seconds. So, I think a delay of 14 seconds of travel time is worth the potential increase in safety that the residents of this community would receive from the slowing of traffic through our town. ODOT and Clackamas County are part of a Drive to Zero campaign. Wouldn’t lowering the speed to 35MPH through a City that has a high accident rate fall in line with the spirit of the Drive to Zero campaign?

Please let me know what the date is for the hearing because I have no doubt that elected officials, representatives from the Police and Fire Departments, and other interested parties will want to weigh in on this decision. Thank you.

Regards,

Gerald Fisher, P.E. | Public Works Director

City of Molalla

117 N Molalla Ave. | PO Box 248 |Molalla, OR 97038

Office: 503.829.6855 | Direct: 503.759.0218

From: CHADWICK Craig W <Craig.W.CHADWICK@odot.state.or.us> On Behalf Of ODOT Speed Zoning

Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2019 8:45 AM

To: Gerald Fisher <gfisher@cityofmolalla.com>

Cc: FREITAG Kathleen M * Kate <Kathleen.M.FREITAG@odot.state.or.us>; PRUSAKIEWICZ Laura <Laura.PRUSAKIEWICZ@odot.state.or.us>

Subject: Speed Zone Investigation Completed on Cascade Hwy South (OR 213), for Request 8398, recommending new order

Speed Zone Investigation Completed on Cascade Hwy South (OR 213), for Request 8398, recommending new order

As you requested, a speed zone investigation has been conducted. A copy of the report indicating the recommended speed zoning is attached.

Please let us know if the speed zone recommendation is acceptable. If you concur, a speed zone order will be issued and a copy will be sent to you. If you do not concur, the matter can be presented at the next hearing held to decide contested speed zones.

Please respond within 30 calendar days to odotspeedzoning@odot.state.or.us.

If you have any questions, please contact us at (503) 986-3609 or (503) 986-3571.

ODOT Speed Zoning

Kathi McConnell, Traffic Investigations Coordinator

Craig Chadwick, Speed Zone Specialist

Traffic-Roadway Section

4040 Fairview Industrial Drive SE, MS 5

Salem, OR 97302-1142

( (503) 986-3609

( (503) 986-3571

Please let us know if we can be of further service!

odotspeedzoning@odot.state.or.us