Traffic Engineering

The City Traffic Engineer is responsible for facilitating the safe and efficient flow of pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic throughout the City. The Traffic Engineer deal with transportation planning, design, operations, and maintenance, and coordinates with homeowner associations and other local groups, as well as county, state and federal organizations.

Transportation Planning

From development of the Circulation Element of the City's General Plan to preparation of traffic impact studies for proposed development, the City Traffic Engineer analyzes present and future traffic flow and makes recommendations regarding street widening, traffic signal modifications, work hour restrictions, and other impact mitigation measures. This includes evaluation of onsite circulation, parking, lighting, signing and sight distance.

Design

Construction of new traffic signals, modification of existing traffic signals, signing, striping, pavement and curb markings, and traffic control (detour) plans are examples of the design work performed by City's traffic engineering staff. This also extends to the review of the design plans prepared by developers' engineers for compliance with City standards and requirements. One successful project provided for the replacement of all incandescent traffic signals with light emitting diode (LED) units, which use much less energy. The City obtained a loan from the California Energy Commission to fund the project, and cost savings from the energy reduction will paid back the loan in approximately three years.

Operations

Operations encompasses a wide range of duties performed by traffic engineering staff in the day to day operation of the City's circulation system. Examples include traffic signal timing, operation of traffic signal video detection systems, speed studies on which speed limits are based, and coordination with Caltrans, Sheriff's Department, and other County departments. Another major role is to investigate requests for stop signs, speed humps, improved sight distance, parking restrictions, signing and striping modifications, and many other safety matters. The reports for every collision in the City are reviewed to determine if engineering measures could be implemented to reduce the incidence of similar collisions in the future.

Maintenance

Traffic engineering staff coordinates extensively with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, which provides maintenance of the City's streets, traffic signals, signing, and striping on a contract basis. Permit applications for utility construction, filming, parades, bike rides, and other special events are reviewed for potential traffic and safety impacts and appropriate requirements are identified.