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To amend City Code § 2-428, concerning traffic control, for the purpose of establishing a process for the installation of all-way stop signs.
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THE CITY OF RICHMOND HEREBY ORDAINS:
§ 1. That section 2-428 of the Code of the City of Richmond (2015) be and is hereby amended and reordained as follows:
Sec. 2-428. Traffic control.
(a) The Director of Public Works shall have the power to make rules, regulations and orders relating to traffic, the power for which is conferred to local authorities by the commonwealth motor vehicle code or any other general law of the commonwealth, including the power to make rules, regulations and orders concerning the establishment of signs and signals, and the exclusion from any street or public way of the following:
(1) Parking;
(2) Traffic movement in more than one direction; and
(3) Trucks and other commercial vehicles, except for the purpose of receiving loads or making deliveries. However, such orders, rules and regulations shall not conflict with the laws of the commonwealth or city ordinances. Penalties for the violations of any of such orders, rules or regulations shall be fixed by ordinance.
(b) The Director of Public Works shall make continuing studies of traffic conditions in the city and the approaches thereto, with special reference to prevention of congestion and accidents, the provision of parking facilities and the solution of other problems incident to traffic. In accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, the Director of Public Works shall establish a point system upon which an intersection may become eligible for the installation of all-way stop signs. Any intersection exceeding the threshold number of points established by the Director of Public Works pursuant to regulations issued in accordance with this section shall be eligible for all-way stop signs. To the extent permitted by law, points shall be assigned to an intersection based on the following factors:
(1) The average number of accidents occurring at an intersection on an annual basis;
(2) The volume of pedestrian traffic at an intersection on a daily basis;
(3) The volume of automobile traffic at an intersection on a daily basis;
(4) The difference in volume of traffic between intersecting streets;
(5) The feasibility of installing a traffic signal at an intersection; and
(6) Such conditions as the Director of Public Works may deem necessary, including, but not limited to, an intersection’s proximity to school buildings, fire stations, parks, playgrounds, a bus route, or areas of low visibility.
The director shall report all new regulations to the chief of police.
(c) The council shall not adopt any ordinance regulating traffic or establishing or altering the routes of public transportation systems until the ordinance has been referred to the department of public works for study and its report thereon filed with the city clerk. However, if no such report is filed within 60 days after such reference, the council may proceed to act on such ordinance.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, prior to the authorization of the installation of any bicycle boulevard, the director of public works shall cause a study to be conducted that results in recommendations concerning appropriate traffic measures, if any, for the right-of-way in which the bicycle boulevard is to be installed and shall cause a report containing the results of such study to be delivered to the city clerk, who shall distribute the report to each member of the city council. For purposes of this subsection, the term "bicycle boulevard" means a street that meets the definition of a bicycle boulevard set forth in the most current edition of either the AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials or the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide published by the National Association of City Transportation Officials, regardless of the terminology used by the City to describe that street.
§ 2. This ordinance shall be in force and effect upon adoption.