The red tape is cut.

And the lumps are on their way.

City Manager Toni Lundgren indicated Tuesday that Manteca is expediting the placement of speed lumps on Daniels Street to address chronic speeding issues.

It is an example of city hall being significantly more responsive to neighborhood concerns than they were two years or so ago when the process to get traffic calming devices in place could take a year or longer.

Lundgren — who was not at the previous council meeting when neighbor after neighbor asked the council to do something about speeding on their street — saw the video.

She contacted engineering, public works, and police to see if a solution could be put in place sooner than later.

The first roadblock actually was removed two weeks ago.

That’s when Mayor Gary Singh asked staff during the meeting if the fact a number of people had spoken before the council during the open comment period for traffic claiming devices could serve as the official request instead of the need to file a formal written  request.

The mayor got an affirmative answer.

The city in recent years has started to keep speed lumps in stock to avoid any delays once it was decided to have them placed on streets.

As such, the city has some of the lumps they will need.

The city will still go through a  thorough process of making sure they are placed in the proper location and that neighbors nearby are made aware of where the city intends to place them.

But reducing the process at the front end and the need to order the devices once a decision is made will shave weeks if not months off the time for the city to get them in place.

It is in stark contrast to what happened on Mission Ridge Drive more than two years when frustrated neighbors felt like getting the city to act was akin to pulling teeth.

“Now we are very proactive,” Mayor Gary Singh said of traffic calming device requests. “When there is an issue we tackle it head on. It’s a credit to the city manager and staff. We are all now on the same page.”

 The speed lumps —  basically four smaller speed humps spaced to allow buses and emergency vehicles to straddle them by going down the middle of the road or toward the side of the road — are already in place on Hacienda Avenue and Walnut Street.

They are the first speed lumps deployed in Manteca.

There are pavement markings alerting motorists to the speed lumps ahead. That is in addition to signage that reads “Speed Lump” and “15 mph”.

There are no stop signs on Hacienda from the traffic signal at Louise Avenue to the four-way stop at Alameda Street. It is a distance of roughly a half mile.

Drivers use the street as a shortcut between Louise Avenue and Center Street as well as Yosemite Avenue,

A similar situation exists on Daniels Street from Fishback Road and Stonum Lane at the street’s intersection with Daniels Street. After that, the next stop sign is at Union Road.

As such, the collector street has morphed into a shortcut for people trying to reach the Costco/Big League Dreams area when the 120 Bypass traffic is backed up or to leapfrog around freeway snarls by going off at Union Road and back on at Airport Way.

 The speed lumps cost $20,000 to install.

Councilman Dave Breitenbucher Tuesday shared that he’s been approached by residents near the Brock Elliott School campus on Daniels Street that have concerns about speeding.

Residents along Hacienda followed the protocols outlined in the Manteca Traffic Calming Program adopted by the council in November 2018.

It involves the following steps:

*a request for a study made by residents.

*developing a traffic calming plan by identifying criteria, determining hotspots, analyzing data, and identifying appropriate traffic calming measures.

*approval process with public participation.

*implementation and evaluation.

If the initial effort doesn’t deliver the desired results a second stage takes place. That involves looking at applicable measures, a community meeting, and then securing department or City Council approval before implementing.

Those involved in the approval process besides impacted neighbors are the fire department, police department, ambulance services, local and regional transit, Manteca Unified School District, public works (garbage, street sweeping, and maintenance), Community Development Department, postal carriers, and delivery services.

Key thresholds have to be met specifically for speed limits and stop signs.

One example for speed limits would be if 85 percent of the driving on a roadway that is not an arterial is traveling at speeds above 32 miles per hour then the street would be eligible for traffic calming.

Examples of thresholds that would be needed for stop signs include if an intersection has a significant number of automobile-pedestrian collisions or a high potential for them to happen, an intersection with a history of correctable traffic collisions, and a series of warrants that must be met to protect the city’s future liability.

Other examples of traffic calming measures include:

*striping designed to narrow lanes and alert drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

*bicycle lanes to promote bicycle use and safety as well as slow down vehicles by making travel lanes narrower.

*Botts Dots with reflective markers to keep drivers on the right side of the road. They are especially useful on curves such as those found on North Powers Avenue.

*speed limit radar displays in conjunction with static speed limit signs in a bid to educate motorists of their speed and to encourage compliance. Deployment includes temporary radar trailers and solar powered speed limit signs.

*increased traffic enforcement. As opposed to other measures it would be impossible to have in place 24/7.

*speed humps across the street that force motorists to slow down in order to cross. They would not be deployed on emergency response routes.

*speed tables that are a flat-topped speed hump of a longer length that can be used on emergency response routes.

*raised crosswalks that provide pedestrians with a sidewalk level street crossing. The raised crosswalks function as a speed hump of sorts while making pedestrians more visible to approaching motorists.

Other traffic calming devices include bulb outs, pedestrian islands, traffic circles, partial or full closure of streets, and stop signs.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com