By Linda Taaffe

The Los Altos City Council approved a traffic-calming study last week that will mean adding a series of physical interruptions along El Monte Road intended to narrow the street and slow traffic.

The 5-to-10-year plan that TJKM Transportation Consultants recommended calls for the addition of two traffic circles, two chicanes, a speed table and one raised intersection, median and roundabout along a 1.5-mile stretch of El Monte from Springer Road to Foothill Expressway.

The council is scheduled to consider next week whether to use temporary rubberized improvements or to construct permanent asphalt and concrete ones. The temporary structures bolt into place and may be moved to different locations. They would cost the city considerably less than similar permanent structures, but would not be as aesthetic, according to the traffic report. The temporary improvements would cost about $23,000 to implement. The permanent plan would cost about $878,000.

The council tentatively agreed to install a permanent raised crosswalk at the back of Almond School and temporary speed tables and chicanes at various locations along El Monte.

“We need to convince motorists that they shouldn’t be going 50 mph there,” said consultant Gary Kruger. “If we add physical things in the roadway, that will force drivers to drive more slowly.”

Chicanes, or curbs that extend into the road causing the street to serpentine slightly, will slow traffic down to 25 mph, according the the traffic study.

The Santa Clara County Fire Department, although supportive of traffic-calming measures, expressed concerns with the original proposals. Kruger said the updated plan could slow emergency response vehicles by about 45 seconds.

The council has been working on an El Monte traffic calming plan that would allow police to use radar without causing traffic to divert to other streets for more than a year.

El Monte is one of a handful of city streets where, under state law, police cannot legally use radar to enforce speeding, unless the city raises the posted speed limit to within 5 mph of what 85 percent of the motorists on the road travel. A city speed survey showed that 85 percent of the motorists on El Monte drive at 34 mph. This means the city would have to increase the street’s speed limit from 25 mph to 30 mph in order to use radar.

The additions and interruptions would enable the city to reclassify the street as residential, which would designate it eligible for radar enforcement, under state law. It is currently classified as a thoroughfare because it is more than 40 feet wide and uninterrupted for more than a half mile in some stretches.

The council last week asked city staff to develop a citywide traffic policy based on the El Monte plan.

The city is also investigating whether a recent law change will allow police to use radar on El Monte prior to implementing any traffic calming measures.