CITY COUNCIL AGENDA PACKET - Laserfiche WebLink

Application :: Page 2 of 18 Problem Statement: The Pleasanton Police Department (PPD) takes pride in its traffic safety efforts while maintaining safe roadways for residents and visitors alike. Just 45 miles east of San Francisco, Pleasanton is the gateway between the Central Valley and Bay Area. Pleasanton has a current estimated population of over 80k residents with a population rising during the day to an estimated over 100k due to many corporate businesses and headquarters that call Pleasanton home. Pleasanton also has extremely high traffic volume due to being at the crossroads of the I-580 and I-680 freeways with many commuters using City streets to bypass freeway congestion. In addition, Pleasanton itself hosts many special events throughout the year varying from kid-centric family fun to adult friendly brew crawls and wine strolls for residents and visitors. Pleasanton is also home to the Alameda County Fairgrounds, a 270-acre facility hosting the annual Alameda County Fair along with many other well-known events throughout the year which often draws in attendance of over 10k visitors daily. With a rise in traffic and enforcement related issues, PPD has identified key opportunities that would provide significant benefit to the public: General traffic enforcement and education, DUI saturation efforts, and bicycle/Pedestrian safety. All data used in this application was obtained via the use of internal records management apart from OTS rankings. In previous years, PPD had been able to accomplish extraordinary goals in reducing traffic collisions occurring in Pleasanton and, thereby, reduced deaths and injuries because of crashes. However, the current staffing and budgetary constraints have resulted in extreme cuts to the Department’s traffic unit. A direct result of low staffing includes the reduction in the number of Traffic Officer positions from five officers to two officers as well as our current temporary shutdown of the Traffic Unit, to supplement patrol staffing levels. Traffic enforcement efforts made by the Department have dropped drastically while collisions have risen. DUI enforcement is still a key priority for all our officers but with the dependence on the County Jail’s Evidential Breath-Alcohol Testing System the wait times for booking suspects can be excessive and cause great delays in returning officers to the street to continue their DUI enforcement efforts. Between 2021 and 2023, total collisions within the City of Pleasanton increased by 27% and injury collisions increased 65% with fatalities decreasing from two in 2021 zero by end of 2023 Federal Fiscal Year. DUI arrests decreased by approximately 17%, a dramatic change that directly correlates to limited enforcement operations. With significantly less efforts being made around traffic enforcement and education, PPD has seen a 61% decrease in the number of moving citations issued between 2021 to 2023. In 2021 PPD issues 2490 moving violations compared to 976 in 2023. This significant drop in citations issued corresponded to the increase in injury collisions during the same period. The decrease in DUI arrests during the same time also parallels the decrease in enforcement and education. In years past, PPD has participated in several DUI saturations patrols targeting DUI drivers as well as education. Support from NHSTA Office of Traffic Safety would allow PPD to organize these DUI saturation patrols throughout the year (including major holidays and collaborative efforts with neighboring agencies). Bicycle Safety: The City of Pleasanton is a playground for bicycle enthusiast from all over as we have rural roads with rolling hills, and well-maintained dedicated bicycle lanes which makes it geographically attractive for cyclist. To accommodate the increased bicyclist’s presence, the city has started adding green bicycle lanes (Protected bicycle lanes) throughout the city. The City of Pleasanton also draws the attention of local young riders and youth from outside of Pleasanton. We have two concrete skate / bicycle parks, with various ramps and bowl designs. Pleasanton is home to numerous bike paths, trails, and a BMX park. A significant number of our school-age children ride their bicycles to and from home to school. With the city being such an attractive place to cycle and it being so readily available, bicycle enthusiasts are abundant, which brings traffic-related issues and collisions. We are often confronted with bicyclists not Page 204 of 782