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HomeMy WebLinkAboutProviding the Administration and Enforcement of the Regulations Governing Traffic upon Public Streets, Establishing Traffic Engineer, A Traffic BureauORDINANCE NO. 32.00 as amended ORDINANCE PROVIDI.NGFOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE REGULATIONS GOVERNING TRAFFIC UPON THE PUBLIC STREETS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND ESTABLISHING A CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER AND SETTING FORTH HIS DUTIES, ALSO ESTABLISHING A TRAFFIC BUREAU AND SETTING FORTH THE MEMBERSHIP AND DUTIES OF SUCH BUREAU AND REPEALING SUCH PARTS OF ORDINANCES THAT MAY BE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH ONLY INSOFAR A S T HE CONFLICT AND SUPPLEMENTING THE TRAFFIC ORDINANCES. BUT IN NO WAY REPEALING THE INTENT OR PURPOSES OF SAID ORDINANCES. BE IT ORDAINED bythe Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana asfollowsr ARTICLE I. Words and Phrases Defined. Section 1. Words and Phrases Defined. -- The following w ords and phrases when used in this ord- inance or any traffic ordinance of t his city shall have the meaning respectively ascribed to them in this article. (a) TRAFFIC AUTHORITY shall mean the city traffic engineer. (b) TRAFFIC BUREAU shall mean the traffic bureau of the police department of this city. (c) PtOLICE DEPARTMENT shall mean the traffic bureau, but shall not be construed to de- prive any authorized police officer of authority to direct traffic and or to make arrests for violations of the traffic regulations. Section 2. (a) Whenever words and phrases used herein are not defined herein but are defined in any traffic ordinance of this city, such definition shall be deemed to apply to such words and phrases used herein. (b) Whenever any cords aid phrases used herein are not defined in any ordinance of this citybut are defined in the State vehicle laws, such definition shall be deemed to apply to such words and phrases used herein. ARTICLE II Administrative Officers Section 3. CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER. (a) The office of the city traffic engineer is hereby established. The city traffic engineer shall be appointed by the mayor and shall exercise the powers and duties as provided in this ordinance a nd in the traffic ordinances of t his city, and shall be responsible to the board of safety. (b) It shall be the general duty of the city traffic engineer to determine the installa- tion and proper timing and maintenance of traffic control devices, to conduct engineering analysis of traffic accidents, and to devise remedial measures, to conduct engineering invest- igation of traffic conditions and to cooperate with other city officials in the development of ways and means to improve traffic conditions, and to carry out the additional powers and duties imposed by ordinances oft his city. Section 4. POLICE ADMINISTRATION (a) There is hereby established in the police department of this city a traffic bureau to be under the control of an officer of -police a ppointed by the board of public safety and directly responsible to the chief of police. (b) It shall be the duty of the traffic bureau with such aid as may be rendered by other members of the police department to enforce street traffic regulations of this city, to make arrests for traffic violations, to investigate accidents and to cooperate with the city traffic engineer and other officers of the city in the administratisn of traffic laws and in develop- ing ways and means to improve traffic conditions, and to carry out these duties specially im- posed upon said division by this ordinance and the traffic ordinances of this city. 1. Section 5. TRAFFIC COMMISSION, its powers and duties. -- (a) There is hereby established a traffic commission to serve without compensation, con- sisting of the city traffic engineer, the chief of the police ddpartment, commanding officer of the traffic bureau, two representatives of the common council, members ofthe board of public safety, and such number of other city officers and representatives of unofficial bodies as may be determined and appointed by the mayor. This chairman of the commission shall be sel- ected by the members of the commission. (b) It shall be the duty of the traffic commission, and to this end it shall have the authority within the limits of the funds at its disposal, to coordinate traffic activities, to supervise the preparation and publication of traffic reports, to receive complaints haveing to do with traffic matters, and. to recommend to the legislative body of this city, to the city traffic engineer, the commanding officer of the traffic bureau and other city officials ways and means for improving traffic conditions and the administration and enforcement of traf- fic regulations. (o) Jurisdiction of the traffic commission shall be advisory only and nothing in t his ordinance shall be construed to deprive any official or board of its powers and duties conferr- ed by statute or by any ordinance of this city, ARTICLE III Duties of the Traffic Bureau Section 6. DUTY OF TRAFFIC BUREAU. -- It shall be the duty of the traffic bureau and other off- icers of this city to enforce all street traffic laws of this city and all of the state vehicle laws applicable to street traffic in t his city. Officers of said bureau are hereby authorized to direct all traffic in conformance with traffic laws, provided that, in the event of a fire or other emergency, or to expedite traffic or to safeguard pedestrians, officers of tie police or fire departments may direct traffic as conditions may require notwithstanding the provisions of the traffic laws. Section 7. PROCEDURE UPON ARREST (a) Except when authorized or directed under state law to immediately take a person ar- rested for a violation of any of the traffic laws before a magistrate, any police officers, upon making the arrest for violation of the state traffic laws or traffic ordinances of this city, shall take the violator's name, address, operator's license number, and the registration number of the motor vehicle involved, and issue to him in writing on a form provided by the board of safety a notice to answer to the charge against him within 48 hours during business hours and at a place specified in the notice. The officer shall thereupon, and upon giving by the violator of his written promise to answer as specified in the noticd, release him from custody. The arresting officer shall deliver one copy of such notice to the commanding officer of the traffic bureau and one copy to the clerk of the city court. (b) Whenever any motor vehicle without driver if found parked -or stopped in. violation of any of the restrictions imposed by ordinance of this city or by state law, the officer find- ing such vehicle shall take its registration number and may take any other information display- ed on the vehicle which may identify its user, and shall comspicuously affix to such vehicle a notice in writing, on a form provided by the board of safety, for the driver to answer to the charge against him within 48 hours during the hours and at a place specified in the notice. The officer shall deliver one copy of such notice to the commanding officer of the traffic bureau and one copy to the clerk of the city court. Section 8. RECORDS OF TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS. (a ) The traffic bureau shall keep a, record of all violations of the traffic ordinances of this city or of the state vehicle laws of which any person has been charged, together with a record of the final disposition of all such alleged offenses. Such record shall kecso,mai.is-_>r:.';` twined as to whow all types of violations and the total of each. Said records shall accumulate until a five -year period is covered and from that time on the record shall be maintained complete for the most recent five -year period. •(b) All such records and reports shall be available for use and study by the city traffic engineer. 2. Section 9. POLICE TO INVESTIGATE ACCIDENTS AND RECEIVE ADCIDENT REPORTS. (a) It shall be the duty of the traffic bureau to investigate traffic accidents andto arrest and obtain prosecution of those persons guilty of violations of law causing or con- tributing to such accidents. (b) Said bureau shall maintain a suitable system of filing traffic accident reports. Accident reports or cards referring to them shall be filed alphabetically by location. Such reports shall be available for the use and information of the city traffic engineer. (c) Whenever the accidents at any particular location become numerous, said bureau shall cooperate with the city traffic engineer in conducting studies of such accidents and such loc- ations and determining remedial measures. (d) Said bureau shall receive and properly file all accident reports made to it under state law or under any ordinance of this city, but all such accident reports shall be for the confidential use of the police department and the city traffic engineer, and. no such report shall be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding other than upon request of any person making such report or upon request of the court having jurisdiction to prove a compliance with the laws requiring the making of any such report. Section 10. TRAFFIC BUREAU TO KEEP AND USE A DRIVER FILE (a) The traffic bureau shall maintain a suitable record of all traffic accidents, warnings, arrests, convictions, and complaints, in which the same shall be filed alphabetically under the name of the driver concerned. (b) Said bureau shall study the cases of all the drivers charged with frequent of serious violations of the traffic laws or frequently involved in traffic accidents or any serious acci- dent, and shall attempt to discover the reasons therefor, and shall take whatever steps are law- ful and reasonable to prevent the same or have the operator's licenses of such persons suspend- ed or revoked. (c) Said records shall accumulate until a five -year period is covered and thereafter such records shall be maintained complete for the most recent five -year period. Section 11, TRAFFIC BUREAU TO SUBMIT ANNUAL TRAFFIC SAFETY REPORT. The traffic division shall annually prepare a traffic report to contain information on traffic matters inthis city as follows: 1. The number of traffic accidents, the number of persons killed or injured and. other pertinent traffic accident data; 2. The number of traffic accidents investigated, the number of drivers with bad records interrogated, and other pertinent data on the safety activity of the police; 3. The plans and recommendations of the division for future traffic law enforcement act- ivities. Section 12, TRAFFIC BUREAU TO DESIGNATE PENNANTS FOR FT?MERAL PROCESSIONS. The traffic bureau shall designate a type of pennant to be displayed to identify the vehicles in furneral processions. ARTICLE IV Duties of City Traffic Engineer. Section 13, OFFICIAL TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES. (a) The city traffic engineer shall place and maintain traffic control devices when and as required under the traffic ordinances of this city to make effective the provisions of said ordinances, and may place and maintain such additional traffic control devices as he may deem necessary to regulate traffic under the traffic ordinances of this city or under state law, or to guide or warn the operators of vehicles and or pedestrians. (b) All traffic control devices shall conform insofar as practicable to the manual and specifications most recentliy promulgated by the National Conference on Street and Highway Safe- ty, and resolutions adopted by the common council of this city. All traffic control devices so erected and not inconsistent with the provisions of state law or this ordinance shall be official traffic control devices. 3. Section 14. CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER TO DESIGNATE CROSSWALKS, ESTABLISH SAFETY ZONES, AND MARK TRAFFIC LANES -- The city traffic engineer is hereby authorized:' 1. To designate and maintain, by appropriate devices, marks or lines upon the surface of the roadway, crosswalks at intersections where in his opinion there is particular danger to pedestrians crossing the roadway, and at such other places as he may deem nedessary; 2. To establish safety zones of such kind and character and at such places as may deem necessary for the protection of pedestrians; 3. To mark lanes for traffic on state pavements at such places as he may deem advisable, consistent with the traffic ordinances of this city. Section 15. CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER TO MIRK NO LEFT TURNS AND PLACE MARKERS INDICATING METHOD OF TURNS. -- (a) The City traffic engineer is hereby authorized to determine those intersections at which drivers of vehicles shall not make a right, left, or "U" turn, and shall place proper signs at such intersections. (b) The city traffic engineer is authorized to place markers buttons, or signs with in or adjacdnt to intersections indicating the course to be traveled by vehicles turning at such in- tersections, and such course to be traveled as so indicated may conform to or be otherwise then that prescribed by law or ordinance. Section 16. CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER TO DESIGNATE DISTANCES WHERE PARKING WOULD BE HAZARDOUS OR DELAY TRAFFIC.— city traffic engineer is hereby authorized to determine and designate by proper signs distances not exceeding 100 feet at places where the stopping or parking of veh- icles would create an especially hazardous condition or would cause unusual delay to traffic. Section 17, EMERGENCY AND EXPERIMENTAL REGULATIONS.- - (a) The city traffic engineer, by and with the approval of the commanding officer of the traffic bureau, is hereby authorized and empowered to make regulations necessary to make effec- tive and provisions of the traffic ordinances of this city and to make and enforce temporary regulations to cover emergencies or special conditions. (b) The city traffic engineer, by and with the approval of the commanding officer of the traffic bureau, may snake temporary rules regulating traffic or test traffic control devices. under actual conditions of traffic. No such experimental rule regulating traffic shall remain in effect for more than 90 days. ARTICLE V Traffic Violations Department Section 24. TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS DEPARTMENT CREATED. -- (a) The judge of the city court is hereby authorized to establish a traffic violations department to assist the court with the clerical work of traffic cases. The department shall be in charge of such person or persons and shall function during such hours as the city judge may designate. (b) The magistrate hearing traffic cases may designate the fines to be , the for first second, and third offenses which may be satisfied by payment of the same at the department, provided said fines are within the limits established as penalties for violations of the pro- visions of the traffic laws and regulations of this city. Section 25. DUTIES OF TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS DEPARTMENT.-- The following duties are hereby imposed upon the traffic violations department: 1. It shall accept fines which may be designated by the court, issue receipts and. re- present in court such violators as are permitted and desire to plead guilty, waive court appearance and give power of attorney. 2. It shall receive and issue receipts for cash bail from the persons who must or wish to be heard in court, enter the time of their appearance on the court docket and notify the arresting officer and witnesses, if any, to be present. 4. 3. It shall keep an easily accessible record of all violations of which each person has been guilty during the preceding 12 months, whether such guilt was established in court or in the traffic violations bureau. 4. If a violator of the restrictions on stopping or parking under traffic ordinances of this city does not a ppear in response to a notice affixed to such motor vehicle within a period of 48 hours, the traffic violations department shall -send to the owner of the motor vehicle to which the notice was affixed a letter informing him of the violation and warning him that he will be hild responsible for the appearance of the offender and that in the event such letter is disregarded for a period of five (5) days a complaint will be filed and a warrant of arrest issued. 5. In the event any person fails to comply with a notice as provided in the preceding paragraph or fails to make appearance pursuant to a summons directing an appearance in the traf- fic violations department, or if any person fails or refuses to deposit bail as provided and within the time permitted by ordinance, the traffic violations department shall forthwith have a complaint entered against such person and secure and issue warrant for his arrest. Such de- partment shall not accept any fine or bail for such persons, but shall consider every such per- son entirely underthe jurisdiction of the court. Section 26. TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS DEPARTMENT TO KEEP RECORDS. -- The traffic violations department shall keep records and submit summerized monthly reports to the judge of the city court of all notices issued and arrests made for violations of the traffic ordinances of this city and of all the fines collected by the traffic violations department or the court, and of the final dis- position or present status of every case of violation of the provisions of the ordinance. Such records shall be so maintained as to show all types of violations and the totals of each. Said records shall be public records. Section 27, FORMS FOR NOTICES OF ARREST OR APPEARANCE. -- The board of Safety shall provide in triplicate serially numbered forms for notifying violators to appear and answer charges of vio- lating the traffic ordinances of this city and or the state traffic laws. Such forms shall be issued to and receipted for by the commanding officer of the traffic bureau or other person act- ing for him, according to serial numbers appearing on such forms. The commanding officer of the traffic bureau shall when necessary distribute such forms for notices of arrest to officers of the police department, who shall sign receipts therefor according to serial number. The command- ing officer of the traffic bureau or other person acting for him shall receive from and receipt for copies of such notices delivered by officers of the police department as provided for by this ordinance, and shall prepare monthly a statement showing by serial numbers the notices issued and the disposal of such notices by all officers of the police department. Such state- ment shall be a public record. All officers of the police department in making arrests for violations of the state traffic laws or traffic ordinances of this city shall issue in writing a notice of violation as provided for by this ordinance, whether the person charged with the violation is held in custody or re- leased. Section 28. CERTIFIED RECORD OF DISPOSAL OF FORMS OF NOTICE TO VIOLATORS. -- The clerk of the city court shall each month report to the board of public safety the number of notices of violations issued by officers of the police department, and the number of such notices presented by persons receiving them either to the traffic violations department or the city court. For this purpose the clerk of the city court shall make use of copies of such notices delivered by police officers as provided for by this ordinance. The report shall be certified as correct by the clerk of the city court and shall be public record. Section 29. EFFECT OF SWORN COMPLAINT.— Whenever any complaint charging a traffic law violation is sworn to by a police officer or other competent person, such complaint shall be accepted as conclusive evidence of the facts alleged therein in the absence of evidence to the contrary. It is the purpose of this section to permit the entering of a judgment upon the basis of a sworn complaint without requiring the appearance or oral testimony of the person so making such com- plaint, where the defendant makes no appearance or pleads guilty. 5. ARTICLE VI Effect of and Short Title of Ordinance Section 30. EFFECT OF ORDINANCE.-- If any part or parts of this ordinance are for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not effect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. Section 31. REPEAL - -All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with or inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed. Section 32. PUBLICATION OF ORDINANCE. -- /The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and cause the same to be published . Section 33. SHORT TITLE.- -This ordinance may be known and cited as the Administrative Traffic Ordinance. Section 34. EFFECTIVE DATE.- -This Ordinance shall take effect from and after March 15, 1937 Guy A. Fish MEMBER OF THE COMMON COUNCIL Passed by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, February 8th, 1937. Presented by me to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana, February 17th, 1937. Approved and signed by the Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana, February 17th, 1937. ATTEST: /s/ Mary B. L. Taylor Clerk APPROVED: /s/ Guy A. Fish President 6. APPROVED:. /s/ George W. Freyermuth Mayor