Larkspur is exploring ways to thin traffic congestion and discourage speeding.

The City Council discussed the issue at its meeting on Nov. 20 and directed staff to develop a traffic calming policy. The effort could lead to guidelines for installing speed bumps, signs and curb modifications.

“It’s basically looking at measures on the streets to curb some of the bad behaviors of vehicles and overall make the street better for all users,” said Julian Skinner, the city’s public works director.

Skinner said the public works staff frequently receives complaints regarding traffic volume and speed.

Under current practice, the city engineer responds to requests for traffic calming measures and decides whether the issue meets the threshold to bring to the council for consideration. The engineer can approve sign and striping alterations, but changes to the street require council approval.

The city has not constructed traffic calming measures because neighborhoods have not indicated a consensus on them, according to a staff report by Skinner. Measures such as curbs or speed bumps can have unintended consequences, such as an increase in traffic noise and impediments to emergency vehicles, Skinner said.

“One of the things where we get kind of stuck is when the disagreements start in the neighborhoods and we have no boundaries, guidelines or policies which constitutes sufficient consensus to move forward,” City Manager Dan Schwarz said.

Mayor Scot Candell said he supports residents advocating for safety modifications in their neighborhoods.

“They should be the people who have the decisionmaking ability to say whether they want it in their neighborhood or not,” Candell said.

Several cities and towns in Marin have traffic calming policies. Mill Valley and San Anselmo have identical requirements, according to Skinner’s report.

The policies are limited to residential streets and surroundings that connect to major streets. For the changes to be considered, at least 50% of an affected neighborhood is required to support traffic calming measures before they are studied. With a minimum of half of the neighborhood voting, the changes must meet a 60% support threshold before a proposal can be brought to the council for review.

Marin County has a policy in which speeding, accident history and school proximity are reviewed for street bumps to be considered, according to Skinner’s report. At least seven neighbors must request a bump, and at least 67% residents in the area must approve it. Residents are required to pay for the speed bumps.