85-19 O - Governing Traffic and Motor Vehicle Operations ORDINANCE NO. .95 - / /
j
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PROSPER, TEXAS , GOVERNING TRAFFIC
AND MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATION; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS ; PROVIDING FOR A
TRAFFIC ADMINISTRATOR; PROVIDING SPEED REGULATIONS ; PROVIDING TRUCK
ROUTES; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY OF
FINE NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF TWO HUNDRED ( $200 .00 ) DOLLARS FOR EACH
OFFENSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PROSPER,
TEXAS :
SECTION 1 . This ordinance shall be known as the Motor
Vehicle and Traffic Code of the City of PROSPER. "
SECTION 2 . Definitions.
In this ordinance :
(a) Alley means any narrow street or minor way used
primarily for vehicular service access to the back
or the side of properties otherwise abutting on a
street and having no legal or official name other
than "alley" .
(b) Bus means every motor vehicle designed for
carrying more than ten ( 10) passengers and used for
the commercial transportation of persons .
(c) Commercial motor vehicle means any motor vehicle
designed or used for the transportation of property ,
not including a passenger bus, passenger automobile ,
motorcycle , panel delivery truck , or pickup truck , but
including any other type truck , tractor , trailer,
semi-trailer, pole trailer or any combination thereof
which has a gross registered carrying capacity of more
than 4 ,000 pounds .
(d) Curb means the lateral lines of a roadway , whether
constructed above grade or not , which are not intended
for vehicular travel.
(e) Divided roadway or highway means a roadway or
highway divided into two roadways by leaving an inter-
vening space or by a physical barrier, or clearly
indicated dividing section between the two roadways.
( f ) Loading zone means a space adjacent to a curb
reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles during the
loading or unloading of passengers or materials.
(g) Median strip means that area or portion of a divided
street, road, or highway within the City separating the
two roadways of said street, road , or highway and shall be
held to include the curb, if any , at the outer edge of said
area.
(h) Mobile home means living quarters equipped or used
for sleeping and eating which may be moved from one
location to another over a public street by being pulled
behind a motor vehicle.
( i) Motor home means living quarters propelled by a
motor vehicle equipped or used for sleeping and eating
which may be moved from one location to another over a
public street not including a camper mounted on a pickup
truck or a van designed to carry ten ( 10) or fewer
passengers.
(j ) Operator means any person in control of a vehicle ,
including a railroad train or vehicle being towed.
(k) Parking ban means certain hours during the day at
which times standing , parking , or stopping of a vehicle
is prohibited along the curb of designated streets as
indicated by signs authorized by the Traffic Administrator.
(1) School traffic zone means an area of a public street
or highway within the City and in the vicinity of a
public or private school and upon which children of
school age walk or cross at certain times of the day on
school days.
(m) Traffic administrator means the person, or his
authorized representative , designated by the City Council
to exercise the powers and duties conferred upon him by
this ordinance as well as by the laws of the State of
Texas vesting powers in local traffic authorities.
SECTION 3 . Traffic Administration
(a) The Mayor has the duty to see that all State laws and City
ordinances are effectively enforced. The Mayor is required to
exercise all powers and duties conferred upon him by ordinances relative
to traffic, as well as all provisions of State law prescribing the
duties of or vesting powers in the local traffic engineering authority.
,lw To relieve the Mayor of the burden of traffic administration,
there is hereby created the office of City Traffic Administrator. The
City Traffic Administrator will be appointed by the City Council upon
the recommendation of the Mayor to exercise personally or by an
authorized representative the powers and duties relative to traffic as
prescribed hereafter in this grdinance .
(b) It shall be the duty of the Traffic Administrator to determine the
installation and proper timing of traffic control devices, to conduct
engineering analysis of traffic accidents , to devise remedial measures,
to conduct engineering investigation of traffic conditions and to
direct other City officials in the development of ways and means to
improve traffic conditions, and to carry out the additional powers
and duties granted by law.
(c) The Traffic Administrator or• his designee , except as otherwise
directed from time to time by the Mayor, shall have power and is
hereby authorized to install and maintain traffic signals and signs ,
road and highway markings and other traffic control devices indicating
prohibited or limited parking , restricted speed areas, one-way streets ,
truck routes, school traffic zones and other signs or markings
indicating the place and manner of operating or parking vehicles.
(d) The Traffic Administraator or his designee shall also have power•
and is hereby authorized to regulate the movement of pedestrians upon
the streets and sidewalks by the erection or placing of proper signs
or markers indicating the flow of pedestrian traffic.
(e) The Traffic Administrator or his designee shall also have power
and is hereby authorized to designate bus stops and taxi cab stands and
to erect signs prohibiting the parking of vehicles other than buses and
taxi cabs in such stands.
( f) The Traffic Administrator or his designee shall further have power
and is hereby authorized to cause all necessary signs, markers, lights
or other traffic control devices to be erected or placed on any street
or part of a street when he deems such action necessary to correct or
give warning of a hazard and is further empowered to place such
temporary speed limits at a construction site until the completion of
such construction. He is further authorized and directed to determine
fire lanes, to prohibit or limit parking therein and to cause all
necessary signs, markers , or other traffic control devices to be
erected or placed therein.
(g) The Traffic Administrator or his designee is further empowered and
authorized to mark off traffic lanes on streets and parts of streets
indicating and directing the flow of traffic when, in his judgment ,
such action is necessary.
(h) All traffic control signs , signals , and devices shall conform
to the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets
and Highways approved by the State Highway Commission or resolutions
adopted by the City Council , shall be uniform insofar as practicable
as to type and location throughout the City, and shall be official
traffic control devices so long as they are not inconsistent with the
provisions of State law or this ordinance.
SECTION 4 . Police Powers and Duties Relative to Traffic
(a) It shall be the duty of the Police Department to enforce the
traffic regulations of the City and all of the State vehicle laws
applicable to street traffic in the City , to make arrests for traffic
violations, to investigate accidents, to cooperate with other City
111, Departments in the administration of the traffic laws and in developing
ways and means to improve traffic conditions, and to carry out those
duties specially imposed upon the Department by this section and other
traffic ordinances of the City.
(b) The Police Department shall keep a record of all citations for
offenses in violation of this ordinance, other traffic ordinances of
the City, or of the State Motor Vehicle Laws of which any person has
been charged, together with a record of the final disposition of any
such offenses.
(c) Officers of the Police Department who are assigned by the Chief of
Police to such duty are hereby authorized to direct traffic by voice,
low
hand, or signal, in accordance with the traffic laws , provided, however,
that in the event of a fire or other emergency, to expedite traffic or
safeguard pedestrians, officers of the Police or Fire Departments may
direct traffic as conditions require notwithstanding the provisions of
the traffic laws.
(d) A person commits an offense if he intentionally fails or refuses
to comply with the lawful order or direction of a Police Officer or
Fire Department Officer engaged in traffic control duties as provided
herein.
(e) Officers of the Police Department of the City are authorized to
61,410, issue citations for any traffic or parking violations within the City
as provided by law or to arrest and place in custody any operator of a
motor vehicle for violation of this ordinance or any traffic law of the
State of Texas, except where the issuance of a citation is mandatory,
and such officers are further authorized to impound vehicles found in
violation of parking or fire lane regulations or under circumstances
where the removal and impoundment of such vehicles is authorized by
State law.
SECTION 5. Speed Limits
(a) No person shall drive or operate a motor vehicle , motorcycle ,
bicycle, motor driven cycle, motor assisted cycle , or any other
vehicle of any kind upon a public street , highway, parkway, or alley
within the Corporate Limits of the City of Prosper at any speed greater
than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing .
Except as otherwise provided herein, the following are established as
the lawful speed limits of the City and any speed in excess of the
limits so specified and established shall be prima facie evidence that
such speed is not reasonable or prudent and is unlawful , to-wit:
( 1 ) Thirty ( 30) miles per hour in any urban district,
"urban district" meaning the territory contiguous to and
including any highway or street which is built up with
structures devoted to business, industry or dwelling
houses , situated at intervals of less than one hundred
feet ( 100' ) for a distance of one-quarter ( 1/4 ) of a mile
or more on either side;
(2) Fifty-five ( 55) miles per hour on any other highway
outside any urban district , including farm to market
roads.
(b) Upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation, the
City Council hereby alters the maximum prima facie speed limits upon
the following named public streets, highways and alleys of the City,
and determines and declares such speed limits to be reasonable and
safe, having regard to the actual potential hazards , for vehicles
traveling thereon, to-wit:
Street Extent Speed (MPH)
5th Street From McKinney Street Eastward 30 MPH
to the Intersection of Church
5th Street From Parvin Street Eastward to 30 MPH
Craig Street
Broadway From McKinney Street Eastward 30 MPH
to State Hwy 289
First Street From Craig Street Eastward to 30 MPH
State Hwy 289
Coleman Street From 1st Street Northward to 30 MPH
the North City Limits of
Prosper, Texas
Church Street From 1st Street Northward to 30 MPH
the Intersection of 8th Street
Craig Street From 1st Street Northward to 30 MPH
the Intersection of 5th Street
Rhea Mills From FM2478 Westward and South- 30 MPH
Circle ward to the Intersection of
Grindstone Drive ; From Grindstone
Drive Southward and Eastward Back
to FM2478 to Complete a Circle
Grindstone Dr. From Rhea Mills Circle Westward 30 MPH
to the Dead-end at Rhea Mills
Circle
(c) A person commits. an offense if he operates a vehicle on any public
street or highway named in this section at a speed greater than that
indicated herein or upon any public alley at a speed greater than ten
(10) miles per hour. Any speed in excess of such limits shall be prima
facie evidence that the speed is not reasonable nor prudent and is
unlawful.
SECTION 6 . Speed Limits in School Traffic Zones
Upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation, the
following streets are designated school traffic zones. The maximum
lawful prima facie speed limits hereinafter indicated for vehicles are
hereby determined and declared to be reasonable and safe , and such
speed limits are hereby fixed for vehicles travelling upon the following
named streets and highways, or parts thereof , during the hereinafter
designated hours on school days, either when such hours are described on
official school traffic zone speed limit signs located at said zones
or when school traffic zone signs bearing a flashing amber light and
located at said zones are in operations. Said speed limits shall be
in effect on school days from the hours of 7 : 30 a.m. to 9 :00 a.m. and
from 2:30 p.m. to 4 :00 p.m. The maximum lawful prima facie speed limit
in said school traffic zones during said hours shall be twenty ( 20 )
miles per hour. The locations of said school traffic zones are as
follows, to-wit:
Street Extent
Coleman Street From the Intersection of 7th
Street Southward to the
Intersection of Broadway to
Protect a Crosswalk at Coleman
Street and Fifth Street
Seventh Street From the Intersection of Coleman
Street Eastward to a Point 130
Feet East of North Street
Broadway From a Point 200 Feet West of
Church Street Eastward to the
Intersection of Parvin Street to
Protect a Crosswalk at Broadway
Street and Church Street
SECTION 7 . Parking Requirements
(a) It shall be unlawful and a violation for any person to stop, stand
or park a vehicle at any place prohibited by the applicable laws of the
State of Texas.
(b) It shall be unlawful and a violation for any person to stop, stand
or park anyvehicle at anytime upon any p public street, alleyway, public
place or fire lane when signs are erected or curbs painted giving notice
that parking there is prohibited.
(c) It shall be unlawful and a violation for any person to park any
motor vehicle upon any public street , alley, or public property of any
nature in the city for the purpose of greasing , changing oil , or
repairing such vehicle , except repairs necessitated by an emergency.
With the exception of it being allowable to have one vehicle for sale
on the street in front of a person ' s home if parked properly , it shall
be unlawful and a violation for any person to sell or exhibit property
of any nature upon any public street, alley , or public property of any
nature in the city.
(d) It shall be unlawful and a violation for• any person to park a
motor vehicle in or upon any median strip as that term is defined
herein.
(e) It shall be unlawful and a violation for any person to park a
motor vehicle in front of a public or private driveway or within 3 ' of
the curved portion of any such driveway without the effective consent
of the owner of the property on which the driveway is located.
SECTION 8 . Truck Routes
(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, no person shall operate upon
any public street within the Corporate Limits of the City any commercial
motor vehicle except on such street or streets as are designated as
truck routes herein.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any such vehicle
which is travelling upon a street other than a truck route for the
purpose of making delivery of goods, wares , merchandise , building
material or other commodities to, or performing necessary utility or
other services for, a person or business establishment on such street ,
or to a vehicle travelling to or from a truck terminal , garage , place
of repair, residence of the driver of such vehicle , place of performing
a service , or a place of loading or unloading , provided , however , that
the operator of such vehicle shall travel to and from such places over
low
the shortest practicable route to or from a point on a designated
truck route. The provisions of this section shall not apply to
emergency vehicles operating in response to any emergency call nor to
vehicles operated by a public utility while cruising in an assigned
area for the purpose of inspecting the facilities of such public
utility or providing maintenance service to said facilities. The
provisions of this section shall not apply to vehicles operated for
public service, such as garbage trucks, street repair and water service
vehicles and maintenance vehicles.
(c) The Traffic Administrator or his designated representative shall
11416, erect signs and markings to designate the truck routes set out herein,
and whenever any street designated as a truck route herein is being
repaired or is otherwise temporarily out of use , the Traffic
Administrator or his designated representative is authorized to
designate alternate truck routes for such period as may be necessary.
The following streets and parts of streets are designated "truck routes"
under this section, to-wit:
Street Extent
1111
SECTION 9 . Maximum Weights, Dimensions and Fees
(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, it shall be unlawful and a
violation of this ordinance for any person to drive , operate or move ,
and/or cause or permit to be driven, operated, or moved on a public
street other than a State or Federal Highway within the Corporate
Limits of the City, any motor vehicle with or without load, contrary
to any of the regulations contained in this section.
(b) 1. No vehicle shall exceed a total outside width, including any
load thereon, of ninety-six ( 96" ) inches except that the width
of as farm tractor shall not exceed nine ( 9 ' ) feet , excepting
further that the limitations as to size of vehicle shall not
apply to implements of husbandry, machinery used solely for
the purpose of drilling water wells regardless of whether it
is a unit in itself or is a unit mounted on a conventional
vehicle or chassis, and highway building and maintenance
machinery temporarily propelled or moved upon the public
highways, excepting further, that the limitations as to size
of vehicles stated in this section shall not apply to vehicles
on which implements of husbandry are being carried or• moved
provided such vehicles are being moved by the owner thereof
or his agent or• employee for the purpose of carrying on
agricultural operations , and provided further that such
implements are being moved or carried a distance of not more
. than fifty ( 50) miles.
2 . No vehicle unladen or with load shall exceed a height of
thirteen feet six inches ( 13 ' 6" ) including load.
3 . No motor vehicle shall exceed a length of forty-five ( 45 ' )
feet. It shall be unlawful for any combination of vehicles
to be coupled together including , but not limited to, a truck
and semi-trailer• , truck and trailer, truck-trailer and semi-
trailer and trailer, truck-tractor and two trailers , to exceed
a length of sixty-five ( 65 ' ) feet , if such combination of
vehicles is operated exclusively within the City Limits of the
City of Prosper; provided further that the above limitations
shall not apply to any mobile home and a motor vehicle , but no
mobile home and motor vehicle combination shall exceed a total
length of fifty-five ( 55 ' ) feet. No mobile home , as the same
is defined herein, shall be entitled to the exception contained
in this subsection unless the owner thereof shall have paid
11/ all taxes , including ad valorem taxes , and fees due and
payable under the laws of this State , levied on said mobile
home.
No passenger car, regardless of weight, nor any other motor
vehicle with an unloaded weight of less than two thousand
five hundred ( 2 ,500 lbs. ) pounds , may be coupled with more
than one other vehicle or towing device at one time , provided
that this section does not apply to the towing of a disabled
vehicle to the nearest intake place for repairs.
0
If a passenger• or other motor vehicle has an unloaded weight
of two thousand five hundred ( 2 , 500 lbs. ) pounds or more , it
may be coupled with a towing device and one other vehicle .
4. No combination of vehicles or vehicle operated alone shall
carry any load extending more than three ( 3 ' ) feet beyond the
front thereof , nor, except as hereinabove provided, more than
four ( 4 ' ) feet beyond the rear thereof .
5. No passenger vehicle shall carry any load extending more than
three ( 3" ) inches beyond the line of the fenders on the left
side of such vehicle , nor extending more than six ( 6" ) inches
beyond the line of the fenders on the right side thereof ;
provided, that the total overall width of such passenger
vehicle shall in no event exceed ninety-six ( 96" ) inches,
including any and all such load.
(c) No motor vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be operated or
caused or• permitted to be operated upon any public street within the
Corporate Limits of the City of Prosper having a weight in excess of
any one or more of the following limitations:
1 . In no event shall the total gross weight, with load , of any
vehicle or combination of vehicles , exceed eighty thousand
(80,000 lbs. ) pounds.
2 . "Axle Load" shall be defined as the total load transmitted
to the road by all wheels whose centers may be included
betwen two ( 2) parallel transverse vertical planes forty
(40" ) inches apart , extending across the full width of the
vehicle.
3 . The total gross weight concentrated on the highway surface
from any tandem-axle group shall not exceed thirty-four
thousand ( 34 ,000 lbs . ) pounds for each such tandem-axle
group. "Tandem-axle" is defined as to be two ( 2) or more
axles spaced forty ( 40) inches or more apart from center to
center having at least one ( 1 ) common point of weight
suspension.
4 . Vehicles used exclusively to transport ready-mix concrete
41? may be operated upon the public streets of the City of
Prosper with a tandem-axle load not to exceed thirty-six
thousand ( 36 ,000 lbs. ) pounds ; a single axle load not to
exceed twelve thousand ( 12 ,000 lbs . ) pounds ; and a gross
load not to exceed forty-eight thousand ( 48 ,000 lbs. ) pounds.
5 . Vehicles used exclusively to transport milk may be operated
upon the public streets of the City of Prosper if distance
between the front wheel of the forward tandem-axle and the
rear wheel of the rear tandem-axle , measured longitudinally,
is at least twenty-eight ( 28 ' ) feet , and the maximum load
carried on any group of axles does not exceed sixty-eight
thousand ( 68 ,000 lbs. ) pounds.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
1 . Any person operating or causing to be operated a motor
vehicle under a valid and subsisting permit for the opera-
tion of overweight or oversized equipment for the transporta-
tion of such commodities as cannot be reasonably dismantled
issued by the State Highway Department under the provisions
of Article 6701a of the Revised Civil Statutes Amended.
2. Emergency vehicles operating in response to any emergency
call.
111 3 . Vehicles operated for the purpose of constructing or
maintaining any public utility in the City of Prosper.
(e) Any peace officer having reason to believe that the gross weight
or axle load of a loaded motor vehicle is unlawful is authorized to
weigh the same by means of portable or stationary scales , or cause
the same to be weighed by any, public weigher, and to require that
such vehicle be driven to the nearest available scales for the purpose
of weighing. In the event the gross weight of such vehicle be found
to exceed the maximum gross weight authorized by law, plus a tolerance
allowance of five percent ( 5% ) of the gross weight authorized by law,
such peach officer shall issue an appropriate citation, unless the
operator possesses a valid overweight permit.
SECTION 10. Miscellaneous Regulations
(a) A funeral procession composed of a procession of vehicles shall be
identified by the display of a pennant on the outside of the lead
vehicle and hearse. All other vehicles in the procession shall have
their headlamps on.
(b) Each driver in the funeral procession shall drive as near to the
right hand edge of the roadway as practical and follow the vehicle ahead
as closely as safe and practical.
(c) A person, not a member of a funeral procession, commits an offense
if he drives a vehicle between the vehicles comprising the funeral
procession while they are in motion and when those vehicles are
conspicuously designated as required herein.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate any motor
vehicle over, upon, across, or within any median strip, except at a
crossover or intersection established by public authority.
(e) It shall be unlawful for any person to ride upon an automobile or
for the driver of any vehicle to permit another person to ride upon any
portion of any vehicle not designed or intended for the use of passengers
when the vehicle is in motion; provided , this provision shall not apply
to an employee engaged in the necessary discharge of duty, or to persons
111 riding within truck bodies in the space intended for merchandise .
( f) It shall be unlawful for the driver of any vehicle to turn such
vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction or to make a 180
degree turn (U-Turn) on any street posted with a sign or signs
indicating that such a movement is prohibited. U-Turns shall be
permitted when not so posted. It shall be further unlawful for the
driver of any vehicle to make a U-Turn in any event unless such movement
can be made in safety and without backing or otherwise interfering with
other traffic.
(g) No person shall operate a motor vehicle off the pavement or main
travelled portion of the roadway or a designated or permitted parking
•
area onto any private or public property without the effective consent
(11111, of the owner. It shall be a defense to prosecution that the departure
from the pavement, main travelled portion of the roadway , or designated
or permitted parking area was required due to an emergency malfunction
of said motor vehicle and that there was no other safe place to operate
the vehicle or that such movement was required due to an order• by a
peace officer. It shall be an exception to the provisions of this
section that the motor vehicle is a municipal vehicle performing
municipal duties or public utility vehicle performing service within
an easement.
(h) No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon or• over any curb of
any street within the City.
( i ) In any prosecution for violation of this ordinance , it shall not
be necessary for the State to prove the installation or authority for
the erection of any official traffic control device , sign or signal .
Any person charged with a violation of this ordinance shall have the
right to prove that the sign, signal or traffic control device was not
installed or authorized by law.
(j ) If any vehicle is found parked in violation of any parking
provision contained herein, or of State law, such fact shall be prima
facie evidence that the person in whose name it is registered parked
such vehicle in violation thereof.
11/ SECTION 11. If any section, subsection, sentence , clause , phrase
or portion of this ordinance is for• any reason held invalid or
unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion
shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and
such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
hereof.
SECTION 12. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of
the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the City of Prosper,
Texas, shall be fined in an amount not to exceed the sum of Two Hundred
I
($200.00) Dollars for each offense , and each day shall constitute a
"%ow separate offense.
SECTION 14 . This ordinance shall become effective from and after
its passage and the publication of the caption as the law and charter
in such cases provide .
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE DULY ADOPTED as of the / 3. day o •
f
1985 , by the CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PROSPER, TEXAS.
A L4'
Ma x'
ATTEST:
ity Secretary
S