Chapter 10.04 — MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC GENERALLY

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section.

Whenever any words or phrases used herein are not defined, but are defined in the Vehicle Code of the state and amendments thereto, such definition shall apply.

Central traffic district. All streets and portions of streets within the area described as follows: Lincoln Street on the west; Oliver Street on the east; Montgomery Street on the north; High Street on the south.

Coach. Any motor bus, motor coach, trackless trolley or passenger stage used as a common carrier of passengers.

Council. The council of the city.

Curb. The lateral boundary of the roadway, whether such curb is marked by curbing constructing or not so marked; the word "curb" as herein used shall not include the line dividing the roadway of a street from parking strips in the center of a street, nor from tracks or rights-of-way of public utility companies.

Divisional island. A raised island located in the roadway and separating opposing or conflicting streams of traffic.

Holidays. Within the meaning of this chapter, holidays are the 1st day of January, the 12th day of February, the 22nd day of February, the 30th day of May, the 4th day of July, the 1st Monday in September, the 9th day of September, the 12th day of October, the 11th day of November, the 25th day of December and Thanksgiving Day. If the 1st day of January, 12th day of February, 22nd day of February, the 30th day of May, the 4th day of July, the 9th day of September, the 12th day of October, the 11th day of November or the 25th day of December falls upon a Sunday, the Monday following is a holiday.

Loading zone. The space adjacent to a curb reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles during the loading or unloading of passengers or materials.

Official time standard. Whenever certain hours are named herein, they shall mean standard time or daylight saving time as may be in current use in this city.

Parkway. That portion of a street other than a roadway or a sidewalk.

Passenger loading zone. The space adjacent to a curb reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles during the loading or unloading of passengers.

Pedestrian. Any person afoot.

Police officer. Every officer of the police department of this city or any officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations.

Stop. When required, means complete cessation of movement.

Vehicle Code. The Vehicle Code of the state. (Ord. 1044)

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City of Oroville, CA

VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC

§ 10.04.020

§ 10.04.030

• A. Establishment. There is hereby established in the police department of this city a traffic division to be under the control of an officer of police appointed by and directly responsible to the chief of police.

• B. Duties. It shall be the duty of the traffic division with such aid as may be rendered by other members of the police department to enforce the street traffic regulations of this city and all of the state vehicle laws applicable to street traffic in this city, to make arrests for traffic violations, to investigate traffic accidents and to cooperate with the city traffic engineer and other officers of the city 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 such division by this chapter and the traffic ordinances of this city.

• C. Traffic Accident Studies. Whenever the accidents at any particular location become numerous, the traffic division shall cooperate with the city traffic engineer in conducting studies of such accidents and determining remedial measures.

• D. Traffic Accident Reports. The traffic division shall maintain a suitable system of filing traffic accident reports. Such reports shall be available for the use and information of the city traffic engineer.

• E. Annual Traffic Report. The traffic division shall annually prepare a traffic report which shall be filed with the city council. Such a report shall contain information on traffic matters in this city as follows:

  1. The number of traffic accidents, the number of persons killed, the number of persons injured and other pertinent traffic accident data.

  2. The number of traffic accidents investigated and other pertinent data on the safety activities of the police.

3. The plans and recommendations of the division for future traffic safety activities.

(Ord. 1044)

• A. Office Established—Appointment. The office of city traffic engineer is hereby established. The city traffic engineer shall be appointed by the city council, and he or she shall exercise the powers and duties as provided in this chapter and in the traffic ordinances of this city. Whenever the city traffic engineer is required or authorized to place or maintain official traffic control devices or signals, he or she may cause such devices or signals to be placed or maintained.

• B. Powers and Duties, Delegation of Authority. It shall be the general duty of the city traffic engineer to determine the installation and proper timing and maintenance of traffic control devices and signals, to conduct engineering analyses of traffic accidents and to devise remedial measures, to conduct engineering and traffic investigations 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 of this city. Whenever, by the provisions of this chapter, a power is granted to the city traffic engineer or a duty imposed upon him or her, the power may be exercised or the duty

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City of Oroville, CA

OROVILLE CODE

§ 10.04.030

§ 10.04.060

performed by his or her deputy or by a person authorized in writing by him or her. (Ord. 1044)

• A. Officers of the police department and such officers as are assigned by the chief of police are hereby authorized to direct all traffic by voice, hand, audible or other signal in conformance with traffic laws, except that in the event of a fire or other emergency or to expedite traffic or to safeguard pedestrians, officers of the police department or members of the fire department may direct traffic as conditions may require, notwithstanding the provisions to the contrary contained in this chapter or the Vehicle Code.

• B. No person other than an officer of the police department or members of the fire department or a person authorized by the chief of police or a person authorized by law shall direct or attempt to direct traffic by voice, hand or other signal, except that persons may operate, when and as herein provided, any mechanical pushbutton signal erected by order of the city traffic engineer.

• C. Obedience to Authorized Traffic Officers Required. No person shall fail or refuse to comply with or to perform any act forbidden by any lawful order, signal or direction of a traffic or police officer or a member of the fire department or a person authorized by the chief of police or by law.

• (Ord. 1044)

No person shall interfere with or obstruct in any way any police officer or other officer or employee of this city in their enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. The removal, obliteration or concealment of any chalk mark or other distinguishing mark used by any police officer or other employee or officer of this city in connection with the enforcement of the parking regulations of this chapter shall, if done for the purpose of evading the provisions of this chapter, constitute such interference or obstruction.

(Ord. 1044)

• A. The operator of a vehicle or the person in charge of any animal involved in any accident resulting in damage to any property publicly owned or owned by a public utility, including, but not limited to, any fire hydrant, parking meter, lighting post, telephone pole, electric light or power pole, or resulting in damage to any tree, traffic control device or other property of a like nature located in or along any street shall within 24 hours after such accident make a written report of such accident to the police department of this city.

• B. Every such report shall state the time when and the place where, the accident took place, the name and address of the person owning and of the person operating or in charge of such vehicle or animal, the license number of every such vehicle and shall briefly describe the property damage in such accident.

• C. The operator of any vehicle involved in an accident shall not be subject to the requirements or penalties of this section, if and during the time he or she is physically incapable of making a report, but in such event he or she shall make a report as required in subsection A

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City of Oroville, CA

VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC

§ 10.04.060

§ 10.04.090

of this section within 24 hours after regaining ability to make such report. (Ord. 1044)

Any regularly employed and salaried officer of the police department of this city may remove or cause to be removed:

• A. Any vehicle that has been parked or left standing upon a street or highway for 72 or more consecutive hours.

• B. Any vehicle which is parked or left standing upon a street or highway between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. when such parking or standing is prohibited by ordinance or resolution of this city and signs are posted giving notice of such removal.

• C. Any vehicle which is parked or left standing upon a street or highway where the use of such street or highway or a portion thereof is necessary for the cleaning, repair or construction of the street or highway or for the installation of underground utilities or where the use of the street or highway or any portion thereof is authorized for a purpose other than the normal flow of traffic or where the use of the street or highway or any portion thereof is necessary for the movement of equipment, articles or structures of unusual size, and the parking of such vehicle would prohibit or interfere with such use or movement; provided, that signs giving notice that such vehicle may be removed are erected or placed at least 24 hours prior to the removal.

• (Ord. 1044)

One-way streets and alleys are hereby designated as:

• A. Miner's Alley from Lincoln Street east to Downer Street, one-way, eastbound.

• B. The alley between Bird Street and Robinson Street, one-way, northbound.

The city traffic engineer shall designate, by appropriate signs, one-way streets and alleys.

(Ord. 1044)

• A. The city traffic engineer shall establish, designate and maintain crosswalks at intersections and other places of appropriate devices, marks or lines upon the surface of the roadway as follows: Crosswalks shall be established and maintained at all intersections within the central traffic district and at such intersections outside such district, and at other places within or outside such district where the city traffic engineer determines that there is particular hazard to pedestrians crossing the roadway subject to the limitation contained in subsection B of this section.

• B. Other than crosswalks at intersections, no crosswalk shall be established in any block which is less than 400 feet in length, and such crosswalk shall be located as nearly as practicable at mid-block.

• C. The city traffic engineer may place signs at or adjacent to an intersection in respect to any

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City of Oroville, CA

OROVILLE CODE

§ 10.04.090

§ 10.04.130

crosswalk directing that pedestrians shall not cross in the crosswalk so indicated. (Ord. 1044)

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the operator of any vehicle owned by or used in the service of the United States government, this state, any county or city, and it shall be unlawful for any such operator to violate any of the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise permitted in this chapter or by the Vehicle Code.

(Ord. 1044)

Every person riding a bicycle or riding or driving an animal upon a highway has all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter, except those provisions which by their very nature can have no application. (Ord. 1044)

• A. The provisions of this chapter regulating the operation, parking and standing of vehicles shall not apply to vehicles operated by the police or fire department, any public ambulance or any public utility vehicle or any private ambulance, which public utility vehicle or private ambulance has qualified as an authorized emergency vehicle, when any vehicle mentioned in this section is operated in the manner specified by the Vehicle Code in response to an emergency call.

• B. The foregoing exemptions shall not, however, relieve the operator of any such vehicle from obligation to exercise due care for the safety of others or the consequences of his or her willful disregard of the safety of others.

• C. The provisions of this chapter regulating the parking or standing of vehicles shall not apply to any vehicle of a city department or public utility while necessarily in use for construction or repair work or any vehicle owned or operated by the United States Post Office Department while in use for the collection, transportation or delivery of United States mail.

• (Ord. 1044)

• A. Whenever this chapter delegates authority to a city officer, or authorizes action by the city council to regulate traffic upon a state highway in any way which by state law requires the prior approval of the Department of Transportation, no such officer shall exercise such authority nor shall such action by the city council be effective with respect to any state highway without the prior approval in writing of the Department of Transportation when and to the extent required by Division 9 and Division 11 of the Vehicle Code.

• B. Any provision of this Code which regulates traffic or delegates the regulation of traffic upon state high-ways in any way for which the approval of the Department of Transportation is required by state law, shall cease to be operative 6 months after receipt by the city council of written notice of withdrawal of approval of the Department of Transportation.

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City of Oroville, CA

VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC

§ 10.04.150

§ 10.04.130

• (Ord. 1237 § 1)

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person who shall be convicted of a violation of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding the amount outlined in the Master Fee Schedule or by imprisonment not exceeding 6 months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. 1044)

§ 10.04.150. Loading zone and time limit violations—Excepted from provisions of Section 10.04.140— Report of violations.

• A. Excepted from the penalty provisions of Section 10.04.140 are all loading zone violations under this chapter and all time limit parking violations under this chapter. Such loading zone and time limit violations shall be governed by the following.

• B. Every police officer, pursuant to instructions of the chief of police, shall report every observed or indicated violation. Such report shall include a copy of the notice herein provided. Each such officer shall attach securely to every unattended vehicle observed or indicated to be in violation, a notice. Such notice shall include the following information:

  1. The name and address of the registered owner as shown or displayed in such vehicle.

  2. The time, date and location of the violation, including the number of the parking meter so indicating, if any.

  3. Reference to the division and article of this Code, violation of which charged.

  4. Any other facts, a knowledge of which is necessary to a thorough understanding of the circumstances attending such violation.

  5. An instruction to the registered owner of such vehicle to report to the police department of the city within 24 hours in regard to such violation.

• C. Penalties.

  1. Each owner of a vehicle to which has been affixed a notice provided for in this section may, within 24 hours of the time when such notice is attached to such vehicle as shown therein, pay to the chief of police as a penalty for and in full satisfaction thereof the sum outlined in the Master Fee Schedule.

  2. The chief of police may cause a second notice of such violation to be mailed, which notice shall contain all of the information required to be contained in the original notice to the owner of such vehicle.

  3. Each such owner may, within 48 hours after the time when such notice is mailed, pay to the chief of police as a penalty for and in full satisfaction of such violation, the sum outlined in the Master Fee Schedule.

  4. The operator of any vehicle who has parked the same in violation hereof shall be subject to the penalties provided by Section 10.04.140, unless, within the time

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City of Oroville, CA § 10.04.150

OROVILLE CODE

§ 10.04.150

specified, such violation has been discharged as provided in this section.

5. In those cases where the police officer has not personally observed the violation committed, after the filing of a complaint for violation of this chapter and after notice has been given as required by this section and before the issuance of any warrant, the chief of police shall cause the registered owner to be served in the manner provided by Section 41103 of California Vehicle Code.

• (Ord. 1044)

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City of Oroville, CA

VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC

§ 10.08.010

§ 10.08.050