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Home My WebLink AboutMin - TSP - 1976.02.12'j, TRATFIC, Ii?TFETY & PARKING COI4MISSION February 12, L976 CALL TO ORDIIR The regular meeting of the held on February 12, L976i at 8:00 p.m" Traffic, Safety & Pa::king called to order by Acting Commission was Chairman Graharn ROLI, CALL Present: Commissioners Graham Gundersen Podesta Subbotin /t]:sent: Commissioners AIiarnus, Excused Rodm;rn, Excused Ot"hers Presentt C-ity Attorney J; Colernan Traffic Engineer T. Moore Traffic Director, Sgt. J. O'Brien Sulger Andersen Constantino PLE}.JE OF ALI,EGIANEE Ccrmmissioncr Sui:bi.:tin led the Pledge of Altegiance to the Flag. i\IiNUTES l,linules of the meetirrg of Januarlr 8, 1976 were accepted. CURRENT BUSITTESS Occidental Avenue traffie survev. Act ing Chairman Graham recognized Mrs. Roy l,iuetzenberg of 128 Occidental Avenue, and Mr. Douglas B. Bowlus, 135 Occidental Avenue. Mr. Bowlus expressed his appreciation to Mr. Moore and Sergeant O'Brien for their demonstration of pacing traffic vioiators, tie aiso asked Sergeant O'Brien if the Police Department maintaineC statistical records about when and how lcng poJ-ice vehicles are on the street? AIso, if there is a duty roster as to where the Officers are on duty, rvhich citizens might review? Sergeant O'Bribn explairred their would ]re a record of citations issued, but there are possibly ten problem areas in the City and depending on the need, the Officers are dispersed to the various locations. There might be a month when it would not be possible to have a man on Occidental Avenue. T\iro Divisj.ons of the Department are involved and it is difficult to plan ahead and'they do not have a set pattern. Mr. Bowlus mentioned a letter he had received from I'1r. Moore with copies of Vehicle Code sections. He referred to Chapter 3, relati.ve to illegal evidence, and questioned the use of the ternFprirna-faeie and highway. He asked if a residenLial street is a highway? t'lr. Moore responded thatttrere is a definit.ton in the Code book which indicates that it means any roadway. It i.s synonymous. Traffic, Safety &Parkinq Comrn.--2 Pebruarv 12, 1976 Mr. Bowlus stated that the City's staff proposed raising the speedIimit to 35 m.p.h., which would enable them to use radar for enforce-ment purposes. Ife asked if the Occi.dental residents agreed to thj.sidea, but in six months time the general consensus of the peqple isthat the speed is up and unsafe, is it an irrevocable step? Mr. l"tooresaid "l.Ior" The change woull be an act of city council, and the sameCouncil could lovrer the speed limit at any time it was felt it wasjustified. I"1r. Moore added that unless the speed limit is changed,the enforcement officers cannot use radar. Mr. Bow1us stated he and Mrs. Muetzenberg had talked to neighbors and,quite frankly, they are not, enthusiastic abourt raising the speed limit,but understand the Police Department's problem of enforcement. Theybelieve the corner of Howard and Occiaental Avenues is unsafe and theydesire a Stop sign for northbound traffic on Occidental Avenue andmarked crosswalk on that side of the intersection. Visibility fortraffic on Howard Avenue is blocked by a hedge on one side and treeson the other side of the street at the intersection with OccidentalAvenue- The crosswalli is not markecl and they r*ou1d like the crosswaLkmarked on the south side of the intersection. They believe j-t doesdraw the driver's attention to the fact that the pedestrian has a rightto cross the street at that point. This is basically what people feelwill be a viable alternative to what is the present circumsta*L". Mr. Moore respondea ttrat as far as he is aware of the situation, thereis no justificaticn, from an engineering standpoint, for that Stop sign"The crosswalk and signs that say "Pedestrian Crossing" could be justified. The hedge can be taken care of under city Code. As far as the speedlimit is concerned, the only way the City can use radar is to increasethe limit, and radar is the only means of enforcing the limit. Therehave been three radar surveys taken so far. They will do additionalchecks, and after the signs are posted, they can be documented. Each Cominissioner expressed his opinion in regard to the requests an<Isuggestions offered, following which Commissioner Graham askecl C-ityAttorney Coleman if it would be possible to set up an ordinance to raj-sethe speed limit for a definite period of time. Iv1r. Coleman answered ,,yes.,, Commissioner Graham then moved to change the speed Iimit. to 3O m.p.h.,for six months and install crosswalk across occidental and Howard Avenueson the southerly side. Cornmissioner Podesta seconded. An amendment tothe motion was accepted, that Mr. Moore routinely check and submit reportson the area. In answer to a guestion, Mr. Bowlus st.ated they would bewilling to try it.,. The motion passed unanimously. Burlingame Avenue Area parkino.Mri. and Mrs. Richard letter Mrs. Bowman had Bovrman were present vrritten. It referredand Conrmissioner Graham read a V Tra.f fic, Safety & ParJcing Ccmrn.--3 Eeb_ruaE1l t2 . L97 6 to long-term parking needed by employees and clients of Wright & Company Rea1tors, 406 Primrose Road, r,rith her suggestions for alleviating this situation. Commissioner Graham stated that a solution to the problem has been dis- cussed over many months by various committees. !1r. Moore also spoke of the studies and efforts being exterrded to solve the problem. He men- tioned the changes on Chapin Avenue which provided additional parking and hopefully there are solutions in the future. Short-term parking spaces are being abused by persons needing Long-term parking and it is very difficult to control because the need is recognized. Commissioner Graham expressed appreciation to Mrs. Bor*man for her lett,er and regrets that there is no immediate answer. The letters received, however, will be of assistance in the future. Mr. Bcwman asked if there r+ras any information on the success of the two garages in the City of San Mateo? Mr. I.loore stated he and Sergeant O'Brien had both checked recently and they are not being used near to their capacity. It is undoubtedLy because they are not near the down- town area. There is a structure more centrally located which charges a higher fee and it is filLed. Commissioner Subbotin offei:ed., &s an item of information, that considering the capital cost of a parking stall plus the cost of the land, it takes approxi:nately,q1.4O per day to pay for each stal-L. .I*toto::cycles--Mi}1s Canyo4. Chairmarr Grehann recognized l4rs. Barbara forrest, 6 La Mesa Court, in the audience, vr)to asked to what extent the City could control motorcycle traffic in the Mills Canyon. City Attorney Coleman replied that the topic had been discussed at the City Council Study l,leeting. He has information on the problem and she wil-I contact him by telephone. Sergeant O'Brien has receiveC numerous conplaints from the however, l"lills Canyon is designated open space and at this tions cannot be enforeed there. Parking Structure. Nothin g new to report for this meeting. parkiqlQqglliqnnaire. Nothing new for tiris meeting. area time residents. regula- Lot north of Broadwa on California Drive.Follovring a short discussion fact that. part of it is of Burlingame, it was agreed of the condition of the lot, including Southern Pacific property and part the not to pursue the situation further. PatE;!qg__qp_qc_e dry1ensions,. At present there are no definite could determine where recommendation. This the city sions. It be special is flexible, and Mr. Moore or motorcycle parking, for space dimen- there might information qrqq[fiq, Safety & Parking Comrn.--4 was provided by City Attornel' Coleman in his memo of .fanuary 28 , L97 6. Mr. Coleman also had provided a copy of a proposed ordinance revisingTitle 13, which concerns vehicles and traffic. The ordinance was reviewed page by page and the following questions raised by Commissione::Graham: (I) Section L3.16.I00 Advertising Vehicles. How would thisapPly, for example, to ice eream trucks? (21 Section 13.40 "LzA Use of Funds Collecterl. Commissj-oner Graham feels the City services are norm-aIly provided through property taxes, and parking meter funds shoulcl notbe used to pay the salaries of traffic officers. Commissioner Subbotinpointed up the fact that if you pay labor from tax money rather than income from meters, you will raise the taxes. There was no response to Commissioner Graham's question as to whetherthe Commission wished to take any action on the two items abovei however,City Attorney Coleman said he would make a note of referenee for the record. Commissioner Subbotin suggested the following resolution: That the Commission compliments the City Staff on the work and effort requiredto document and amend Title 13 of the Burlingame municipai. Code concex$-ing vehicles and traffic, and strongly supports this modernizing, and suggests Ci.ty Council make thorough consi<leration of each proposedrevision and modification. All Commissioners favored this resolution. Skateboa.rds, In answer to an in quiry, Sergeant 0'Brien stated the newordinance is being enforced, so far with vrarnings. It will receivetheir attention. Parkinq Lot reqrulations,south of Burlingame Avenue. Commissi oner Grahamasked Mr. Moore's opini on regarding closing lots just south of Burlingame Avenue betweeir B:30 and 9:30 a.m., and whether it would take care ofreducing the number of long-term parkers fj.lling the lot in the morning.It was decided there was lio other place for thenr to park and this was,perhaps, not the time to make the change. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m. RespeCtfully s ubmi s Secreta February 1?,_ -1976