HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2016.10.131
TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION
Approved Minutes
Regular Meeting of Thursday, October 13, 2016
1. CALL TO ORDER 7:06 p.m.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
3. ROLL CALL
MEMBER PRESENT: Akers (late), Bush, Londer, Martos, Wettan
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
Following roll call, Chair Londer expressed his gratitude by acknowledging Vice-Chair Akers
for chairing the previous TSPC meeting in his absence.
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion: To accept the minutes of September 8, 2016 with the following edits:
• Page 2, item 6a, bullet 3 – correct reference from 60 pedestrians to 60 vehicles;
• Page 2, item 6a, bullet 4 – preference to relocate number of students/parents;
• Page 2, item 6a, paragraph 5 – delete reference to Commissioner Bush and replace with
Vice-Chair Akers;
• Page 6, item 7b, paragraph 4 – Preference to add text indicating Sergeant Shepley will
return as Sergeant Ford’s replacement; and
• Page 6, item 7d, paragraph 2 – Add text indicating the area also included Rollins Road.
M/S/C: Wettan/Martos; 4/0/1 (Vice-Chair Akers not yet present)
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS – NON-AGENDA
Leah Leavy of 761 Willborough Road spoke of her concerns pertaining to Willborough Road
and Neuchatel Avenue. She indicated the street angles near 711 Neuchatel Avenue and
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with vehicles parked along the street, it makes it impossible to see oncoming cars. Ms.
Leavy requested to have areas of the curb painted red to help increase visibility and safety
as she has experienced a collision at that location. In addition, Ms. Leavy asked the
Commission to consider reducing the current speed limit of 25 MPH and installing speed
bumps. Ms. Leavy said with cars parked on both sides of the road, there is not adequate
space for two cars to pass simultaneously and that high school students tend to use that
route as a short cut.
Lastly, Ms. Leavy requested that the Burlingame Police Department increase enforcement
of the speed limit on Oak Grove Avenue.
6. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS
Chair Londer asked and received consensus from the Commission to move item 6.b forward
on the agenda as the first item of discussion. Subsequent discussion items resumed in the
order shown on the meeting agenda.
a) School Speed Limits
Mr. Wong began by sharing the feedback the City gathered from the Burlingame School
District (BSD) regarding the proposed speed reduction on Quesada Way where the
Burlingame Intermediate School (BIS) is located. He said that the BSD was very
supportive of the pilot program and agreed that BIS would be the ideal location to start
with. The BSD also supported starting with a single location in order to have an
opportunity to gather feedback from parents and residents and determine whether or not
to continue the program at other locations.
No public comment.
Vice-Chair Akers moved to adopt the Sub-Committee’s recommendation in the staff
report but there was no second motion as Commissioners Martos and Wettan had items
to address.
Commissioner Martos sought clarification regarding the time frame for the speed limit
reduction to which Sergeant Ford confirmed the speed reduction is to be followed
anytime there are children present (not just students) and therefore includes weekends.
As a measurement of success, Commissioner Martos suggested measuring the speed
of drivers after implementation and survey those impacted to find out if people perceive it
to be an improvement.
Commissioner Wettan noted that Quesada Way serves as a shortcut to Trousdale Drive
for people traveling from the Easton Addition area. He thought the pilot program location
might help deter people from using Quesada Way as a pass through.
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Chair Londer confirmed that the Commissioners did not have any additional questions or
feedback and moved to second Vice-Chair Akers motion from the staff report, which is
included below:
Motion: The Traffic Safety & Parking Commission recommend that the
Burlingame City Council implement a 15 MPH school speed limit pilot program
consisting of a 15 MPH speed limit (when children are present) on Quesada Way
in the vicinity of Burlingame Intermediate School (BIS).
M/S/C: Akers/Londer; 5/0/0
b) Consideration of Adding Carolan Avenue to the Residential Parking Permit Program
Chief Wollman presented the staff report and requested the TSP Commission to review
the existing parking conditions on Carolan Avenue between North Lane and Oak Grove
Avenue and weigh in on staff’s recommendation to add that area to the City’s
Residential Parking Permit Program. The Chief summarized the current parking
conditions to which Carolan Avenue, between North Lane and Oak Grove Avenue,
presently have a two hour parking restriction on the west side of the street and no
restrictions on the east side that fronts Burlingame High School. In an effort to be
consistent with the signage and enforcement of the two hour parking restriction, Chief
Wollman said high school students are now being cited due to their inability to move
their cars during school hours.
Chair Londer opened public comment and a member of the audience who did not
identify herself inquired as to why both the east and west side of the street cannot be
included in the parking permit program for the high school students with no time
restrictions. Chief Wollman responded by indicating it could be a possibility, although it is
not an equitable solution between the students and other citizens that frequent the area.
Dan Porter of 1441 Drake Avenue supported what he also felt would be the equitable
solution of keeping one side of the street designated for the permit program parking,
specifically for the high school students, and maintaining the two hour parking restriction
on the other side.
Each Commissioner provided feedback and posed questions which are summarized in
the list below.
• The ordinance currently covers residential parking. Does the language in the
ordinance need to be revised to include students and to avoid homeowners
paying for possibly two separate parking permits?
• How will we prevent misuse of the permit?
o Follow the same guidelines as the RPPP for consequences of misuse.
• How should the permits be allocated?
o One suggestion was to give preference to students that cannot walk or
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bike to school.
o 100 permits do not seem adequate for the number of student drivers.
• Consider charging on a per use basis versus a flat rate annual permit.
o Concern rose about charging students to park.
• Is the City the right entity to administer this program; take the burden off the City?
o Charge the School District for the permits and let them decide how they
want to manage the program and whether or not to charge the students.
• How do we ensure students do not park in the surrounding residential area when
there are no more parking permits available and what will be the consequence?
• Thinking long term, the Parks and Recreation redesign may provide additional
parking options.
• Consider changing the parking restriction hours or the timeframe it is enforced.
o How will this impact student-athletes that are on campus late for practice
and or games?
• What happens if just we remove the two hour parking restriction?
o Concern rose about Caltrain riders impacting the availability of student
parking.
• Consider making both sides of the street two hour parking except for those
vehicles that have a valid student parking permit.
Chief Wollman closed by thanking the Commission for their input and said he would
work on ironing out the issues identified and bring a revised recommendation back to
TSPC prior to making an official recommendation to City Council. The Chief reiterated
his goal to be transparent with the community and be fair and equitable to everyone
impacted.
7. INFORMATION ITEMS
a) Engineering Division Reports
• US101/Broadway Interchange Project – Construction stage 4 of 5 has begun. The
construction of the final eastbound overpass section will be completed in late
October or early November. The work includes construction of retaining walls and
roadway for the new southbound US 101 on-ramp. City staff is also working with
Caltrans regarding bike access. Estimated completion of this project is the summer
or fall of 2017.
• California Drive Roundabout – Determining a late-October date for the next public
meeting to discuss aesthetic treatments. Project plans are at 65% horizontal
geometric design configuration. Staff is reviewing the basic horizontal roadway
geometry to identify and discard any potential flaws in basic assumptions at the 65%
milestone. Elevation and vertical alignments are currently being calculated, with final
analysis being based on confirmed horizontal layout. General aesthetic and
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landscape concepts are also being gathered to be used as a starting point for the
discussion at the third public outreach meeting that is scheduled for October 27,
2016.
• Carolan Complete Streets – The City Council was presented a project update on
September 19, 2016. City staff and the design team are now completing project
plans and specifications for submittal to Caltrans in late-October for review and
authorization to advertise for construction.
• TSPC Email Communications – No new communications.
• California Drive Bike Facility – The second public meeting will be held on
November 3, 2016 in the Lane Room at the Main Library. Again, any of the options
presented will have taken into consideration input received from residents at the July
meeting.
• Peninsula Overcrossing Update – On November 11, the San Mateo City Council
will receive an update from staff regarding the project. (Mr. Wong will look into the
date of this meeting as November 11 is Veteran’s Day and Burlingame City Hall is
closed.) This update will include the current project status, and next steps. This
meeting will be a study session item for their Council. In December, San Mateo’s
Public Works staff will make the same presentation to the Burlingame City Council.
Additionally, San Mateo is about to start construction on their Poplar Avenue
Improvements. Transportation impacts from this project should increase traffic on
Humboldt Street as vehicles will be detoured to Poplar/Humboldt.
• Hoover School Update – BPD to begin enforcement of access restrictions along
both Summit and Easton. In addition to rotating the changeable message sign out
onto Easton Drive, staff has contacted the school’s principal to provide additional
reminders to the parents about the access restrictions. Per last meeting’s discussion,
maintenance for portions of the walkway along Easton Drive have been completed.
• OBAG II Grant Applications – Staff will be completing four City/County Association
of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG) grant applications associated with
the One Bay Area Grant II Cycle. One grant will be for the Local Streets and Roads
(LSR), two for the Bicycle Pedestrian Improvement Program (BPIP), and finally one
application for the Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) Program. The
C/CAG Board has already approved over $500,000 to the City for the LSR program,
and the City will be eligible for up to $1.5 million for the remaining TLC and BPIP
grants. Based on meetings with C/CAG and the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission (MTC) staff, our community needs, and availability of funds,
applications will be submitted for sidewalks along Easton Drive (BPIP), sidewalks
along Summit Drive (BPIP), and pedestrian scale street lighting along Broadway
(TLC). All applications will be due on November 18, 2016. Staff will be informing the
community members associated with the BPAC of the OBAG II applications in hopes
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of obtaining letters of support from them. Staff has already been in contact with BSD
regarding the applications.
• TSPC Priority List (Updated October 2016):
TSPC Led Effort
1 Downtown Modal Access
2 B/PAC Setup 6/9/16: Item 6a
3 School Speed Limit Notices/Review 9/8/16: Item 6b
4 School Traffic Issues 3/10/16: Item 6a
5 California Drive Commuter Bike Route 2/11/16: Item 6b
6 California Drive Parking Restrictions 7/14/16: Item 7a
7 Broadway Parking 7/14/16: Item 6a
8 Public Shuttles/Transit
9 Downtown Speed Limit Review
10 Review TSPC Mandate
11 Joint Agreements with Caltrans Countywide
12 ECR Corridor Infrastructure 4/14/16 & 5/12/16
13 Bay Trail
14 Fee Schedules
15 Joint Commission Meeting (City Council)
Staff Update via Report
1 Caltrans’ ECR/Floribunda Completed
2 Hoover School Update 9/8/16: Item 6a
3 Downtown Parking Strategies 7/14/16: Item 6b
4 City Hall Traffic Calming/Floribunda 9/8/16: Item 7a
5 California Roundabout 9/8/16: Item 7a
6 General Plan – Circulation Element 10/13/16: Item 8d
7 Bike\Ped Plan Update: Fwd to BPAC
8 Taxi Regulation: Update by BPD Completed
9 Carolan Complete Streets Update 9/8/16: Item 7a
10 Grant Opportunities 10/13/16: Item 7a
11 Grade Separation 4/14/16: Item 6b
12 Traffic Brochure Completed
13 San Mateo's Peninsula Ave OC 10/13/16: Item 7a
Chair Londer opened public comment at Manito Velasco’s request to comment on items
associated with the Engineer’s Report.
Mr. Velasco suggested including all the current paving projects in the Engineer’s Report
as he felt paving projects are an opportunity to make bicycle and pedestrian
improvements quicker, cheaper, and easier.
In regards to the Broadway overpass detours, Mr. Velasco felt the configuration is
challenging to navigate and may take a while for people to adjust. He suggested
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Caltrans add something to the project website, such as a dashboard camera to
demonstrate how to navigate the current detours. Mr. Velasco also noted the pedestrian
bridge is not wide enough for pedestrians, bicyclists, and people in wheelchairs to
share. He also felt the lighting on the pedestrian bridge is so poor that it makes the
conditions dangerous.
Mr. Velasco conveyed his disappointed in the two lane design of the California Drive
Roundabout Project. He stated this is very problematic as two cars will still be required
to yield to pedestrians and bicycles, which is essentially the same safety concern with
the current configuration. In addition, Mr. Velasco mentioned the SamTrans accordion
buses (lines 46 and 292) travel on California Drive and said it becomes dangerous for
vehicles and bicycles to travel next to or navigate around such a large vehicle.
Mr. Velasco requested a copy of the Carolan Complete Streets striping plan and said
that Summerhill is still unaware of the planned left-turn restrictions at that location.
Lastly, Mr. Velasco welcomed the opportunity to bike with the consultant(s) along the
path they’re designing as part of the California Drive Bicycle Facility Project, and help
point out some of the areas of concern.
Commissioner Bush inquired about the specific streets identified in the OBAG grant
applications to which Mr. Wong indicated the applications included Broadway, El
Camino Real between California Drive and Trousdale Drive, and sections of Peninsula
Avenue. He explained that it is a federal grant and therefore funding can only be
applied to roads on the federal classification map.
Commissioner Wettan inquired about including lighting improvements for safety
purposes in the OBAG grant applications on California Drive and Dufferin Avenue near
the Burlingame Police Department and on the east side of El Camino Real near the cut
through at highway road by the bridge. Mr. Wong confirmed staff would look into his
request.
b) Police Department Reports
Since the last TSPC meeting, Sergeant Ford indicated there have been 33 vehicular
accidents. Of the 33 accidents, 15 were with injuries that were minor in nature; there
were no fatalities. One accident occurred at the intersection of El Camino Real and
Floribunda but Sergeant Ford indicated details for that particular accident were not yet
available. The primary collision factor was unsafe turning movements.
Sergeant Ford shared that the PD participated in the Pet Parade and Bike to School
Day, and have plans to participate in the upcoming Fall Festival, Teen Driver Safety
Week, and Holiday Parade.
The new OTS grant cycle began on October 1, 2016 and Sergeant Ford indicated they
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received $70,000 for two DUI checkpoints.
Lastly, Sergeant Ford updated the Commission about parking enforcement staffing.
They have recently hired a new part-time parking enforcement officer, giving them a total
of two part-time parking enforcement officers, in addition to four full-time parking
enforcement officers and two meter technicians.
c) Farmer’s Market
Chair Londer indicated there was no Farmer’s Market last month and there were no
plans for the Commission to participate in the upcoming Farmer’s Market due to the
forecasted storm. Chair Londer said the next Farmer’s Market is scheduled for
November 20, 2016 but the Commission agreed to discuss participation efforts at the
November TSPC meeting.
d) TSPC Chair/Commissioner’s Communications
Commissioner Wettan provided a heads up to BPD regarding vehicles being parked on
California Drive during the 5 – 7 p.m. parking restriction.
Commissioner Wettan asked about an update regarding the El Camino Real (ECR) Task
Force for which he volunteered to serve on months prior. He also asked about the work
currently being done on El Camino Real. Mr. Wong explained the work is part of the El
Camino Real Water Main Improvements Project and also indicated he would look into
his inquiry pertaining to the ECR Task Force.
Vice-Chair Akers completed a walk-through of the Hoover School vicinity and he
received a considerable amount of praise from residents about the City and School
District improvement efforts. Vice-Chair Akers also received feedback indicating the red-
zoned parking restrictions may be better handled through a more limited time period and
suggested we revisit the parking restrictions at some point.
8. COMMISSION & COMMITTEE REPORTS
a) Downtown Parking (Martos & Wettan)
Commissioner Wettan shared good news regarding the plan to measure parking
vacancies in the downtown area. He indicated that Irvin Dawid, Jeff DeMartini, and
Manito Velasco have volunteered to assist the Commission to gather parking data during
the lunch hour on Monday and Thursday and the Friday evening slot. Commissioner
Wettan felt that the Commission is on track to obtain a lot of good, robust data over the
next few months. In closing, he reminded his fellow Commissioners to continue to gather
feedback from the local merchants regarding employee parking.
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Commissioner Martos noted that he drove through the downtown area on a Friday at
noon and again at 6 p.m. He was surprised to find that there was very limited parking
available during the noon hour (estimated approximately 5 spaces open) and
significantly more parking available in the evening (estimated approximately 100 spaces
open).
b) Broadway Parking (Wettan & Bush)
No update provided but Commissioner Wettan indicated they would follow the downtown
parking efforts in the Broadway area if it proves to be a good model.
c) School Speed Limits (Londer & Akers)
See Discussion/Action Item (6b).
d) Envision Burlingame (Londer & Martos)
Chair Londer confirmed with Commissioner Martos that there have been no new
updates since the previous TSPC meeting, but there is another Envision Burlingame
meeting scheduled for the end of October.
9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
• Hoover School
Commissioner Wettan indicated he would like to revisit the parking conditions along the
stretch of Easton Drive where parking was preserved for 3-4 homeowners. He reiterated
that the vehicles parked along the sidewalk are forcing students and their parents to
walk in the street as there is no viable walking path as originally anticipated. Mr. Wong
replied and said that he would reach out to the homeowners to discuss the parking
condition prior to placing this item on an upcoming TSPC agenda.
Lastly, Mr. Wong provided feedback on two important items related to Hoover School
that were not mentioned in the Engineers Report. First, he indicated that the parked
vehicles along the stretch of Easton Drive leave a drivable area. However, he said if we
create a defined walking path as mentioned at the previous TSPC meeting, it will push
the cars further into the street and the road will no longer be wide enough for large
emergency vehicles. Secondly, Mr. Wong informed the Commission that the City
completed the pavement patching at Easton Circle.
10. ADJOURNMENT 8:42 p.m.