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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2014.01.091 The City of Burlingame CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 www.burlingame.org TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, January 9, 2014 Commissioners Present: Jeff Londer John Martos Howard Wettan Commissioners Absent: Nicklas Akers, Chair Mark Noworolski, Commissioner Staff Present: Augustine Chou, Engineering Programs Manager, Public Works Andrew Wong, Transportation Engineer Sergeant Jay Kiely, Police Department Joanne Louie, Administrative Secretary Syed Murtuza, Director of Public Works Art Morimoto, Assistant Director of Public Works Visitors: Molly Roff Tom Halfhill Sandra Lang Brian Metzger Eugene Zauber Jack Kavanagh Cris Perry Mary Joe Power Edward Lelchuk Teresa Lelchuk Alexa Abrishamari Steve Sarver Jay Penn Tom Weisinger Susan Castner-Paine Louise Kappen Brian Beswick Justin McSharny Ian Raset Steve Pariani Pat Giorni William Kappen George & Christine Tucker Steve O’Connell West Tait 2 1. CALL TO ORDER. 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. 3. ROLL CALL. 3 of 5 Commissioners present. Chair Akers and Commissioner Noworolski absent. 4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4.1 New Commissioner Welcome – John Martos Acting Chair Londer acknowledged the presence of Mayor Brownrigg and Councilmembers Keighran and Deal. Acting Chair Londer also welcomed John Martos, a new TSPC Commissioner. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Motion: To accept the minutes of November 14, 2013 with the following corrections: - Spelling of last name Martos under Visitors - Adding % signs on Items 8.1.2 and 8.2.1 M/S/C: Howard/Londer; 3/0/2 (Chair Akers and Commissioner Noworolski absent) 6. PUBLIC COMMENTS Acting Chair Londer opened the floor for public comment. Phyllis Cox spoke regarding the need for traffic calming on Almer Road and Floribunda Avenue. Eugene Zauber expressed his concern for safety on Almer Road and Floribunda Avenue. Mr. Zauber said there is a petition for traffic calming signed by the residents. Stephen Hollman also expressed his concern for safety on Floribunda Avenue and Almer Road. Justin McSharny requested consideration of traffic calming also at Floribunda Avenue and Almer Road and felt it was also attributed to the flow of traffic from Hillsborough. Pat Giorni concurred that most of the traffic is coming from Hillsborough and recommended making Floribunda Avenue a one-way street to El Camino Real, even as a temporary measure to change behavior. 3 Brian Metzger shared his support for the petition. He expressed his concern for the volume and the speed of traffic on Floribunda Avenue and Almer Road. John Root expressed his concern for speeding in the downtown area and the need for a focus on pedestrian safety. Cris Perry concurred with prior speakers and expressed her concern for safety due to speeding vehicles and poor visibility. Ms. Perry would be interested in entertaining the thought of making Floribunda Avenue a one-way street to El Camino Real. Jennifer Pfaff recommended no longer allowing left-turns from El Camino Real southbound onto Floribunda Avenue, making vehicles use Oak Grove Avenue. Ms. Pfaff also stated that making Floribunda Avenue one-way to El Camino Real might work. Commissioner Londer closed public the comment period. 7. CURRENT BUSINESS 7.1 Burlingame Downtown Parking Structure Discussion Mr. Chou presented a Staff Report and made a presentation which provided background and reviewed the CDM Smith Study. The issues for consideration was parking structure location and defining the purpose of a new parking structure. The goal of this evening’s discussion was to gather input. Commissioner Londer opened the floor for public comment. Laurie Simonson said in prior discussions, the CDM Smith study indicated that way- finding signs could be very effective. Ms. Simonson asked that staff look into this and also look into an analysis of where employees are parking, especially when there are underutilized parking lots. Ms. Simonson suggested that we look at cheaper and shorter term alternatives while analysis continues on a parking structure. David Mendel suggested that the City consider parking structures at a couple of areas, as opposed to one location due to the fact that customers do not want to walk. Mark Hudak stated that the Downtown Specific Plan formed basic principles that did not want support large structures. Mr. Hudak questioned the successfulness of first floor retail due to over-commitment of retail spaces already in the downtown. Stephen Hollman suggests the Caltrain lot (Lot O) as an alternative location for a parking structure. Laif Salma stated that it would be beneficial to have the structure be mixed-use and preferred two structures versus one “monstrous” structure. Mr. Salma said that this could be an opportunity to expand the downtown core. 4 Pat Giorni expressed her feeling that Lot C would be the better choice. Ms. Giorni also noted that office spaces, as per conditional use requirements, are on the second floors and it would take an act of the Planning Commission and Council to revise that. Ms. Giorni also thought the City could widen a good portion of Donnelly Avenue to better accommodate a structure and the traffic. Jennifer Pfaff stated that she had participated in a focus group on this matter. At that time, the group was in favor of Lot J, but she was in favor of the Howard lots and Lot F. Ms. Pfaff said that she believes that the discussion has lost sight of the Downtown Specific Plan, and makes it appear as the City is going after money. Ms. Pfaff also brought up valet as an alternative and did not support converging traffic into one single lot, particularly Lot J. Barbara Hewlitt suggested having parking on the bottom and office spaces on the top floor. Russ Cohen noted that the survey participants were visitors to the City; and, that they do not have to live with a parking structure in the downtown. Mr. Cohen suggested that the City look at other cities and their peripheral lots, because what is today’s peripheral is not necessarily tomorrow’s peripheral. Mr. Cohen said the City needs to explore urban planning by looking at best practices and what is trending. Mr. Cohen said the City needed to educate ourselves on these disciplines – good place making, good City planning and good parking lot design. Julie Baird said that she would like to ensure that the City is thoughtfully considering the need for a parking structure and echoed Mr. Cohen’s concerns that a parking structure in the downtown area was not necessarily a positive thing, as it would draw more vehicles to the core, as opposed to making the downtown more pedestrian/bicycle friendly. Ms. Barrett also expressed the need to think globally as a City since the City is considering expanding the Rec Center on California Drive; and, there have been discussions about needing more parking for that facility also. Mayor Brownrigg commented that he was looking forward to the advice from the Commission; and, hoped that it was not limited to just a parking structure, as a holistic set of advice would also be appreciated. He added that the City needed to consider how to encourage employees to use the peripheral lots, and how to consider implementing lower-scale interventions beforehand so that the City could better determine its parking needs. David Jackson stated he did not see handicap parking and elevators on the diagrams. Mr. Jackson also congratulated the Streetscape Project. Jay Penn asked for clarity on the timing of a parking structure because it seemed like many things have not been clarified. Mr. Penn urged patience in the decision making process. 5 Syed Murtuza thanked everyone for their comments and clarified that there currently was no funding for a project. Mr. Murtuza also addressed some of the concerns raised earlier by previous speakers. Vice Mayor Terry Nagel mentioned a smartphone “app” by Streetline, called “Parker”. She stated that it aided in helping drivers find all of the City’s parking lots. Pat Giorni reiterated that the downtown today might not be what it will be in the next 20 years. Cris Perry stated that the lots are underutilized and that the stores don’t advertise that there are other places to park. She said that the Chamber of Commerce should have businesses inform their customers of the various parking lots. Steve Sarver stated that he appreciated the City keeping the community involved and did not feel that the Commission was close to making a recommendation to Council. Mr. Sarver would be concerned about the amount of traffic if the structure were to be on Donnelly Avenue. He added that he preferred the idea of two smaller lots, which would be better for traffic congestion and closer proximity for customers. Discussion occurred amongst the Commissioners. They asked for clarification of the street survey, which was a spot check or “snapshot” in time of opinions. The sampling was fairly small – 20 or 30 people. Commissioner Wettan stated that he did not feel that the Commission had a lot of information at this time; and, with the absence of two Commissioners he did not feel the Commission could make a recommendation to Council at this point. It was also felt that the need for a parking structure needed to be determined with fresh data. Mr. Chou stated that he would work to see about programing in this additional work, and if done would get this information to the Commission. Mr. Chou also stated that he would provide the studies beginning from 1998 to the Commissioners. Commissioner Wettan also commented that it was important that the criteria listed in the presentation be prioritized; and, that perhaps staff could assist with this. Mr. Murtuza stated that the Commission could take additional time to review the issue before making recommendations. (Item 8.1.3 advanced and discussed here) 8. Information/Discussion Items from Commission and Staff 8.1 Engineering Division Reports – Reports and/or updates on Public Works project and activities 6 8.1.1 Requests/comments/responses to public traffic concerns (stop signs, crosswalks, speed control, parking) - Electronic speed feedback display signs Mr. Wong reported that two sets have been installed - one by Franklin School on Trousdale Drive, and another on California Drive by Broadway. He said that these signs have dynamic feedback with appropriate messages for the conditions, such as “Too Fast – Slow Down”. - Non-standard stop signs along Trousdale Drive Mr. Wong stated that staff should be able to report on the warrant study results at the next meeting. - Adeline Drive/Cortez Avenue pedestrian crosswalk Mr. Chou reported that current results warrant a pedestrian crosswalk at this location and that installation would occur as soon as the work can be scheduled, depending on temperature conditions. - Streetline’s “Parker” App for Burlingame Parking Lots Mr. Wong gave a demonstration of the Streetline Parker app. He explained that Streetline identifies the parking lots in the downtown shopping districts and provides information about the number of spaces, cost and hours of operation in a given lot. 8.1.2 Construction and Design projects Mr. Wong reported that the Streetscape Project was still at 40% complete due to the downtown moratorium during the holidays. He added that during the past week, half of the 1400 block of Burlingame Avenue was closed for construction. Mr. Wong reported that all the striping for the Bike Route Improvement Project was down on the ground, and that the contractors were ready to install the signs once the City logo emblems were added to the signs. Pat Giorni added that she spotted two bike lane logos on Bayshore Boulevard that no longer belong there. Mr. Wong said that he would contact Caltrans to discuss the removal. 8.1.3 School Traffic Issues Commissioner Londer opened the floor for public comment. 7 Tony Azalini stated that he did a brief survey to determine the number of students crossing El Camino Real to go to BIS (Burlingame Intermediate School) or Lincoln School and found that there are 63 students. Mr. Azalini and Steve Pariani expressed their concern for children safety and inquired if a crossing guard could be utilized. The Commission informed them to contact Rusty Hopewell of the Burlingame School District, who is involved with Safe Routes to Schools. Pat Giorni stated that the timing on the signals on El Camino Real at Ray Drive/Rosedale Avenue was too short. Pat Giorni and Commissioner Londer volunteered to do citizen traffic counts at these intersections. 8.2 Police Department Reports 8.2.1 General/Selective Traffic Enforcement Report Sergeant Kiely will defer his report until next month. 8.3 Commissioners’ Comments and Concerns None. 9. Communications 9.1 Eugene Zauber – Traffic Calming Petition for Floribunda Avenue Mr. Wong stated that he has already spoken with Mr. Zauber and has plans to meet with him to do a neighborhood walk-through. 9.2 Laurie Simonson – LAPD Bike Safety Training Video 9.3 Mary Kroll – Pedestrian Signals and Ped/Bike Safety Concerns 9.4 Manito Velasco – California Drive Bike Collision 9.5 Other Communications 10. Commission & Committee Reports 10.1 Burlingame Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (B/PAC) Commissioner Wettan reported that B/PAC met earlier this evening and had a good discussion about the alternative bike route from the Millbrae transit hub. He said there was also discussion about a potential traffic circle at California Drive & Bellevue Avenue. 8 11. New Future Agenda Items 11.1 Howard Avenue Long-term and Short-term Parking (1400 block) 11.2 TSPC Areas of Emphasis for 2014 11.3 Electric Charging Stations 12. Elections – Chair and Vice-Chair Elections for 2014 Item postponed until next month. 13. Adjournment – 10:52 p.m.