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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2011.04.14 The City of Burlingame CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 www.burlingame.org TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, April 14, 2011 Commissioners Present: Jeff Londer, Chair Laurie Simonson, Vice Chair Nicklas Akers Mark Noworolski Caroline Serrato Commissioners Absent: None Staff Present: Augustine Chou, Transportation Engineer, Public Works Corporal Chuck Witt, Police Department Joanne Louie, Administrative Secretary, Public Works Visitors: None 1. CALL TO ORDER. 7:03 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. 3. ROLL CALL. 4 of 5 Commissioners present. (Commissioner Simonson late) 4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Motion: To accept the minutes of March 10, 2011 with the following amendments: Item 6 include current Chair Londer in presenting their report at the joint council meeting and Item 7.1 correction of Commissioner Serrato’s last name. M/S/C: Noworolski/Serrato; 3/0/2 (Akers abstained, Simonson not present) 6. PUBLIC COMMENTS None CURRENT BUSINESS 6.1 Commission Appeals Policy – Discussion of authority of Commission to establish policy Commissioner Akers made a presentation questioning whether or not there should be a procedure for appeals of TSPC decisions to the City Council; and if so, should the procedure be adopted by the Commission, or the Council. Potential courses of action were discussed: - Propose the adoption of an ordinance - Request City Attorney opinion - Take no action Motion: Request the City Attorney to provide an opinion as to whether there should be an appeal or review procedure, and if it should be adopted by the Commission or by the Council through an ordinance. M/S/C: Akers/Noworolski; 5/0/0 6.2 Pedestrian Corridors – Discussion and update on Adeline/Cortez, Oak Grove/Ansel and ECR sidewalks Mr. Chou reported that he would seek clarification as to whether the option to use arrow signs can be applied at unmarked crosswalks such as Adeline and Cortez Avenue. He also stated that other alternatives or traffic calming measures would be considered a s alternatives just in case. Mr. Chou added that several changes occurring at Lincoln School could affect pedestrian traffic patterns on the surrounding streets. He recommended waiting until those changes were in place before further consideration of alternative changes. Mr. Chou reported that the Painting & Sign crew would be including marked crosswalk work along Oak Grove Avenue in their summer schedule. An additional marked crosswalk would be installed at Ansel Road; however, because of a large tree at the sidewalk of the intersection, there still was some problem with determining exactly where to install that crosswalk and associated access ramp. Mr. Chou reported that he would provide a follow up report in a future Transportation Engineer’s Report once it was determined if a new ramp could be included in an upcoming Handicap Ramp Replacement Program. Finally, Mr. Chou reported he was waiting for Caltrans to provide the appropriate contacts to pursue the matter of the condition of sidewalks along El Camino Real. Commissioner Akers reiterated the need to push for walk -able sidewalks along El Camino Real. Mr. Chou stated that historically the Caltrans response was that there are no available funds. Mr. Chou added that a strategy needed to be formed to a ddress Caltrans’ lack of funds response, such as a collaborative effort between the two agencies to seek grants. He also suggested the possibility of a subcommittee to continue exploring this alternative. 7. Staff Reports 7.1 Transportation Engineer’s Report – Report and update on various construction work in Howard Avenue area Mr. Chou reported that there are three separate contractors doing work on Howard Avenue – Butler Construction for Safeway, Shaw Pipeline for the water main and Tennyson Electric for streetlights. Mr. Chou reported that LED lamps have been installed along California Drive to replace the standard high-pressure sodium streetlights. Mr. Chou reported that staff has begun design work on the TDA funded project to provide new sidewalk access on Rollins Road and Bayshore Highway leading to the Broadway Pedestrian Overcrossing. He stated that the design work was at about 60% complete at this point. 7.2 Traffic Sergeant’s Report – General/Selective Traffic Enforcement Report Corporal Witt reported that Parking Enforcement had been present a couple times a week last month on Devereux Drive to help with the traffic situation at Lincoln School. He reported that Police staff saw some minor improvements when they were present and that some additional suggestions were emailed to Mr. Chou. Corporal Witt reported that several joint operations were conducted with San Mateo Police last month focusing on National Distracted Drivers Awareness. Corporal Witt reported that he and Mr. Chou would be working jointly on a project to either rezoning or shifting use-priority of certain City lots in the Broadway area. He added that staff would be bringing details to the Commission as a future meeting item. Corporal Witt reported that the City Manager has requested the Police Chief look at the feasibility of implementing parking pay stations that accept credit cards. A study would be conducted in June, in which, approximately 50 parking meters on one side of Burlingame Avenue would temporarily have parking meters that accept credit cards. He stated that this field study test would last 90 days. Corporal Witt also reported that there would be a meeting and presentation with the vendor on April 19th regarding the actual meter units, and that interested Commissioners should contact him. 7.3 Commissioners’ Comments and Concerns Commissioner Simonson noted that Commissioner Serrato was acknowledged at the last Council meeting for her assistance and aid in helping Burlingame on the days of torrential rains. COMMUNICATIONS None 8. COMMISSION & COMMITTEE REPORTS 8.1 Burlingame Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory committee (B/PAC) Mr. Chou reported that the Committee did not meet this month. He did report, however, that “Bike to Work Day” would be on May 12th and that volunteers were needed for hydration stations. Mr. Chou also stated that he had order forms for “Bike to Work” t-shirts for interested parties. Chair Londer noted that Burlingame would be participating in the “Drive Less Challenge”, which is occurring April 22nd – May 5th, for a second year. He reported that the Parks Commission has challenged the TSPC to determine which commis sion would be able to drive less during this period. Chair Londer encouraged participants to register at www.drivelesschallenge.com. Mr. Chou reported that the TDA Grant applications scoring group had the ir tour this past Saturday. He stated that the scoring group was able to look at two of the City’s three application sites. He added that the scoring group would reconcile their scores and a preliminary decision would be made later this month. An official announcement of project ranking and scores would be made in May. 8.2 Website/Communications Subcommittee Commissioner Akers reported that some changes have been made to the TSPC website and the Commission email address was now active. He reported that the ways to link to the Commission was streamlined and improved; and, that FAQs would also be modified. Work was still in progress and better content was still being developed. The Commission thanks Joanne Louie for her efforts on the TSPC website. 8.3 Devereux Drive/Lincoln School Traffic Flow Subcommittee Commissioner Akers recused himself. Commissioner Simonson gave a report on behalf of Commissioner Noworolski. It was reported that the Principal of Lincoln School, Diane Garber, informed Commissioner Noworolski that efforts to mitigate traffic congestion have been successful. Principal Garber also noticed marked changes in driver behavior resulting in traffic improvements and thanked the Commission for their efforts. Commissioner Serrato reported that additional efforts would be implemented to indoctrinate and educate new parents on how drop-offs and pickups are handled at Lincoln School. She also reported that the principal will request that an officer attend the “Back to School Night” event to explain the process. Finally, discussion also occurred regarding incentivizing parents who are correctly picking up and dropping off their children. 9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 9.1 Electric Vehicle Charging Station Presentation (May) 9.2 Trousdale Drive Traffic (May) 9.3 Burlingame Avenue 2-Hour Parking Evaluation (pending date) 9.4 Burlingame Avenue/Downtown Parking Study (pending date) 10. ADJOURNMENT 8:41 p.m.