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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2007.08.09 Page 1 of 6 The City of Burlingame CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 www.burlingame.org TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes – Approved Thursday, August 9, 2007 Commissioners Present: Victor James, Chair Dan Conway, Vice Chair Mark Noworolski Stephen Warden Commissioners Absent: Michael Bohnert Staff Present: Augustine Chou, Traffic Engineer, Public Works Sgt. Dean Williams, Police Department Joanne Louie, Administrative Secretary, Public Works Syed Murtuza, Assistant Director of Public Works Randy Schwartz, Director of Parks and Recreation Jane Gomery, Project Manager Maureen Brooks, Senior Planner Visitors: Lorraine Smith, 1820 Broadway Scheherezade Sharabiandlou, 220 California Drive Jean Silverira, 2331 Poppy Drive Farris Horak, 1332 Edgehill Drive Sharon Menicucci, 3021 Atwater Drive Glenn Harvey, 200 California Drive Jeriann Flores, 1552 Ralston Avenue Stephen Hamilton, 105 Crescent Rudy Horak, 1332 Edgehill Drive Quent Cordair Pat Giorni, 1445 Balboa Avenue 1. CALL TO ORDER. 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. 3. ROLL CALL. 4 of 5 Commissioners present. 4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT None. Page 2 of 6 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Motion: To accept the minutes of July 12, 2007 as submitted. M/S/C: Conway, Warden; 4/0/1 (Bohnert absent) 6. CHAIR’S PROLOGUE Chair James acknowledged Sharon Menicucci for her advocating the Safety Awareness Week. Ms. Menicucci worked with Comcast to develop a public service announcement on safety awareness. Additionally, she submitted an item for the City’s eNews. Chair James commended her for her citizen participation and noted how one person could make a difference. 7. CONSENT Chair James recommended that Item 9.2 be moved to the Consent Agenda and there were no objections. Item 9.2 Commission discussion and consideration of a final version of Critical Minimum Street Width Policy to be incorporated into the overall Urban Forest Management Plan. Motion: To approve the Consent Agenda M/S/C: Conway, Warden; 4/0/1 (Bohnert absent) 8. PUBLIC COMMENTS Pat Giorni suggested that the second pedestrian sign a t Hillside Drive & Balboa Avenue not be removed. The second signs appear to be effective and are not over -signage. Ms. Giorni expressed her concern that she had submitted this evening a Request to Speak on Item 9.2 however it was just approved on the Consent Agenda and questioned how the public could comment on such a matter. Chair James replied that this matter had been fully discussed at the last meeting without any objections and also that any concerns c ould be raised when this matter goes before the Council. Sharon Menicucci expressed her thanks to Doris Mortensen, City Clerk, for her assistance in getting her article in the Burlingame eNewsletter. Additionally, Ms. Menicucci, expressed her appreciation to Regina Schaurte of Comcast TV for her assistance with the public service announcement regarding Safety Awareness. 14. COMMISSION & COMMITTEE REPORTS 14.2 Biannual Commission Report (Item taken out of order) Commissioner Warden suggested that in the future the Biannual Commission Report be written by the Chair and then reviewed by the Commission before submission , as Page 3 of 6 opposed to each Commissioner writing their portion on their quad . He said this would produce a document with one writing style for a smoother flow. Chair James explained the genesis of this report and what recently occurred with their first report. It was agreed that in the future, the Chair would prepare the report for fellow Commissioners to review prior to submitting it to Council. 9. CURRENT BUSINESS 9.3 Commission consideration of dates to hold the Traffic, Safety and Parking Seminar series. (Item taken out of order) Chair James explained the rationale for the Traffic, Safety and Parking Seminar series. This series would include Managing Parking, 21st Century, Science of Traffic Engineering, and Citizen Participation. The date for the first seminar was determined to be October 2007 and the topic would be Science of Traffic Engineering. The actual seminar date would be established based on the availability of panel guests. Commission discussion and public hearing on the City Lot V parking study. Discussion occurred clarifying that the purpose of the Commission review was to determine whether the study was missing any crucial elements, or if there were any fundamental flaws in the evaluation process. Mr. Chou stressed that the main focus of the discussion for this item should be whether or not the Commission w ould accept the basic results of the study and recommend any particular option. Chair James opened the floor to public comment. Quent Cordair, President of the Downtown Business Association, thanked the Commission for allowing the time for businesses to review the study results. Mr. Cordair stated that some merchants question whether this is the right time to pursue converting this lot into a plaza. He said the restaurants downtown were concerned about loss of parking. Mr. Cordair spoke on behalf of Mr. Garcia of Steelhead Brewery, stating that a plaza would provide a nicer view, but felt that there was also a higher potential for loitering. Mr. Cordair also spoke on behalf of Mejano and Ecco which expressed dismay at losing any parking spaces. Mr. Cordair also expressed concern that parking spaces that are taken away would eventually need to be replaced at the rate of today’s dollars. Chair James read letters from Heriz Music & Art and Heriz Rugs Center, which both requested that the spaces in Lot V be left as they are. Scheherezade Sharabiandlou, of PIP Printing, also requested that Lot V remain as it is now. Page 4 of 6 Lorraine Smith concurred that Burlingame has a parking problem and stated that the loss of 10-19 spaces should not prevent consideration for a plaza, which would be for the greater good of the City. Rudy Horak expressed the need for a drop-off point as it is a major thoroughfare for trains, cars and bicycles. Stephen Hamilton read a letter to the Commission on behalf of Bobbi Benson , which enthusiastically supported the elimination of Lot V for a full plaza. Glen Harvey, spoke on behalf of Mike Harvey and expressed his concern that if this lot was eliminated, the parking would backup to the nearby businesses. Mr. Harvey expressed his concern about customer and service parking as opposed to employee parking, and also the safety issues with a plaza near a high traffic area between a train station and California Drive. Gene Condon, a former TSPC Chair and a Centennial Event Committee member, stated that whatever this Commission decided, they would work with it. Mr. Condon also mentioned mixed use of the lot, which was using the lot for parking during lull periods for the plaza. Commissioner Conway asked Mr. Condon, as a former TSPC Chair , what he was advocating in this matter. Chair James allowed Mr. Condon to reply based on his past experiences as a Commissioner and Chair. Mr. Condon replied that the current lot needed to be redesigned to make it safer. Jeriann Fleres supported the elimination of Lot V in favor for a plaza and felt that there was plenty of parking near the donut shop. Pat Giorni agreed with Staff to accept the results of the study and supported Option #1 which was no change of the lot. Ms. Giorni stated that the discussion as to where the plaza should be located should be up to the Council and not before this Commission. She suggested that the Commission pass this study forward to the Council. Jennifer Pfaff stated that Lot O has plenty of available parking spots due to the difficulty of using this lot. Ms. Pfaff suggested that Lot O be made more usable. Commissioner Noworolski stated that he was inclined to accept the report in regards to completeness of the report. Commissioner Warden reported that he had spoken with the restau rant businesses and that there was concern if parking spaces were taken away. Commissioner Warden also stated that repaving with pavers as a part-time plaza would be unacceptable with motor Page 5 of 6 oil making it unsafe for foot traffic. He added that this intersection could be prime location for a “T-bone” crash and that safety at this intersection should be a ma jor concern. Mr. Chou once again reiterated that this discussion was not to be about the location of the plaza. The issue was whether or not the city could absorb the loss of spaces at Lot V. Chair James asked Mr. Chou for the parameters of this discussion to comment on the assessment district, historical intent of the lot, and the intent of the Howard family when Lot V was donated to the city. Mr. Chou did not have information on that history available this evening. Motion: Accept the City Lot V Parking Study M/S/C: Warden, Noworolski; 3/1/1 (James – dissented, Bohnert – absent) Motion: Make a recommendation of no change to Lot v and pass on our concerns to Council regarding the safety of using that area for a plaza. Motion died due to a lack of a second. Motion: Support Option 1 – Total Elimination of Lot V Motion died due to a lack of a second. Motion: Support Option 2 – Partial or Mixed Use of Lot V Motion died due to a lack of a second. Motion: Support Option 3 – No change to parking at Lot V M/S/C: Warden/Conway; 3/1/1 (Noworolski – dissented, Bohnert – absent) Commission discussion and consideration of a final version of Critical Minimum Street Width Policy to be incorporated into the overall Urban Forest Management Plan. Approved on the consent agenda. Commission consideration of dates to hold the Traffic Safety and Parking Seminar series. Item taken out of order under current business Page 6 of 6 10. STAFF REPORTS Traffic Engineer’s Report Mr. Chou reported that staff had not heard back from MTC regarding the authorization for Broadway/Paloma Avenue lighted crosswalk. Mr. Chou also reported that Caltrans had been doing some work on US101; and, that the construction of the new Rollins Road sound wall ha d begun. Traffic Sergeant’s Report None. 11. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT None. 12. PENDING ITEMS None. 13. COMMUNICATIONS None. 14. COMMISSION & COMMITTEE REPORTS Burlingame Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee Mr. Chou reported that plans for bike racks in the Burlingame Avenue area were presented at the P/BAC meeting earlier this evening, and that they are prepared to go forward with notification or a presentation to Council. Biannual Commission Report Item taken out of order after public comments. Miscellaneous Reports None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9:03 p.m.