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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2006.04.13 The City of Burlingame Page 1 The City of Burlingame CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 www.burlingame.org TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved April 13, 2006 Commissioners Present: Eugene Condon, Chair Victor James, Vice-Chair Michael Bohnert Dan Conway Stephen Warden Commissioners Absent: None Staff Present: Augustine Chou, Traffic Engineer, Public Works Sergeant Don Shepley, Police Department Lori Brock, Secretary, Public Works Visitors: Linda Abbey, 2415 Adeline Drive Leslie Ragsdale, 1509 Los Montes Drive Pat Giorni, 1445 Balboa Avenue John A. Brogan, 1921 Devereux Drive Ellis Rhoades, 1924 Devereux Drive Jim Evans, 1917 Devereux Drive James Aylett, 1555 Bernal Avenue Charles Bona, 1551 Bernal Avenue Dennis J. Creedon, 2012 Devereux Drive Gil C. Sylvia, 2004 Devereux Drive C. Chavez, 1556 Bernal Avenue The City of Burlingame Page 2 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Unapproved April 13, 2006 1. CALL TO ORDER 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL 5 of 5 Commissioners present. 4. CURRENT BUSINESS 4.1 ACTION ITEMS 4.1.1 March 9, 2006 minutes will be submitted for approval at the next Traffic Safety and Parking Commission meeting in May. 4.2 DISCUSSION ITEMS 4.2.1 Primrose Road/Howard Avenue – Designation of 24-minute green zones Commissioner Conway excused himself from this discussion due to a possible conflict of interest regarding the day-care. Traffic Engineer Chou updated the Commission of the need s of the United Methodist Church Nursery School, and the resulting request for short-term on- street parking. He explained that at the March 9 TSPC meeting, the Commission and Leslie Ragsdale had discussed some options for short-term parking. He also explained that the surrounding businesses were notified of the public meeting, but that there was little to no turnout from the businesses at that time. Mr. Chou concluded by saying that it recommended designating five spaces along Primrose, beginning at Howard, as 24-minute green zones. He also stated that due to enforcement issues, the new green zone should have meters. Leslie Ragsdale requested the City consider variable enforcement times for Saturdays and Sundays due to church activity on these days. The City of Burlingame Page 3 Commissioner Warden stated that he would still like to see the church consider reserving spaces in their parking lot for picking up and dropping off of children. He would like to see the church allocate some of their space (by way of signage) as the City is being asked to allocate space that will specifically be used by the church. He asked that staff send a letter to the church offering such a recommendation to them for future consideration. Commissioner James asked for confirmation that the church would be willing to include signage in their parking lot. Chair Condon commented that businesses in the area have provided no feedback. He said he supported a 24-minute enforcement zone, and believed that this would provide a greater turn-over in parking for of vehicles. Commissioner Bohnert commented his approval of 24-minute parking with no restrictions on weekends. Sergeant Shipley said that an ordinance may need to be passed to accommodate this change. Traffic Engineer Augustine Chou informed the Commission it would not be difficult to amend the ordinance, but cautioned that the City should be consistent regarding enforcements on Saturdays. He said that currently parking was enforced on Saturdays, and this action would exclude enforcement specifically at this location. Motion: To move to Action Item. M/S/C: Warden, Bohnert; 4/0/1 (Commissioner Conway abstained.) Commissioner Warden felt that a non-binding letter could be sent to the church administration asking that they consider reconfiguring the parking lot for a new driveway to accommodate daycare traffic. Chair Condon said he did not think that a letter would be necessary. He also stated that he would rather support Saturday enforcements if the 24-minute meters where to be approved Motion: To accept staff recommendation to install five metered 24-minute green zones along Primrose Road, south of Howard Avenue; and, also to send a letter to the church recommending that they investigate the use of the church parking lot for daycare pick-up and drop-off parking. The Commission also reiterated that Saturdays would be enforced. M/S/C: Warden, Bohnert; 3/1/1 (Commissioner Conway abstained.) The City of Burlingame Page 4 4.2.2 Adeline Drive/Mercy High School – Traffic Studies Mr. Chou informed the Commission that the sub -committee held a meeting with residence and staff to coordinate with the Planning Department regarding Mercy High School improvements. He said that the Planning Department would be requesting the applicant (Mercy High School) to consult with a traffic consultant. Mr. Chou stated that staff, the sub-committee, and the Planning Department would be meeting on April 27, 2006 to coordinate tasks and review issues before meeting with Mercy High School. He said that staff and the sub-committee would then refer their findings to the Commission and resident input would be coordinated. Linda Abbey, 2415 Adeline Drive, stated that she had concerns after a recent Mercy event dealing with illegally parked cars and chaos between parents and students. She said that she wanted a timeline of actions, and review enforcement. Mr. Chou informed the Commission that recent rains and personnel shortages had been a hindrance to completing the necessary actions required to go forward with this item. Commissioner Warden stated that he would like the Commission to receive Ms. Abbey’s notes of the incidents in question, and asked that she forward them to Mr. Chou. 4.2.3 Devereux Drive/Bernal Avenue – Evaluate need for stop signs or actions to slow traffic. Mr. Chou informed the Commission that the intersection did not meet the warrants for a three-way stop or any additional stop signs. He advised that stop signs should not be used for speed control, but were instead used to assign right-of-way. Mr. Chou stated that along with signage at the intersection, other options to consider for speed control were 40’-60’ centerline stripping, a police officer stopping the driver and asking them to slow down, and use of the radar speed trailer. Charles Bona, 1551 Bernal Avenue, said that he was a 20-year resident and informed the Commission that vehicles accelerate d down Bernal from Devereux. He added that his neighbor, Bud Smiley, had a crash in front of his home and Mr. Bona would like the Commission to carefully look at the angle of the road. The City of Burlingame Page 5 James Aylett, 1555 Bernal Avenue, stated that always has someone tailgating him down Bernal from Trousdale. He recommended a stop sign be installed. C. Chavez, 1556 Bernal Avenue, expressed his concern over the blind corner and accidents caused by speeding. He also said that he believed the stop sign at Devereux and Balboa has helped. Dennis Creedon, 2012 Devereux, recommended a stop on Devereux at Ray and informed the Commission of two accidents at the stop sign on Ray. Mr. Creedon also stated that parents dropping off and picking up their children from school were known to speed at this time of day. Pat Giorni, 1445 Balboa, said that the stop sign at Devereux and Balboa had helped the situation. She questioned the Commission on the City’s decision not to allow speed bumps in Burlingame. Gilbert C. Sylvia, 2004 Devereux, suggested the City develop one-way streets and make stop signs more visible. He said that there were only two ways out of the immediate area, through Bernal or Ray. Ellis Rhoades, 1924 Devereux, also spoke generally about speed on the street. (Editing Note: Audio tape recording was not clear, so specific comments could not be transcribed.) Commissioner Conway provided a list of traffic calming procedures that have been useful, which included centerline striping, reflectorized crosswalks, signage, delineators, and reflective dots . He commented that a decision to use these items should be based on the effectiveness to the issue. Mr. Chou informed the Commission of useable signage for the area such as the School Crossing sign, which shows the international symbol of children crossing. Other signage could be speed limit warning signs immediately adjacent to schools and installation of higher visibility fluorescent signs. Commissioner Warden suggested signage on Devereux at the curb to read “15 MPH” and commented that the staff report indicated that there had been no reported accidents in the area. He explained that the residents must be willing to report an accident in order to have it on record. Mr. Chou informed the Commission of the ball-bank indicator would be needed to determine safe speeds on curves, and commented that drivers familiar with the area were usually the violators. He explained that drunken driving and property damages were not reflected in his accident report. Mr. Chou stated that education and enforcement were necessary for drivers to maintain the 25 MPH speed limit. The City of Burlingame Page 6 Commissioner James stated that he believed the issue to be a matter of behavioral modification. He said that currently due to speeding, signage was being ignored. He believed immediate driver behavioral change was needed. Commissioner Bohnert agreed that enforcement and education was important, but he was concerned with how the City would implement these two items. He mentioned adding a stop sign as a way to keep vehicle speeds down. Chair Condon said that last year’s plan worked well; and, that traffic through the City needed to flow, not stop. He indicated that the bots dots were the next level to consider, but cautioned that they tended to be noisy. He reiterated that certain traffic calming measures were working well in other areas. Mr. Chou informed the Commission that bots dots and buttons would be less intrusive when used in the centerline configuration. He recommended using painted centerlines to create a driving discomfort to drivers prior to adding reflective dots to the centerline. He added that traffic would always be an issue in this area because these were major streets that connected two nearby schools. Mr. Chou explained that additional traffic counts would be completed at Ray and Devereux for next month’s meeting. He suggested that additional comments and contact with residents on Ray and Devereux would help determine a better idea of the traffic flow in the area. Chair Condon agreed. Commissioner James said that he wanted to give staff authorization to take additional steps, if necessary, before coming back to the Commission. Commissioner Bohnert said that he would like additional steps brought back to the Commission. Mr. Chou informed the Commission that if striping was approved, staff could communicate with the residents to get feedback and comments if striping turned out not to be effective. Commissioner Conway stated that he wanted additional information on the noise level that residents might hear from the bots dots and reflectors. Mr. Chou explained that noise complaints usually dealt with the use of transverse buttons in installations such as in crosswalks or rumble strips. Chair Condon supported the idea of resident feedback, but believed that the following steps should be taken. 1. 60’ centerline 2. Radar trailer placed at various sites The City of Burlingame Page 7 3. Deny stop sign 4. Contact Mr. Chou if the above steps do not resolve the issue. Motion: To move to Action Item. M/S/C: Warden, Conway; 5/0/0 Motion: To deny the request for stop signs; and, to install double -yellow, painted centerlines at all approaches to the Devereux/Bernal intersection, post the radar speed trailer on surrounding streets M/S/C: Warden, Conway; 5/0/0 4.2.4 Ray Drive – Speed survey. Traffic Engineer Chou explained that a spot speed survey was done on a portion of Ray Drive between Quesada and Ray, near Monte Corvino. A sample of 50 vehicles was taken and the recorded 85th percentile speed was 25 mph. Mr. Chou explained that the study was done during off -peak hours when traffic was the most free-flowing. He stated that the periodic posting of the radar speed trailer could help in better informing drivers of their speeds and keep the speeds relatively slow. 4.2.5 Broadway – Evaluate lighted crosswalks or other enhancements at 1100 block Broadway. Traffic Engineer Chou explained that this request had originally come from a citizen via Council. He explained that there was concern that pedestrian safety enhancements might be needed at this existing crosswalk. Chair Condon asked if grant funding could be considered. Mr. Chou answered that it could if the locations had sufficient pedestrian volume counts to justify such installations. Chair Condon said that he believed some type of enhancements were needed at that location. Mr. Chou said that if a lighted crosswalk system were to be considered, then a bicycle safety sub-committee should look at the project and lend its support for application. He added that neither staff, nor the Commission had the authority to authorize funding such a project through the City. Mr. Chou suggested consideration of reflectorized buttons for this specific crosswalk instead of a lighted system. He said that this location, while actually configured as a T-intersection, acted more like a mid-block crosswalk because Chula Vista Avenue was a one-way street heading away from the The City of Burlingame Page 8 intersection. Mr. Chou cautioned that the Broadway businesses might also want similar enhancements at other crosswalks along the corridor , but that enhancements were usually reserved for mid -block type crosswalks. Pat Giorni, 1445 Balboa Avenue, said that there was no need for lighted crosswalks at this intersection because of possible changes to the traffic flow due to future Caltrans work at the Broadway/101 overpass area. Commissioner Warden also mentioned that there was a significant cost difference between installing reflectorized buttons and a full lighted crosswalk system. Motion: To move to Action Item. M/S/C: Conway, Warden; 5/0/0 Motion: To install reflectorized buttons along the existing cros swalk as a safety enhancement and refer any future requests for lighted crosswalks to the new bicycle safety sub-committee, which will be established by Council. M/S/C: Conway, Warden; 5/0/0 4.2.6 Broadway/Paloma Avenue – Evaluate need for stop signs. Traffic Engineer Chou explained that due to the backlog of traffic volume studies resulting from weather delays, this item could not be addressed at this time by staff. He said that a full warrant study, which included traffic counts would be conducted as soon as the backlog was reduced. 4.2.7 Broadway – Evaluate ways to slow traffic speeds. Traffic Engineer Chou reported that this item was also from concerned citizens via Council. He said that there was no staff recommendation for this item. He explained that based on field examinations, Broadway appeared to be congested from mid-morning through to late afternoon. He said that speeding would be difficult during these times, but if any perceived speeding did occur, it might only be between the short sections o f blocks. Mr. Chou explained that enforcement and engineering could do little for such sporadic occurrences because of the blocks are so short. Pat Giorni, 1445 Balboa Avenue, said that the average speed on Broadway seemed to be 15 mph, and that people j ust needed to be more courteous with each other on Broadway. She concluded by saying that she didn’t see a reason why there was a complaint. The City of Burlingame Page 9 5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF NEW ITEMS None. 6. FROM THE FLOOR 6.1 Pat Giorni, 1445 Balboa Avenue, came forward and presented several items for public comments.  She liked the light-hearted speeding warning signs used by Redwood City, and thought that the City should consider similar signs.  When forming the bicycle safety sub-committee, try to set aside funding to paint shared roads with San Mateo and Millbrae.  Try to establish consistent bike signage, similar to San Mateo’s efforts, so that all signs can tie in with the County Bikeways system.  Still waiting for the new bike rack at City Hall.  She suggested tying the Ray/Bernal intersection situation to Safe Routes for School grants since it involves pedestrian and bicycle safety issues.  She asked for more Police enforcement of illegally parked cars. Specifically, citing vehicles parked on the wrong side of the street, facing the wrong direction. 7. INFORMATION ITEMS 7.1 Bicycle Safety Issues in Burlingame Chair Condon said that he would be checking to see if certain bike safety projects could be eligible for Safe Routes for School funding. Mr. Chou added that he would also check with fellow engineers who have had more experience with this particular grant. Commissioner Conway said that no single part of the City plan was expensive, and that grant money could be applied for specific projects in specific areas . 7.2 From Council to Commission/Staff None. 7.3 From Staff to Commission 7.3.1 Traffic Engineer=s Report The City of Burlingame Page 10 Traffic Engineer Chou told the Commission that the City Council had listened to a Public Works-Engineering presentation on Traffic Calming at their March 20 Council meeting. He said that a powerpoint presentation was given, and that hardcopies were provided to the Commission at this time. Mr. Chou also reported that Council would be reviewing the temporary stop sign situation at Cortez and Sherman Avenues. He added that the volume and speed counts did not appear to change significantly during the 6-month trial period, and that the City might have to look to traffic calming solutions if the stop signs were to be denied. 7.3.1.1 Peninsula Avenue/US101 Overpass Status Report Traffic Engineer Chou reported that San Mateo was still studying alternatives and that no meeting was set between Burlingame and San Mateo at this time. 7.3.1.2 Broadway/US 101 Overpass Status Report Traffic Engineer Chou explained that there was nothing new to report at this time since the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) was still being worked on by Caltrans. 7.3.2 Traffic Sergeant=s Report Sergeant Shepley reported that the Burlingame Police would be hosting training for other jurisdictions on how to conduct street racing enforcement. He said that this would include training on how to look for and cite equipment violations. 7.3.3 Other City Staff Reports None. 7.4 From Commission to Staff 7.4.1 Reports of citizen complaints or requests. The City of Burlingame Page 11 Chair Condon asked Traffic Engineer Chou to look into the parking restrictions on Peninsula Avenue. Currently, there are restrictions for parking along the westbound lanes, from 8AM to 6PM, Mondays through Fridays. He wanted to know the historical reasoning behind these restrictions. 7.5 Comments and communications None. 7.6 Next meeting: May 11, 2006 There were no anticipated absences for the next meeting. 8. INACTIVE ITEMS 8.1 Easton Drive – Eucalyptus tree at Easton and Cabrillo. 8.2 Adeline Drive/Balboa Avenue – Evaluate crosswalk enhancements. 8.3 Carmelita Avenue/Vancouver Avenue – Evaluate crosswalks installation. Traffic Engineer Chou explained that this item would be moved in a timely manner to the Discussion Items list as soon as staff resources are available to address them. 9. AGENDUM ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING – May 11, 2006 9.1 Items Requiring Staff Reports $ Item 4.2.2 – Adeline/Mercy $ Item 4.2.6 – Broadway/Paloma stop sign request. $ New Item – Ray/Devereux stop sign and speed control request. 10. ADJOURNMENT 9:30 p.m.