HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2005.09.08The City of Burlingame
CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD
CALIFORNIA 94010-3997
www.burlingame.org
TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION
Meeting Minutes - Approved
Thursday - September 8, 2005
Commissioners Present:Stephen W arden, Chair
Eugene Condon, Vice-Chair
Russ Cohen
Dan Conway
Victor James
Commissioners Absent:None
Staff Present:Traffic Sergeant Don Shepley, Police Department
Augustine Chou, Traffic Engineer, Public W orks
Lori Brock, Secretary, Public W orks
Staff Absent:None
Visitors:Jack and Karen Odden, 1541 Burling ame Avenue
Raziel Ungar, 1200 Edgehill Road
Joe McVeigh, 329 Occidental Av enue
Irvin Ungar, 1200 Edgehill Road
Margie Urgar, 1200 Edgehill Road
Susie and Alan Klein, 325 Occidental Av enue
Anastasia Cole, 341 Occidental Av enue
Michael Spare, 433 Occidental Av enue
TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION
Meeting Minutes - Unapproved
Thursday, September 8, 2005
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 Minutes for August 11, 2005.
Minutes were amended to read as transcribed below and approved:
Page 2, 4.2.1, paragraph 2 - Commissioner Conway asked that the
following be corrected.
“Commissioner Conway Condon excused himself from this discussion ...”
Page 4, 4.2.1, paragraph 2 - Commissioner Cohen requested the
statement he made be reflected in the approved minutes.
“Commissoner Cohen asked that while the Commission could not require
the owner not erect or install obstructions within their right-of-way, that they
would nevertheless consider leaving that area open.”
Page 4, 4.2.1, new paragraph - Commissioner James wanted to state for
the record that while he voted “Yes” on this matter, he has since
reconsidered his position because he felt the Commission’s conclusion was
for the wrong reasons. Commissioner James now believes the businesses
directly impacted by this matter did not have a problem and the matter was
based on someone else’s complaints.
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Motion: To accept the m inutes as am ended.
M/S/C: Condon, James; 5/0/0
4.2 DISCUSSION ITEMS
4.2.1 Cowan Road/Mahler Road/Gilbreth Road - Height, overnight parking, and
limited-time parking restrictions
Traffic Engineer Chou explained that two meetings would be established;
one meeting at the Sky Chefs facility, and a second meeting at City Hall.
He said that the first meeting would be a day meeting and the second
meeting would be in the evening. Mr. Chou explained that he and Mary
Donnelly (Sky Chefs) were working on a schedule f or the first meeting.
Commissioner Conway said that he believed most public meetings have
smaller turnout than what is generally expected.
Chair W arden suggested having the meeting take place in a neighboring
hotel conf erence room.
Commissioner Condon was concerned that there might not be a lot of
participation from surrounding employees - which would be the people this
meeting was for.
Mr. Chou recommended that the item be continued for next month, and
that a meeting schedule could be established w ithin the next two weeks.
4.2.2 Edgehill Road and Chula Vista Av enue - Stop sign request
Traffic Engineer Chou reported that a stop sign warrant study was
conducted and that the study showed no need for stop signs. He said that
according to the accident history, there were no reported accidents at this
location within the last 24 months. He also said that volume counts were
low for a residential area. Mr. Chou did state, however, that vehicles were
observed negotiating left turns at the intersection at high speeds. He said
that the east-bound Edgehill traffic making left turns to go north on Chula
Vista were “cutting the corners” and making the turns at a high rate of
speed.
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Mr. Chou explained that one way to address the speeding problem would
be to install short sections of centerline stripes at the approaches. He
added that reflective roadway buttons would ensure that drivers stay in
their lanes, and force drivers to make acute left turns at slower rates. Mr.
Chou also stated that there was a sight visibility impairment at the corners.
He said that some additional red curbing could address this, but that the
red curbs would also give the drivers incentive to take the turns f aster.
Irvin Ungar commented that he liked the staff recommendation and
believed it would slow people down.
Motion: To move to action.
M/S/C: Condon, Cohen; 5/0/0
Motion: To accept staff recommendation to deny stop signs, but also to
install centerline striping at the approaches to the intersection of Edgehill
Road and Chula Vista Av enue.
M/S/C: Conway; Cohen; 5/0/0
4.2.3 Occidental Avenue - 6-month temporary re-installation of 2-hr. parking
restrictions.
Commissioner Conway excused himself from this discussion because of
the close proximity of his personal residence to this issue. He stated that
this put him too close to the area in q uestion.
Chair W arden announced that the City received two e-mails regarding this
item. One supported the continuation of not having the two-hour limit
signs, which was submitted by Mr. Kelly. The second e-mail message
requested that the two-hour signs be re-posted on the 300 block of
Occidental. That message was submitted by Ms. Karen Odden.
Traffic Engineer Chou explained that the 2-hour signs were initially
removed from the entire street of Occidental for a six month test period.
After the test period, it was determined that there were concerns over
parking abuses returning into the area from Burlingame Avenue. As a
result, the Commission had voted to reinstall the 2-hour parking restriction
on the majority of the street. The only section that continued to have no
restrictions was along the west side of the 300 block of Occidental, where
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most of the residents, who were present at the past meetings, said they
preferred that situation.
Mr. Chou continued by saying that since there was no unanimous support
to keep the 2-hour parking signs off the west side of the 300 block, the
Commission decided to give another six months to review whether or not
the residents would feel the same after the rest of the street had the
reinstated parking restrictions.
Mr. Chou said that the six month period was now over, and the
Commission was faced with the decision of whether or not to re-install the
signs. He added that comments and concerns w ere received regarding the
spillage of parking abuses into the un-regulated section from the rest of the
street. Mr. Chou concluded by saying that if the Commission still
determined that there was a “50/50 split”, then staff would suggest a
parking study by the City which should resolve this problem. The study
would be impartial and provided to the Commission with information which
would help serve the best interest of the overall public.
Commissioner Condon asked if there was any communications regarding
opposition to the 2-hour signs being posted back up in the last six months.
Mr. Chou said that the re-posting has been well accepted, and that he has
not received a ground swell of people stating that this was not working for
them. He added that it was evident that the vast majority of people living
on that part of Occidental Avenue were requesting the signs be put back
into place.
Susie Klein stated for the record that she had spoken to m ost of the people
on both sides of the 300 block of Occidental, as well as on the east-side
between Ralston and Burlingame Avenue. She said that almost everyone
she spoke with agreed that the best possible solution would be parking
permits for the residents. She added that there were a number of people
on the block who could not attend this meeting, with a few who were
planning to send e-mails. Ms. Klein stated that two petitions were
submitted with signatures from a majority of the people on the block. The
petitions requested permanent removal of the 2-hour parking restriction
from the 300 block as well as from the east-side of the block. Ms. Klein
also stated that the resident’s driveways were narrow and accommodated
only one car, that all the families had friends and visitors who needed to
park on their block.
Anastasia Cole commented that she has never received a ticket. Ms. Cole
stated that Occidental was known to been a “free parking” area off
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Burlingame Avenue. She also commented that while walking her dog
between Ralston and Burlingame Avenues, the parking areas are full,
Monday through Friday, and that the spaces in the 2-hour parking
restricted areas were not being used. She stated that having 2-hour signs
had created a problem for her. Ms. Cole claims her quality of life has gone
down and she was no longer willing to go along with the change. She
stated that she w ants the 2-hour parking signs back up.
Jack Odden stated that he would like to go back to what was there before
and have the signs on both sides of the street. He asked that if the City
were to allow one block of residents to have no restrictions because of their
parking constraints, what would this situation potentially do to the entire
neighborhood?
Michael Spare spoke of multiple problems on the street that needed to be
addressed. He stated that the signs needed to remain up, but also
believed that every house needed permits for themselves and for their
guests. Mr. Spare commented that the residents pay a lot of taxes on this
street, and that the houses were very expensive today. He also believed
that people abandoned their cars for three or four days while out of town.
He said that he had trucks parking every night and all weekend in front of
his house, and that the police could not do anything because the trucks
were under the maximum weight restriction for the street. Mr. Spare stated
that the 2-hour restriction signs should be posted and permits should be
provided for the residents. He also added that Occidental Avenue has
turned into a high speed zone (50-60 m.p.h.) from El Camino Real to
Ralston. He finished by saying that the street also needed stop signs on
the corner of Burlingame Avenue and Chapin since he felt that this would
eliminate the speeding .
Joe McVeigh stated that he agreed with permit parking, and pointed out
that there was 2-hour parking on other streets in the neighborhood. Mr.
McVeigh asked the Commission where they thought the problems were
going. He asked why not take down the signs on Ralston, Burlingame
Avenue, and Chapin. He stated that in his opinion, there was either a
problem on all the streets, or none of the streets.
Karen Odden mentioned that she did not wish to deny her neighbors
parking in front of their homes, but she took issue with the fact that before
the signs came down, there were no business district parking problems on
their street.
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Susie Klein spoke of having to apologize to each of her other neighbors,
but stated that they were actually all on the same side of this issue. She
said that she would be happy to have the signs up if she could park in front
of her home without getting a ticket. She supported a parking permit and
would be willing to pay an annual f ee for the permit.
Karen Odden spoke again and ask the Commission about a sign stating,
“Residential Parking”.
Commissioner James asked Ms. Kline if she indicated that citations were
not being issued in the area. Mr. Kline responded by saying that this
wasn’t true, and that his neighbor, Mr. Kelly, had received three or four
citations in the last couple of years. Anastasia Cole stated that her family
and friends have never received a ticket.
Commissioner James explained the motivation to his last question by
saying that he understood there to be a difference between the “letter of
the law” (enforceable strictly as written and intended) and the “spirit of the
law” (as a general guideline).
Chair W arden reiterated that the former traffic sergeant, Sgt. Cutler,
explained that if a law was on the books, then it would be enforced. He
added that enforcement depended on the workforce, manpower, and
rotation of the Police Department staf f.
Commissioner Condon pointed out that signs were taken down, and then
complaints were received. But when the signs were installed, there were
no complaints. His recommendation was to put the 2-hour parking signs
back up and if there wasn’t a happy medium, then he would support a
parking study - if the budget could af ford it.
Commissioner Cohen stated that he would like to go on record by saying
that he was intrigue by a parking study. He also questioned what would
happen if all parking restrictions were eliminated within a six block area.
W ould they all concentrate on the more convenient spots close to El
Camino Real or would the parkers travel farther away? W ould they reverse
their parking patterns?
Traffic Engineer Chou informed the Commission that the City did not have
a budget for a study, but that staff could provide a short and quick study
that was aimed at the 300 block of Occidental. The study would involve
collecting license plate and parking occupancy information.
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Chair W arden stated that he, another Commissioner, and Mr. Chou had
met approximately a year ago to address this same request from the
residents of Paloma, north of Broadway and from other areas around both
the commercial districts. He said that placards were not simply printed up
and handed out, but that it had to be done by the police department. Chair
W arden also reminded the public that there was no legal entitlem ent to
park in front of your own home because these were public streets and are
available for anyone.
Chair W arden stated that he had driven on Occidental since the situation
started, and that he had seen significant increases in the amount of cars
parked there during the day since the signs were removed. He added that
he was told by several people that employees from Burlingame Avenue
businesses were parking in the neighborhood and the situation was
worsened due to word of mouth.
Chair W arden reminded the public that the City had recently made a
recommendation to change the length of times and cost in some of the
parking lots a block away from the downtown area. W ith some publicity,
this change should direct some of the traffic off Occidental and into the
under-used parking lots. He concluded by saying that from a global
perspective, the 2-hour restrictions should be reinstated into the whole
area.
Commissioner Condon pointed out that the City was pushing to have the
under-utilized lots freed up f or employees.
Motion: To move to action
M/S/C: Condon, Cohen; 3/0/2 (Commissioner Conway excused himself
from voting.)
Motion: To reinstall 2-hour parking restrictions on the west side of the 300
block of Occidental Avenue.
M/S/C: Condon, W arden; 4/0/1 (Conway abstained.)
4.2.4 Joint Council/Commission meeting: October 13, 2005 at 6 PM
Chair W arden discussed the agenda and reason for this meeting. The
Commissioners are encouraged to attend and discuss various items that
would impact the Commission and the City Council. He said that areas of
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discussion would include some of the following: permit processing system,
traffic calming program & funding, speed zones, mobile radar units,
warrants studies, staff support, appeals process, role of the Commission in
relationship to the Council, ov erlap with other Com missions.
4.2.5 Gilbreth Road - Vehicle racing activity
Sergeant Shepley showed a video of a recent illegal drag race on Gilbreth
Road. He pointed out that onlookers were in close proximity to the racing
cars and could have been injured. Chair W arden said that it would be good
to have the capability to arrest the onlookers f or observing the race.
Traffic Engineer Chou informed the Commission that this matter would go
before Council as a Police Department staff report, with comments stating
that the Traffic, Safety and Parking Commission was in concurrence.
Commissioner James agreed that the Commission’s motion should be in
supporting the Police Department.
Commissioner Conway asked about the orig in for action, and was informed
that this was a joint effort between the Police Department and the
Commission.
Motion: To move to an action item .
M/S/C: Condon, Conway; 5/0/0
Motion: To ask support the Police staff report regarding the establishment
of an Ordinance regarding illegal street racing.
M/S/C: Conway, Condon; 5/0/0
5.ACKNOW LEDGMENT OF NEW ITEMS
5.1 None.
6.FROM THE FLOOR
6.1 None.
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7.INFORMATION ITEMS
7.1 Bicycle Safety Issues in Burlingame
None.
7.2 From Council to Commission/Staff
None
7.3 From Staff to Commission
7.3.1 Traffic Engineer’s Report
None.
7.3.2 Traffic Sergeant’s Report
Sergeant Shepley presented a memorandum regarding selective
enforcement, and the Mike Harvey parking survey on Carolan, between
Broadway and Cadillac.
7.4 From Commission to Staff
7.4.1 Reports of citizen complaints or requests.
Commissioner Cohen reported that he received two complaints. He received an
e-mail from Gary Doss regarding the crosswalk at 820 California Drive which
needed enhancement. The second complaint he received was from a local
business employee who has difficulty crossing Rollins Road at the Broadway
overpass.
Commissioner Cohen also reported that his banner presentation and work for the
Downtown Burlingame Improvement District was provided pro bono.
Commissioner James reported that he received a resident’s complaint regarding
vehicle exits at various locations such as 1440 Chapin Avenue, the Fox Plaza
Lane driveway at Primrose, and the Park Avenue Post Office parking lot. He
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asked that staff do a field review and follow-up. Commissioner Conway added that
he also spoke with the resident and ag reed with her concerns.
Chair W arden commented that he had received a lot of appreciation from
residents regarding trailer parking. He added that he had also recently noticed
trailer parking on the corner of Farrington and Oak Grove.
7.5 Comments and communications
Traffic Engineer Chou commented on the matter of protocol for a change in vote
on a previous item. Commissioner James explained that after some reflection, he
was not comfortable with his vote on the issue of City Hall Lane. Mr. Chou
explained that af ter consulting with the City Attorney, there were two options.
He said that the first option was for Commissioner James to request that the
approved minutes for the August 11, 2005 meeting have an added statement
which would clearly say that the Commissioner had rethought this matter after the
meeting, and no longer supported his original vote.
The second option Mr. Chou presented was that Commissioner James could ask
the Commission to re-open this issue and conduct a re-v ote.
As a related matter, Mr. Chou informed the Commission that Mr. Salma had
presented the City with a petition signed by the various businesses along City Hall
Lane, which appear ed to support the removal of the parking meters in favor of a
“self-regulated” permit parking system. Mr. Chou said that he would be talking to
these individual businesses to m ake sure the signatory were authorized to sign for
their businesses; and, that they were aware that “self-managed” would mean that
the City would not be administering the permit system. He also said that if a
system were to be implemented, the City would just be involved in the
enforcement issue, but not the keep track of fees for the permit or the amount of
permits issued. Mr. Chou said that if the Commission wanted to re-vote on the
City Hall Lane item, then the possibility of a self-managed permit system would
have to be factored into the discussion process.
Chair W arden asked if the other Commissioners were comfortable with putting
this matter back onto next month’s agenda for discussion. He said that this would
be based on a discussion with the Traffic Engineer regarding the City’s current
parking philosophy of short-term parking near downtown, and long-term parking in
the outer areas.
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Mr. Chou said that if this matter were to come back for discussion, the
Commission would need to look at the entire lane because either some type of
permit system would be implemented, or the meters would need to be modified to
reflect the overall parking scheme. He recommended that the Com mission wait to
look at this matter until it could be determined that a permit system could be
established. He advised against implementing two actions at the same time with
the result of having different or opposing conclusions.
Commissioner Cohen stated he was comfortable with having the matter come
back for discussion and wanted to hear the perspective of Commissioner James,
but he was not comfortable on re-voting the issue.
Commissioner James clarified that his opinion changed because the staff report
had brought up a few questions. First, he asked, “Did the staff recommendation
accomplish the substance of the report?” Commissioner James said that he f elt it
did not. Second, “Did the businesses at Crosby Commons have an existing
problem?” Again, he felt it did not. Commissioner James further stated that this
matter started with a complaint from somewhere else; and, based on that, a
decision was made that he later thought was wrong. He said that he did not
believe the Commission should make changes based on complaints that impacted
people other than the com plainant.
Commissioner Conway disagreed and was comfortable with last month’s vote.
He added that he believed that the best course of action would be to let the
solution play out. He was not in support of re-opening the issue before more data
could be collected and believed this would be a waste of staff time. He felt that
this would create indecision and ang er in the public.
Chair W arden stated that he did not believe that there was any additional
information that would change his vote. He said that if this item came back with
new information, then the Commission would have the right to re-open and
change their decision. If this were to happen, then it would be the right time to re-
open the item .
7.6 Next meeting: October 13, 2005
There were no anticipated absences f rom either staf f or the Commissioners.
8.INACTIVE ITEMS
8.1 Easton Drive - Eucalyptus tree at Easton and Cabrillo
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Traffic Engineer Chou informed the Commission that staff would be conducting a
traffic study that would be ready for next month.
9.AGENDIZED ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
9.1 Items Requiring Staff Reports
•Item 4.2.1. - Cowan/Mahler/Gilbreth Parking Limits
•Item 8.1. - Easton Drive Eucalyptus Trees
•Item 8.2. - Trousdale/Quesada Crosswalk Enhancem ents
•Item 8.3. - Howard/Crescent Stop Signs
10.ADJOURNMENT
9:20 p.m.
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