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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2004.04.08The City of Burlingame CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 www.burlingame.org TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, April 8, 2004 Commissioners Present:Russ Cohen, Chair Stephen Warden, Vice Chair Eugene Condon Lisa De Angelis Jim McIver Commissioners Absent:None Staff Present:Augustine Chou, Traffic Engineer, Public Works Sgt. Dawn Cutler, Police Department Staff Absent:Doris Mortensen, Administrative Secretary, Public Works Visitors:Mary Watt, 139 Primrose Road, Burlingame Anna McClellan, 1443 Howard Avenue, Burlingame Norman Utigard, 1252 Paloma Avenue, Burlingame Ron Field, 1249 Paloma Avenue, Burlingame Doug Judd, 2999 Canyon Road, Burlingame Mrs. Doug Judd, 2999 Canyon Road, Burlingame Rita Bell, 824 Cowan Road, Burlingame Ron Poff, 828 Mahler Road, Burlingame TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, April 8, 2004 1.CALL TO ORDER. 7:00 p.m. 2.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. 3. ROLL CALL. 5 of 5 Commissioners present. 4.CURRENT BUSINESS. 4.1 ACTION ITEMS. 4.1.1 Approval of Minutes for March 11, 2004 It was moved and seconded (Comms. Warden/McIver) to approve the March 11, 2004 minutes; unanimously approved by the Commission. 4.1.2 Confirm Citizen Committee for Occidental Avenue Chair Cohen stated that he will be contacting other residents who have shown interest in serving on the citizen committee with Mr. Kelly. These residents are to include people who are both for and against the proposal to remove the parking time restriction on Occidental Avenue. He said that this was to ensure a balanced representation for the citizen committee. Comm. Condon suggested not removing the parking limit signs before membership on the committee is approved by the Commission. 4.1.3 Proclamation Presentation Chair Cohen presented Commissioner De Angelis with a proclamation thanking her for her contributions to this Commission. Commissioner De Angelis will be resigning effective with the conclusion of this meeting. 4.2 DISCUSSION ITEMS. 4.2.1 Poplar/Amphlett/US 101 Interchange Plans Mr. Chou stated that the City of San Mateo won’t be holding any public meetings on this item until September. He also stated that they expect this issue to increased voter turnout in November regarding the vote for extension of Measure A taxes from 2008 to 2028. In the meantime, San Mateo’s consultant (Hexagon Traffic Consultants) is in the process of collecting data on the potential effects the proposed plans will have on Burlingame traffic, as requested by the City of Burlingame. 4.2.2 Request for crosswalk on Oak Grove Avenue at Burlingame Aquatic Center Parking Lot Mr. Chou explained that the request was for a marked crosswalk across Oak Grove Avenue at this site. He further explained that staff could not recommend this crosswalk since there was an existing marked crosswalk, which is currently controlled by stop signs, within half a block of the requested location. The City of Burlingame Page 2 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, April 8, 2004 A motion was made (Comms. Condon/Warden) to make this an Action item immediately. A subsequent motion was made (Comms. Warden/McIver) to deny this request; both motions unanimously approved by the Commission. 4.2.3 Evaluate on-street parking situation on 1300 block of Cortez Avenue and Cabrillo Avenue Mr. Chou stated that staff has been working with Our Lady of Angels church and with the on-site school and daycare center regarding parking and congestion issues on this street. During pickup and drop-off times, the existing white zone on Cortez is being used for parking by parents who are required by law to walk their pre-school children to class. He added that constant enforcement of the existing parking restriction is difficult due to the lack of police department personnel to effectively monitor this site. Mr. Chou explained that the situation was further exacerbated with the current location of two on-street handicapped parking spaces. Additionally, Mr Chouexplained that residents living across the street from the church/school/daycare encounter problems with parents either blocking or actually using their driveways as parking places while waiting to pick-up or drop off their children. Staff proposes moving the handicap spaces to either side of the mid-block crosswalk and relocating the white zones. Comm. Warden suggested 3-minute parking limitations instead of white zones to keep traffic moving. Comm. Condon suggested enlisting volunteers to work as traffic monitors to help keep the traffic flowing. Mr. Chou explained that staff wanted the Commission to take a look at the proposal for a month before further discussion. He stated that the next step is to notify the residents and the school administration regarding attending the next meeting for further discussion. 4.2.4 Request to change existing yellow zone to a green zone at 1443 Howard Avenue (139 Primrose Road) From the floor, Mary Watt, Executive Director of Call Primrose (139 Primrose Road), requested that the underutilized yellow zone on the Primrose Road side of the church be removed and replaced with a 24-minute green zone. Mr. Chou stated that according to the California Vehicle Code, yellow zones are for use by commercially registered vehicles. Sgt. Cutler concurred that this location did not qualify as a loading zone for individuals to conduct donation drop offs. Staff suggested that for a donated-goods drop off site, a green zone would be more appropriate. Also, staff recommended relocating the proposed green zone two spaces south, so that it would be closer to the CALL Center and the daycare center at 139 Primrose Road. It was moved and seconded (Comms. Condon/McIver) to make this an Action item immediately. It was then moved and seconded (Comms. McIver/Warden) to change the existing yellow zone to a 24-minute green zone and to relocate the zone as recommended by staff; both motions unanimously approved by the Commission. 4.2.5 Request for traffic volume and speed data on Canyon Road near El Prado Road Mr. Chou stated that since the roadway belongs to the county, he had asked them for the data as The City of Burlingame Page 3 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, April 8, 2004 requested. Both speed survey data and traffic volume count data were requested. Mr. Chou explained that as of this meeting, he had not received any of the requested data. He was also informed that speed survey data did not exist for this part of Canyon Road. Therefore, if data was required, city staff would have to conduct an unofficial speed survey. From the floor, Doug Judd, stated he lives on the corner and asked who to call for any information. Mr. Chou advised that it would be San Mateo County Department of Public Works, and that he could produce an unofficial speed count for him. 5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF NEW ITEMS. 5.1 Request for temporary blue zone at 2668 Martinez Drive Mr. Chou stated that the applicant has difficulty accessing their property from their won driveway;and, that this was the reason for the request. He also said that the request was for a temporary zone because the resident was concerned that the current spot in front of their home would be taken by construction vehicles related to a house-remodel scheduled for this summer. This will be a Discussion item next month. 5.2 Request for parking restriction/limitation in front of 824 Cowan Road Mr. Chou stated that this is a possible handicap zone request. Comm. Warden asked why a sign was posted in the lawn area stating that a handicap placard must be displayed to be parked there, even though there currently is no blue zone at this site. Comm. Condon added that he also observed a green zone in front of the building. From the floor, Rita Bell, Office Manager, stated that airport limousines services park along this curb area, making it difficult for their handicapped and elderly patrons to access the business entrance. She added that this situation was not helped because the sidewalk is narrow. This will be a Discussion item next month. 5.3 Request for green zone at 828 Mahler Road From the floor, Ron Poff stated that they requested a green zone to free up on-street parking for their patrons. He explained that large trucks and limousines park there now; and, with the other half of their building ready to be occupied in the near future, parking availability would become more of an issue. He concluded that although there is parking in the back of the property, it may not be enough once the building is fully occupied. This will be a Discussion item next month. 5.4 Request for 2-hour parking time limit for 1200 block of Paloma Avenue From the floor, Norman Utigard stated that since nearby public parking lot time limits have been reduced The City of Burlingame Page 4 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, April 8, 2004 from 8 and 10 hours to 2 hours, Paloma residents are now inundated with Broadway merchants and employees parking on Paloma all day. He stated that he conducted a personal survey of Lots P and Q, and he felt that they were underutilized. He suggested rescinding the 2-hour parking time limits or changing them to 4-hours; and, if the City imposed a 2-hour parking limit on Paloma, issuing parking permits to residents. From the floor, Ron Field suggested that merchants and employees park in the public lots and allow patrons to park on the street. He added that the merchants park for up to 12 hours on Paloma now. He originally wanted to implement the 2-hour parking restriction on Paloma. This will be a Discussion item next month. 6. FROM THE FLOOR. 6.1 Steve Wieranga asked when the 800 block of California Drive changes would be on the Council agenda. Mr. Chou advised that the ordinance is scheduled to be introduced at the April 19th meeting. 7. INFORMATION ITEMS. 7.1 From Staff to Commission 7.1.1 Traffic Engineer’s Report 7.1.1.1 No left-turn sign at El Camino Real/Bellevue Avenue Mr. Chou stated that Caltrans was having problems with placing the signage due to the very large size of the northwest corner. He said that Caltrans was concerned that the placement of the sign would not create a roadway hazard for right turning vehicles along southbound El Camino. 7.1.1.2 Relocation of bus stop at 827 California Drive Mr. Chou stated that the City’s original proposal was to place the bus stop just north of its present location, but that the owners of 841 California Drive became concerned about on-street parking and asked for it to be located elsewhere. As a result, the bus stop was located south, at its present location next to 821 California Drive. Mr. Chou explained that the city is now being asked by the property owner of 821 California to relocate the bus stop. After detailed discussions with Samtrans, it was determined that the original location requested by the bus company was the best location. Mr. Chou explained that the property owners who will be contacted to discuss this relocation. 7.1.1.3 Carolan/Morrell pedestrian crosswalk Mr. Chou reported that the installation of reflectorized buttons to highlight the crosswalk was completed. He also reported that two knock-down delineators were also installed at the centerlines on either side of the crosswalk to further highlight the crosswalk. 7.1.1.4 Separate left-turn lane on Howard Avenue at California Drive The City of Burlingame Page 5 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, April 8, 2004 Mr. Chou stated that after looking into the situation, he found that under normal traffic situations, that a dedicated left-turn lane is usually controlled by a dedicated left-turn signal. This was not the situation for westbound Howard at California. He concluded that changing the arrow legends on Howard would be contrary to standard traffic engineering conventions. 7.2 From Commission to Staff 7.2.1 Reports of citizen complaints or requests Comm. McIver reported that on California Drive, between Bayswater and Peninsula, there are about 23 posts sticking out of the ground with no meters on them. He asked if staff could investigate the situation and provide a response at the next meeting. He also suggested installing a “No Left-Turn Between 4 PM and 6 PM” sign on westbound Broadway at Chula Vista because of the traffic problems created by drivers avoiding the left-turn at California Drive. Mr. Chou said that he would report back next month. Chair Cohen stated that he noticed a very large tractor/trailer truck parked at Bloomfield and Oak Grove. Sgt. Cutler said she would look into this situation. 7.2.2 Comments and Communication Chair Cohen suggested that the Commission create an FAQ list (Frequently Asked Questions) for citizens’ use which would address certain common issues that the Commission regularly addresses. He said that this list could also show the steps that citizens would have to take in order to present their traffic requests. He concluded that the list could be distributed to interested citizens and posted on the City’s website. Mr. Chou suggested including guidelines for the Commission to follow on requests such as handicap zones. Vice Chair Warden asked about Council’s decision to replace Commissioner De Angelis. Mr. Chou stated that Council decided to open the application period to the public rather than just use the existing applicant list. 7.2.3 Expected absences of Commissioners at the Thursday, May 13, 2004 meeting - None. 7.3 Bicycle Safety Issues in Burlingame Chair Cohen stated that the first subcommittee meeting would be held as soon as the Planning Commission was ready. Comm. Condon suggested the installation of a bike lane on southbound Carolan. 8. INACTIVE ITEMS. - None. The City of Burlingame Page 6 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, April 8, 2004 9. AGENDIZE FOR THE NEXT MEETING. 4.2.3 to Discussion item 5.1 to Discussion item 5.2 to Discussion item 5.3 to Discussion item 5.4 to Discussion item 10. ADJOURNMENT. 8:40 p.m. The City of Burlingame Page 7