Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2002.10.10 The City of Burlingame CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 www.burlingame.org TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, October 10, 2002 Commissioners Present:Jim McIver, Chair Jim Evans, Vice Chair Russ Cohen David Mayer Commissioners Absent:Lisa De Angelis Staff Present:Frank Erbacher, Assistant Public Works Director Augustine Chou, Traffic Engineer, Public Works Chief Bill Reilly, Fire Department Chuck Witt, Traffic Officer, Police Department Staff Absent:Dawn Cutler, Traffic Sergeant, Police Department Doris Mortensen, Administrative Secretary, Public Works Guests:Neil Cullen, Director of Public Works, County of San Mateo Visitors:Gerald Fiore, 1560 Alturas Drive, Burlingame Earl M. Dilley, 3028 Hillside Drive, Burlingame John Jones, 210 Edgehill Drive, Burlingame Rafe H. Schindler, 2848 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Ron Wilk, 142 La Mesa Drive, Burlingame Deborah Valentino, 2879 Hillside, Burlingame Ray Jungwirth, 1730 Rollins Road, Burlingame Eileen Thomas, 16 Vista Lane, Burlingame Rosemarie Dean, 2823 Hillside Drive, Burlingame James Dean, 2823 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Bob Asquith, 2835 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Jonathan Visbal, 3008 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Roland K. Gage, 1504 La Mesa Drive, Burlingame Jack Simkie, 112 Newton Drive, Burlingame TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, October 10, 2002 Visitors (cont’d):Rudolph Horak, 131 Los Robles Drive, Burlingame Ted Koros, 2885 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Elizabeth Tabet, 2820 Hillside Drive, Burlingame George Tabet, 2820 Hillside Drive, Burlingame George Demetrius, 3151 Hillside Lane, Burlingame Cathy Murray, 3209 Hillside Drive, Burlingame S.G. Yasinitsky, 1534 Los Altos Drive, Burlingame Calvin Gee, 2860 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Amy Gee, 2860 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Louis Sremac, 724 Paloma Avenue, Burlingame Anne Nannini, 1555 Alturas Drive, Burlingame Fady Malik, 2884 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Sandy Towle, 2200 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Marshall Michaelin, 3001 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Ron Zaragoza, 2871 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Niko Longmore, 2867 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Dawn Longmore, 2867 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Meg Gutierrez, 2821 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Amy Long, 2910 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Joe Long, 2910 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Thomas O’Rourke, 149 Los Robles Drive, Burlingame Liz Watson, 1444 Balboa Avenue, Burlingame John Gumas, 3051 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Rolando Pasquale, 2836 Hillside Drive, Burlingame Tom Lee, 3041 Hillside Drive, Burlingame David Zinman, 1400 Carlos Avenue, Burlingame Heidi Zinman, 1400 Carlos Avenue, Burlingame The City of Burlingame Page 2 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, October 10, 2002 1.CALL TO ORDER. 7:00 p.m. 2.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. 3. ROLL CALL.4 of 5 Commissioners present. 4.CURRENT BUSINESS. 4.1 ACTION ITEMS. 4.1.1 Approval of Minutes for September 12, 2002 The minutes were submitted and approved. 4.2 DISCUSSION ITEMS. 4.2.1 Special Meeting to Discuss Hillside Drive Speed Bumps Mr. Erbacher advised that this Commission is asking for public input about the speed bumps installed on Hillside Drive by the County. He said all residents on Hillside were sent notices and barricade signs facing each direction were installed near each bump. Neil Cullen, Director of Public Works for San Mateo County, was present and could give the Commission the background on these installations. Mr. Cullen advised that the CHP is the primary enforcer of County roads and their enforcement has been cut back. Since the majority of motorists drive too fast, at about 35-37 mph, the County looked at the potential for various speed control devices. The Board of Supervisors approved the installation of the two speed bumps on Hillside Drive. The County will follow up with a survey to property owners in about 1-2 months for their input on the speed bumps’ effect. From the floor, Mr. Demetrius stated the first speed bump is in the County and the second bump is in both the City and County. Mr. Asquith stated he is at home most of the day and has noticed that almost every car on Hillside Drive exceeds the speed limit. Also, his wife has been hit twice while backing out of their driveway and has seen that the fire station drivers can’t exit due to cars speeding by and the CHP enforcement is reduced. Wants bumps also in the City side of Hillside Drive. Mr. Gumas stated the County has held several meetings with property owners who support these speed bumps. Also recommends that the BPD enforce this area, too. He would like all the jurisdictions to coordinate their efforts in making this street safer. Mr. Simkie stated he has noticed a slow down in the traffic since the speed bumps were installed. Mr. Visbal stated he has noticed the traffic is slightly slower and recommends more bumps be installed. Mr. Horak stated it seems some people were concerned that Hillside Drive traffic would be diverted to Canyon Road due to the speed bumps; however, Canyon Road is too narrow so it hasn’t happened. Also, because of speeding traffic, families with small children are hardly buying on this street which directly affects local economies. He recommends placing another bump near 2824 Hillside Drive south of the fire station where cars speed up again. Mr. Schindler stated he saw two accidents of cars backing out of their driveways. He had been concerned about the noise a speed bump near his house would cause; The City of Burlingame Page 3 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, October 10, 2002 however, he has noticed a definite slow down in speed. Wants the existing bump to stay with more bumps added on Hillside Drive. Mr. Koros stated the house next door has been hit in the past several times over the years by speeders. The bumps are a great benefit to the whole neighborhood. Mr. Koros submitted a petition with 45 signatures of neighbors supporting the speed bumps. Mr. Tabet stated he is 13 years old and supports keeping the existing speed bumps and recommends more installed farther down the hill. Backing out of their driveway is hazardous due to the speeding cars. Ms. Tabet stated she lives south of the fire station and recommends at least one more speed bump be installed in here area. Mr. Yasinitsky stated he has a background in traffic safety at S.F. State University and stated that speed bumps are an unexpected obstruction on an ordinary street and can be hazardous. He recommends that the speed bumps be removed. Ms. Murray stated traffic on Skyline Drive needs to be slowed down, too, because some speeders have hit her fence while turning onto Hillside Drive. Ms. Gutierrez stated that early Tuesday morning for the second time in 1-1/2 years, a car ploughed through her front yard, which is south of the fire station, damaging her retaining wall, the garage, fencing and landscaping. She feels property value in this area has diminished due to speeding traffic. Ms. Dean stated that her property south of the fire station has been damaged about 15 times in 30 years due to speeding traffic. She recommends a speed deterrent south of the fire station to alleviate these problems. Mr. Gee stated he supports the speed bumps. Since 1996 he has had about 8 incidents when speeders have almost hit him as he exits his driveway. Also, although there are no sidewalks, there are still pedestrians on Hillside Drive. He supports further striping and signs warning of blind corners. Mr. Pasquale countered Mr. Yasinitsky’s statements. Ten people have already requested more speed bumps be installed and challenged the Commission to add an Agenda item for the next meeting to install more speed bumps. Dr. Michaelin read a letter from his son who stated he believes that the speed bumps are a failure. His son stated that the unheeded stop sign on Hillside Drive at Adeline Drive is more dangerous than the speeding on Hillside Drive. Dr. Michaelin stated he feels the speed bumps will cause someone to hit their brakes causing a hazardous situation. Mr. Malik stated that he supports the existing speed bumps. Most of the drivers on Hillside Drive are local residents. Mr. Sremac stated he supports the existing speed bumps and also recommends installing speed bumps across from McKinley School on Paloma Avenue due to high traffic volumes and speeding at this site and asked that this item be added to next month’s Agenda. Mr. Zaragosa stated we need to do more than install speed bumps. It is difficult to exit his driveway due to the speeders. Ms. Longmore supports the speed bumps. She noticed speeders have slowed down. She suggests adding a stop sign, too. Her former neighbor’s son was killed by a speeder 12 feet away from the existing speed bump. Mr. Dean stated that of the 15 accidents on his property, 5 of the cars were so badly damaged, they had to be towed away. Also, they lost 5 pets over the years as well. Adeline Drive in Burlingame used to be a “race track” but with the stop signs now added, it is much safer now. He suggests a stop sign in front of the fire station and make the yellow light a blinking light after 10 p.m. Mr. Fiore stated there has been a dramatic increase in traffic on this street. As stop signs increased on Trousdale Drive, the traffic on Hillside Drive increased. He clarified that on Hillside speed humps were installed, not speed bumps which cause you to stop and could cause a hazard. He recommends a stop sign on Hillside at Alturas. There is a curve there and with speeding traffic, it is difficult to turn onto Hillside Drive. Ms. Nannini was concerned that she had not been notified in advance of the speed humps being installed but noticed the posted meeting signs. Ms. Thomas stated she represents five other families who could not attend this meeting but all support speed humps and more stop signs. Mr. Towle The City of Burlingame Page 4 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, October 10, 2002 stated the problem starts on the lower part of Hillside Drive and the speed humps will eventually become less effective. Chief Reilly stated that the humps are quite acceptable for fire apparatus and response time; however, an increase in the number of speed humps could have an impact on fire response time. The red light at the station now has worked well. The yellow flashing light they had before was virtually ignored by drivers over time. Comm. Mayer likes the idea of coordinating all jurisdictions to work on this problem. Mr. Erbacher advised that the City and the County will now get together to discuss this possibility and how it fits into the various priorities. 4.2.2 Millbrae BART Station - Parking Impacts on City streets - Possible Parking Restrictions - Commercial Area west of California Drive to Burlingame Plaza Area Mr. Erbacher stated five comments have been received from the 150± notices sent. From the floor, Mr. Jungwirth stated that regarding one option to sign No Parking 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. - their business opens at 5:30 a.m. and both customers and employees use Rollins Road for parking and hope the City considers this. They have 200 off-street parking spaces but their customer volume is high between 6 and 9 a.m. Mr. Gage stated his business is on Guittard Road and his employees and the surrounding businesses use Rollins Road for parking since employees don’t have enough parking as it is. Even trucks take up parking spaces on the street. Ms. Watson stated she received an overnight parking ticket in front of her residence and would appreciate the City communicating its parking restrictions to the residents and businesses. For next month’s meeting, notices will be sent to the R-1 area. 4.2.3 Request to Review Speed Concerns on Hillside Drive Mr. Chou advised that these speed concerns address the lower part of Hillside Drive near Alvarado Avenue. Staff performed speed studies with a sample of 177 cars on a weekday from 9 to 10 a.m. with the critical speed being 37 mph. The road configuration shows that there are no other controls that would facilitate slowing the traffic. Officer Witt stated that the survey results are consistent with a similar survey performed several years ago. Speed affected only 2 of 5 accidents that occurred along this part of Hillside. These accidents were rear-end collisions. Officer Witt will add this site to the Selective Enforcement program and will utilize the radar trailer to deter speeding. Mr. Chou advised that they will be pinpointing the times the vehicles are speeding and advise the police as to when enforcement is needed there. From the floor, Mr. Zinman stated he would like more enforcement and hope that the situation will improve. The City of Burlingame Page 5 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, October 10, 2002 5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF NEW ITEMS. 5.1 Request for Green Zone or 1 Hour Parking Limit at 809 California Drive Mr. Chou advised that staff will perform studies to determine the feasibility of this request and will have the resulting recommendations at next month’s meeting. From the floor, the petitioner stated they have no parking for their customers and would like a space for them. At present, cars tend to park at this site sometimes for days on end. If there is no customer parking, potential clients won’t stop. They have been open for three months; and every Saturday, there has been no customer parking space available. Mr. Erbacher stated that this item will be a Discussion Item next month, and staff will notice the surrounding neighbors to attend that meeting; so action may be expedited. 5.2 Request for Green Zone - 30-Minute Parking Limit at 828 Mahler Road Mr. Chou advised staff will perform studies to determine the feasibility of this request and will have the resulting recommendations at next month’s meeting. This item will be a Discussion Item next month, and staff will notice the surrounding neighbors to attend that meeting; so action may be expedited. 6. FROM THE FLOOR.- No Comments. 7. INFORMATION ITEMS. 7.1 From Staff to Commission 7.1.1 Traffic Engineer’s Report Mr. Erbacher stated that the new signals at Carmelita Avenue and California Drive and at Morrell Avenue and California Drive are in and operational. Mr. Chou stated that there were some minor problems with the Morrell/California signals initially. The contractor was able to fix them. The signals at Carmelita Avenue and California Drive are working just fine now and will be fine tuned even further. This is because there have been reports of back ups at Carmelita Avenue, possibly due to more traffic using this intersection during the commute times. He also advised that staff has been looking at new illuminated in-pavement flashing crosswalks at California Drive and Lorton Avenue. Staff is coordinating with PG&E to provide power to that site; however, that may take three months. Also, a handicap ramp is being considered here. The budget might also allow a second site for the same type of installation. 7.1.2 Staff Action Log - Attached. 7.1.3 Burlingame Parking Study 7.2 From Commission to Staff The City of Burlingame Page 6 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, October 10, 2002 7.2.1 Reports of citizen complaints or requests 7.2.2 Comments and communication Chair McIver attended the Millbrae BART meeting and three points were brought up for the residential area just north of the new BART station: (1) increase parking restrictions from 7 am to 1 pm; (2) double parking fines; and (3) provide free parking permits for residents. 7.2.3 Expected absences of Commissioners at the Thursday, November 14, 2002 meeting Comm. Evans stated that his term expires in November and after 15 years on this Commission, he may not reapply as Commissioner. 8. INACTIVE ITEMS. 8.1 Request for traffic control on Dwight Road Mr. Erbacher advised that the walls are now up and construction continues. The site should be ready for landscaping in about two weeks. 8.2 Petition from Bayswater & Howard residents requesting a traffic study of area to determine if traffic- calming measures warranted Mr. Erbacher advised the petitioners that the budget money is not available at this time and continues to be on hold for the Traffic Calming Program. Officer Witt submitted the Selective Enforcement Report which shows 11 citations issued. 8.3 1007 Chula Vista Avenue - Letter requesting Speed Limit Signage for Traffic-Calming effect to constrain speeding drivers This item is on hold for the Traffic Calming Program. 8.4 Request for speed limit and truck weight limit enforcement, a traffic signal on Trousdale Drive at Skyline Boulevard, STOP sign on Trousdale Drive at Loyola Drive and STOP sign on Trousdale at Quesada Way. Results of Traffic Data Gathering - Speed limits Officer Witt submitted the Selective Enforcement Report which shows 38 citations issued, five were for speed violation. The City of Burlingame Page 7 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, October 10, 2002 8.5 Howard Avenue - Speed and Trucks (e-mail) Mr. Erbacher advised that a work order was issued for a truck prohibition signage. This item is on hold for the Traffic Calming Program. 8.6 1300 Block of Vancouver Avenue - Speed Concerns (petition) This item is on hold for the Traffic Calming Program. 9. AGENDIZE FOR THE NEXT MEETING. 4.2.1 to Discussion Item as a Request for More Speed Humps 4.2.2 to remain as a Discussion Item 4.2.3 to Inactive Item 5.1 to Discussion Item 5.2 to Discussion Item Request for Speed Hump on Paloma Avenue at McKinley School to Discussion Item 10. ADJOURNMENT. 9:28 p.m. The City of Burlingame Page 8