Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2001.11.08The City of Burlingame CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, November 8, 2001 Commissioners Present:Lisa De Angelis, Chair Jim McIver, Vice Chair Russ Cohen Jim Evans David Mayer Commissioners Absent:None Staff Present:Frank Erbacher, Assistant Director of Public Works Homayoun Barekat, Traffic Engineer, Public Works Doris Mortensen, Administrative Secretary, Public Works Dawn Cutler, Traffic Sergeant, Police Department Staff Absent:None Visitors:Charles Parham, 518 Bayswater Avenue, Burlingame Jennifer Pfaff, 615 Bayswater Avenue, Burlingame Juergen Pfaff, 615 Bayswater Avenue, Burlingame Agnes Brea, 605 Bayswater Avenue, Burlingame Margaret Talevi, 611 Bayswater Avenue, Burlingame Elizabeth Curtis, 516 Bayswater Avenue, Burlingame Carl F. Curtis, 516 Bayswater Avenue, Burlingame Victor Grau, 617 Howard Avenue, Burlingame Chris Knightly, 620 Howard Avenue, Burlingame Chuck Steele, 607 Howard Avenue, Burlingame Joy Meredith, 1225 Oak Grove Avenue, Burlingame Mr. Meredith, 1225 Oak Grove Avenue, Burlingame TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, November 8, 2001 1.CALL TO ORDER. 7:00 p.m. by Vice Chair McIver. Chair De Angelis arrived later. 2.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. 3. ROLL CALL. 5 of 5 Commissioners were present. 4.CURRENT BUSINESS. 4.1 ACTION ITEMS. 4.1.1 Minutes for October 11, 2001, were submitted and approved. 4.2 DISCUSSION ITEMS 4.2.1 Residential Traffic Calming Program Study - Introduction of Proposed Study Outline Vice Chair McIver asked for a chronology of events to implement this study. Mr. Erbacher advised that through these commission meetings, the City will incorporate Commissioners and public input into this document. He advised that Council wants this commission to make a strong recommendation for Council’s approval of this outline. Mr. Barekat distributed a draft outline which included input from October’s commission meeting; so that it now includes an updated traffic calming device (tcd) table, updated costs, impacts of tcd’s, their down sides and funding alternatives. Comm. Cohen asked why signage is not discussed. Mr. Barekat stated that although we are willing to try anything, signage has a limited temporary effect. Petitioner, Jennifer Pfaff, suggested signage when approaching a neighborhood to instruct traffic flow. Mr. Erbacher stated that this is a primer of ideas for specific problems which would need to be studied to determine if a tcd is warranted. Also a list of locations of where to view already-installed tcd’s is forthcoming. Ms. Pfaff, suggested that staff contact the Traffic Engineer in nearby cities for tcd site viewing. For example, San Mateo has ten new speed humps near Hillsdale Boulevard and Saratoga Road. Other cities mentioned having tcd’s were Menlo Park and San Carlos. One resident complained that the dealership personnel and the car transports don’t adhere to signage, like weight limit and speed limit signs. Comm. Cohen recommended an on-going program to educate them on traffic rules and regulations. Mr. Erbacher suggested adding “on-going education program for businesses” to the outline. Sgt. Cutler advised that the police respond to complaints but that there are not enough officers to routinely monitor the area. Mr. Erbacher suggested adding “special enforcement program” where an area is initially hit hard with police enforcement. Mr. Erbacher advised that the Fire Department will be invited to the December commission meeting for their input on tcd’s and on response times. Emergency routes have already been established for entering Burlingame. Tcd’s such as humps, dips and curves affect response time. Vice Chair McIver suggested adding lawsuits which sometimes evolve in connection with emergency vehicle responses. Sgt. Cutler suggested that the City Attorney review the outline. The City of Burlingame Page 2 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, November 8, 2001 Continuing with the review, Mr. Erbacher advised that the Parks Department becomes involved with current and future landscape maintenance. Comm. Cohen suggested adding a statement showing the effect a tcd has on property values. Mr. Barekat stated that there is no proven study showing that a tcd affects property values. Funding of tcd’s was discussed. One alternative is a self-assessment district where the neighborhood property owners share the costs. Mr. Barekat asked for input on the petition process. A tcd study starts with a petition, and Comm. Cohen recommended that if a request is not warranted, the Traffic Engineer should propose workable alternatives rather than turn down an unwarranted request. A neighborhood committee would be formed to attend this commission’s meetings and report back to their neighbors. The final process is balloting before implementing a tcd or making a recommendation to Council. Mr. Barekat suggested sending ballots to the neighborhood to vote on their committee’s recommendation. He stated that included with the ballot would be a picture and profile of the tcd and the location of a similar existing tcd for viewing. The vote will be based on the response with one vote per household only. Next month, Mr. Barekat will present a revised draft outline incorporating tonight’s comments for review. 5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF NEW ITEMS 5.1 Petition from Bayswater & Howard residents requesting a traffic study of the area to determine whether traffic-calming measures are warranted 5.2 Howard Avenue - Speed and Trucks (e-mail) 5.3 3138 Rivera - Speed and Signage (e-mail) - no response from the petitioner as yet. 5.4 1300 Block of Vancouver Avenue - Speed Concerns (petition) 6. FROM THE FLOOR 6.1 Residents from 1225 Oak Grove Avenue requested an extension of a red curb on the west side of their driveway. They exit from an underground garage and because of the slant of the driveway and large parked vehicles, their sight distance is greatly reduced. They also stated that several accidents have occurred at this location due to the same problem. Mr. Erbacher reported that he had checked this site and found that there are three City trees and one telephone pole just west of their driveway which blocks their view; however, extending the red zone might reduce the parking availability by two spaces. Comm. Evans stated that the commissioners will view this sight and place this item on the December Agenda as a Discussion Item. 7. INFORMATION ITEMS 7.1 From Staff to Commission The City of Burlingame Page 3 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes - Approved Thursday, November 8, 2001 7.1.2 Traffic Engineer’s Report Mr. Barekat reported that a traffic signal problem occurred on Friday, November 2nd, at the Broadway off-ramp from southbound 101. Many complaints were received because the green light lasted for only 8 seconds causing a huge backup onto the freeway. He met with Caltrans who is responsible for this signal. They increased the green light to 40 seconds, and it’s working fine now. The reason is yet unknown as to the cause of this problem. 7.1.3 Staff Action Log Mr. Erbacher advised that the gateway treatment for Dwight Road is in the design phase. 7.2 From Commission to Staff 7.2.1 Reports of citizen complaints or requests - None. 7.2.2 Comments and communication - None. 7.2.3 Expected absences of Commissioners at the Thursday, December 13, 2001 meeting - None. 8. INACTIVE ITEMS. 8.1 Request for traffic control on Dwight Road 8.2 Millbrae BART Station - Potential Impacts on City streets 8.3 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 Sgt. Cutler submitted October’s Selective Enforcement results. There were 19 citations issued, down from 75 last month. Also, 22 verbal warnings were issued. 9. AGENDIZE FOR THE NEXT MEETING Residential Traffic Calming Program Study - Discussion Item Request for Red Curb Extension at 1225 Oak Grove Avenue - Discussion Item Mr. Erbacher will attempt to notice appropriate neighbors for this item. 10. ADJOURNMENT. 9:00 p.m. The City of Burlingame Page 4