HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2019.11.141
TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION
Approved Minutes
Regular Meeting of Thursday, November 14, 2019
1. CALL TO ORDER 7:01 p.m.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
3. ROLL CALL
MEMBERS PRESENT: Bush, Israelit, Londer, Martos, Wettan
MEMBERS ABSENT:
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a) October 10, 2019 Meeting Minutes
Motion: To accept the October 10, 2019 meeting minutes as written.
M/S/C; Wettan/Londer, 4/0/1
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS – NON-AGENDA
Lance Deodoti spoke during public comment regarding the parking conditions and parking
restraints on Rhinette Avenue. He mentioned that his street is 50 feet wide like many other
streets in the area but parking is only allowed on one side of his street. Comparatively, Mr.
Deodoti pointed out that Laguna Avenue is the same width but parking is allowed on both
sides of the street. He also said how impacted Rhinette Avenue is due to the Goodwill
vehicles. Mr. Deodoti stated that a Goodwill vehicle struck his vehicle, causing damage to his
car. Lastly, he shared his concern that the red zones are making it easier for Goodwill trucks
to utilize the street and also wondered if the red zones impact home values. He requested
these issues to be discussed as a future agenda item.
6. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS
a) Community B/PAC Update (Informational Only)
No update.
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b) Bike/Pedestrian Master Plan Update
Transportation Engineer Michael Tsai and Otto Melara from Alta Planning + Design
provided an update regarding the efforts to date for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master
Plan. After a brief introduction, they went over the project approach, public engagement,
needs analysis, preliminary draft recommendations, and next steps.
Chair Bush opened public comment.
Manito Velasco cautioned staff regarding the 5-year collision data that was reflected in the
presentation as he felt it is not an indicator of which intersections are the most dangerous
and also noted there probably was not much collision data north of Broadway because
nobody is biking down that stretch of road. Mr. Velasco went on to say that he rides on
the sidewalk on California Drive between Broadway and Oak Grove Avenue due to the
current conditions. Mr. Velasco encouraged staff to look both forwards and back to
discover what the patterns are. With regard to California Drive north of Broadway and
Carolan Avenue, he stated he was hopeful that additional improvements would be made
through the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan efforts beyond what has already been done.
He provided examples such as fully protecting the side by the tracks on Carolan Avenue
and removing parking on California Drive where there are door zone bike lanes (Mills
Avenue, Oxford Road, and Cambridge Road). Mr. Velasco also stated that the 9-10
parking spaces that were added on Rosedale Avenue has created a hazard for bicyclists.
He shared that there is an upcoming Measure A grant opportunity related to bike and
pedestrian improvements through San Mateo County. Lastly, Mr. Velasco inquired what
the plan was once the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan is adopted by City Council.
Commissioner Martos was curious how B/PAC responded to the information provided and
inquired about their involvement in the process to date. Mr. Tsai indicated they have had
2 of the 5 planned meetings with B/PAC and will be presenting the latest information to
B/PAC next month as the Chair and Vice-Chair of B/PAC were not available to go over
the information at the November B/PAC meeting. Mr. Tsai also said the public will get a
chance to provide comments beginning next week. Commissioner Martos also inquired
about the prioritization of the proposed improvements to which Mr. Tsai indicated that
would be part of the next steps (Workshop 3 timeframe).
Commissioner Wettan shared considerations that he felt were of importance. He indicated
he would like to see a focus on connections to the new bike path on Carolan Avenue as
it’s very hard to get there from the other side of California Drive and El Camino Real.
Commissioner Wettan noticed a plan for sharrows on Carmelita Drive but encouraged
staff to take a more careful look at that and how much is doable there. He also stated that
the City has never been able to connect the Bay Trail west of the Holiday Inn and Crown
Plaza towards Coyote Point. Commissioner Wettan suggested improvements such as
surface repainting on Cadillac Way but said there is no good way to get across 101 to
Cadillac Way.
Additionally, Commissioner Wettan was also curious how B/PAC felt about the information
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presented. In regards to the door zone bike lane on California Drive, Commissioner
Wettan encouraged those that are not in favor of the current configuration to gather data
such as whether or not the parking spaces are being utilized. Lastly, he commented that
the Level of Stress Map with hexagons did not prove to be very useful. He suggested
overall that the icons be easier to see on the visuals that were presented. Commissioner
Wettan said the Bicycle Level of Stress Map was helpful and also suggested a close up
of each school to see the activity at any given school.
Commissioner Londer thanked Michael and Otto for putting together the presentation but
said it was a lot of information to digest on the spot. Commissioner Londer inquired about
the Measure A grant opportunity that Mr. Velasco mentioned to which Mr. Wong indicated
the City has not received any call for projects to date. He inquired if bike sharing programs
have been considered or if any bike sharing data was utilized as part of the master
planning process and Mr. Wong indicated the bike share efforts are on hold per the
Sustainability Coordinator. Mr. Melara also shared that Limebike is changing their model
to scooters and therefore there is no current data available for bicycles. Commissioner
Londer confirmed the 5-year collision data used for the presentation was from the end
2013 to the start of 2018. He inquired if the Limebike program the City implemented for a
short time showed any significant increase in bicycle related collisions. Mr. Tsai and Mr.
Melara indicated they would look into that.
Vice-Chair Israelit stated she agreed with Commissioner Wettan in that there should be a
connection to the recreational paths which are mostly on the far east side of the
community. She said not being able to access those safely and easily is a real problem
and she was hoping that would be addressed. Vice-Chair Israelit asked how a narrow road
with parking on both sides becomes a designated bike route. Mr. Tsai confirmed sharrows
can be used and the markings can vary. Vice-Israelit used Hillside Drive as an example
and stated she has seen an adult cyclist using it maybe three times and she frequents that
stretch of road multiple times a day. She said her hesitation is adding all these routes on
paper but it does not change how people will be able to use the routes. Mr. Tsai responded
to say that the community will have more opportunities to provide feedback regarding the
initial recommendations and that there may have to be trade-offs for some of the routes,
such as removing parking.
Mr. Tsai confirmed the data used for how residents commute is from the 2016 Census.
Mr. Melara clarified that the census data only takes into consideration the primary mode
of transportation so if someone were to bike to the train station to get to work, the mode
of transportation that is accounted for would be the train. Commissioner Wettan felt it was
risky to rely on 2016 data for planning into 2021 and beyond.
Vice-Chair Israelit felt there are a lot of kids that bike to school and wanted to be sure the
bike routes surrounding the schools were well represented (Safe Routes to School). She
also felt that pedestrian improvements were not discussed much and also pointed out that
the Pedestrian Improvements Map was difficult to interpret. Mr. Melara said that they will
be more thorough in showing the full spectrum of proposed improvements when they roll
the draft plan out to the community. He explained that it was a lot of information to place
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on one map so they have them shown in categories of improvements. Lastly, Vice-Chair
Israelit suggested the Pedestrian Improvements Map include street names.
Chair Bush gave thanks to Mr. Tsai and Mr. Melara as well for their efforts, including all
the data gathering that went into the presentation. From a design perspective, Chair Bush
was interested to know how functional versus aspirational the proposal is intended to be
and what is considered near-term and far-term improvements. Mr. Tsai responded to say
that it would be dependent on what happens throughout the rest of the process, such as
how willing the City is to take on certain challenges like balancing parking versus
bike/vehicle separation.
Chair Bush stated one of his goals is to have a Class I bike route on California Drive and
the proposed plan calls for a Class II facility. Mr. Tsai stated they are still looking at that
stretch to determine how they present it in the Master Plan. Chair Bush also pointed out
the proposed Class II bike facility on Peninsula and stated the road is split between the
City of Burlingame and City of San Mateo. He felt a Class II facility would be better
received along Bayswater as he felt Peninsula Avenue was not a major bike thoroughfare.
Chair Bush noticed that there are only Class III bike facilities proposed to connect east to
west and across California Drive and El Camino Real. He inquired if Oak Grove Avenue
and Carmelita Drive should be Class II facilities in order to connect the east and west
sides of Burlingame. Mr. Tsai indicated they would look into it. Chair Bush also questioned
routes such as Trousdale and Adeline as he was uncertain about how desirable they
would be given not many people can ride on those roads given the difficult incline.
Chair Bush closed his comments to say there should be a strong emphasis on California
Drive, routes to schools and shops, and accounting for the bike and pedestrian impacts
that the Broadway Grade Separation will bring.
Vice-Chair Israelit summarized what she thought were the main desired outcomes of the
TSPC for the master planning efforts:
• Class I bike facility on California Drive;
• East-west connection to the Class I and II bike facilities;
• Less focus on the bicycle network in the hills; and
• Focus on bike path connections surrounding the schools.
Commissioner Londer stated that there are long-term plans in the Downtown Specific
Plan for a “road diet” on California Drive south of Broadway, which he encouraged
as he felt it would help with improving the bicycle route on California Drive.
Commissioner Londer also pointed out that Our Lady of Angels, Mercy High School, and
St. Catherine’s are missing from the Pedestrian Improvements Map.
Commissioner Wettan agreed with the summary above but reiterated it would be helpful
to have zoom in maps for each school and other key areas such as the California
Drive/Broadway intersection and the transit hubs. Commissioner Wettan also requested
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that TSPC and B/PAC have a chance to go over the proposal together prior to going to
City Council for consideration. He stated that this would be an opportunity for TSPC and
B/PAC to have a joint meeting.
Commissioner Martos concurred with Chair Bush on his comments regarding Peninsula
Avenue, especially due to the upcoming interchange project. He also said traffic may
look very different on Peninsula Avenue with the addition of Facebook’s Oculus, which
should be taken into consideration.
Mr. Wong pointed out that Facebook is working on the Bay Trail that goes around
Oculus and there is a proposed Class III facility there. He also stated the Bay Trail will
be updated along their perimeter and he thought the County is looking to upgrade their
portions of the Bay Trail too.
In regards to access to Carolan Avenue, Mr. Wong stated they met with the Chair and
Vice-Chair of B/PAC and have discussed the issue in the context of the upcoming
Broadway Grade Separation Project and he also encouraged people to attend the
Broadway Grade Separation meeting on November 19.
c) California Drive 25 MPH Speed Limit
Mr. Wong provided a presentation regarding the recommendation to reduce the speed
limit along California Drive between Oak Grove Avenue and Peninsula Avenue to 25 MPH.
He went over the background, including observations of the newly installed roundabout.
Mr. Wong stated that during the observation period, vehicles were entering the roundabout
above advisory speeds, vehicles failed to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk, and also
failed to yield to vehicles already in the roundabout. Mr. Wong stated as a result, the
Burlingame Police Department has had a consistent presence. He said staff has also
made additional improvements such as driver feedback signs, a changeable message
board, upgrades to the rapid flashing beacons, and edge-lit yield signs.
Chair Bush opened public comment.
Manito Velasco stated the City raised the speed limit on California Drive near Auto Row
in 2014 to 30 MPH. He said the portion under consideration is not the only business district
along California Drive and wondered what the justification was to change just a portion of
California Drive to 25 MPH.
Commissioner Londer inquired about speed enforcement methods. He also
acknowledged the California Drive roundabout has its problems, but he felt it was
becoming safer as drivers get the hang of it. Commissioner Londer liked the idea of a 25
MPH speed limit for the entire stretch of California Drive.
Commissioner Wettan stated he has mixed feelings about the proposal. He felt the
immediate area around the roundabout made sense because it’s a clear safety issue. In
regards to the areas away from the roundabout, he did not think 30-33 MPH was an unsafe
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speed. He also pointed out that it was odd to him that we would have the same speed limit
(25 MPH) in very different areas of the City such narrow residential streets and California
Drive. Commissioner Wettan also felt that changing California Drive to 25 MPH might deter
a lot of drives to take El Camino Real instead. He stated he would narrow the target area
for the speed reduction.
Commissioner Martos inquired about the possible road diet on California Drive and
wondered if a 25 MPH speed limit would come with the road diet. He said he was in favor
of the proposal as he felt it was hazardous to drive faster than 30 MPH given the current
conditions between Burlingame Avenue to Peninsula Avenue. Commissioner Martos
stated there should be clear signage when the speed limit changes—delineate where the
speed changes.
Vice-Chair Israelit is also in favor of the speed reduction but would prefer not to extend
the 25 MPH limit north of Oak Grove unless there are major changes coming. For now,
she felt the parameters are perfect.
Chair Bush said he likes the idea of the 25 MPH speed limit as this is a challenging stretch
of road.
Based on the discussion, Chair Israelit made the following motion:
Move to support the speed limit change on California from Oak Grove to Peninsula to drop
down to 25 MPH.
M/S/C; Israelit/Martos, 4/1/0
7. INFORMATION ITEMS
a) Engineering Division Reports
• TDA Article 3 Grant – The County B/PAC completed their review and
recommendations of the TDA Article 3 application at their October 24 meeting. The
El Camino Real/Mills Creek School and Commuter Path Improvement Project was
not selected.
• Broadway Grade Separation – The community meeting will be held on Tuesday,
November 19, 2019 in the Main Library’s Lane Room, starting at 6:30 p.m.
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan – The community meeting will be held on
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at the Recreation Center, starting at 6:30 p.m.
• Lots F and N Construction Update –The valet-assist on the upper levels of Lot A
continues. Ground breaking ceremony held on October 22.
• Cabrillo Halloween – Staff noticed the community through E-news and through the
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electronic message boards. BPD provided additional details in Item 7.b, Police
Department Reports.
• Hoover School Sidewalk Improvements – Staff presented an update at the
recent Burlingame School District Liaison meeting.
• Sanchez Avenue Traffic Calming – Staff has met with the neighborhood and
formed a subcommittee. Committee has reviewed and commented on potential
improvements including locations. Staff to draft petition for circulation by committee
members for support.
• TSPC Priority List (revised November 2019):
TSPC Led Effort
1 Downtown Parking and Access 11/14/19: Item 7a
2 Bike\Ped Plan Update: fwd to BPAC 11/14/19: Item 6b
3 School Traffic and Safety Issues 5/9/19: Item 6c
4 Neighborhood Traffic Calming 10/10/19: Item 7a
5 Citywide Transportation Alternatives
6 Electric Vehicles 5/9/19: Item 7a
7 Broadway Parking 5/9/19: Item 6b
8 Bike Share Feedback
9 Parking and traffic considerations w/Planning *
10 Joint meeting with City Council *
11 Halloween Traffic Impacts (July) * 11/14/19: Item 7a
Staff Update via Report
1 Caltrans’ ECR Corridor
2 Hoover School Update 11/14/19: Item 7a
3 Downtown Parking Strategies 11/14/19: Item 7a
4 City Hall Traffic Calming/Floribunda 4/11/19: Item 6b
5 California Roundabout 5/9/19: Item 7a
6 Oak Grove/Carolan Traffic Signal 10/10/19: Item 7a
7 Bike\Ped Plan Update: fwd to BPAC 11/14/19: Item 7a
8 Rec Center Parking
9 Old Bayshore Corridor Study 8/8/19: Item 7a
10 Grant Opportunities 11/14/19: Item 7a
11 Broadway Grade Separation 11/14/19: Item 7a
12 San Mateo's Peninsula Ave OC
13 School Speed Limit Updates 6/13/19, Item 7a
14 School Safety Improvements 5/9/19: Item 6c
15 Lyon-Hoag Neighborhood Traffic Calming 10/10/19: Item 7a
16 300 Burlingame Point Traffic Impacts 8/8/19: Item 7a
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17 Broadway/California Update
2019 Agenda Item Action Status
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Council Direction Regarding Improving
Short-Term Parking in the Burlingame
Avenue Downtown Area
South and West Lane to be
converted in late-July
2 TSPC’s Lot N Parking Structure
Recommendation Completed
3 School Speed Reductions Completed
4 North Carolan Avenue Parking Restrictions Completed
5 McKinley Turn-Restrictions Completed
6 Stop Signs at 3 locations Completed
b) Police Department Reports
Sergeant Perna reported they dedicated two officers to the Cabrillo area for Halloween.
He stated the PD received positive feedback and felt it was a successful effort. Sergeant
Perna stated that for next year they may add an additional changeable message board.
Commissioner Wettan felt it was huge improvement from previous years and conveyed
his thanks.
In regards to Hoover School, Sergeant Perna stated they conducted morning and
afternoon enforcement with two police officers and two parking enforcement officers
daily. He said they took a zero tolerance standpoint and motorists were cited. Sergeant
Perna did say there was confusion with the sign indicating the road is closed to through
traffic during the a.m. and p.m. pick up times as some drivers thought it only applied if
you had to pass the school. Commisioner Wettan suggested the sign be changed to “no
entry” at the particular times. Mr. Wong stated they would look into it.
Sergeant Perna distributed the accident reports and noted there were 25 accidents this
reporting period. Of those 25 accidents, he said 12 were injury-accidents, 2 involved
bicyclists, and 2 involved pedestrians. Sergeant Perna reported one head-on DUI crash
at Airport Boulevard and Anza Boulevard.
c) Farmer’s Market
Commissioner Londer stated there was nothing to report as there was no TSPC presence
at the last Farmer’s Market. He indicated participation at the December Farmer’s Market
would be discussed at the December TSPC meeting.
d) TSPC Chair/Commissioner’s Communications
Commissioner Martos reported receiving feedback from some parents of students at
Hoover School but stated he and Mr. Wong have been working to address the
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concerns. He stated Mr. Wong is going to write a summary of his meeting with the
School Board and Mayor, which will include the upcoming improvements, such as like
revisions to the changeable message board. Commissioner Martos also stated there
would be a follow up meeting with the PTA.
Chair Bush stated he spoke to a neighbor regarding his concern that people were using
the Lyon Hoag neighborhood for airport parking. He said those concerns are being
addressed through the Lyon Hoag Traffic Calming Project.
8. COMMISSION & SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
a) Downtown Parking (Martos & Wettan)
No update, but Commissioner Wettan said it will be interesting to get some additional
post-Thanksgiving/pre-Christmas data on parking capacity for Thursdays and Fridays.
Vice-Chair Israelit inquired about the timeframe for the wayfinding signage to which Mr.
Wong said he would follow up with the consultant again.
b) Broadway Parking (Bush & Israelit)
Vice Chair Israelit stated someone spoke to her about the oversized vehicles parking on
Broadway making it impossible to pass.
c) School Traffic (Israelit & Londer)
No update.
d) Citywide Transportation Alternatives (Londer & Wettan)
Commissioner Londer stated the City of Cupertino has a shuttle service (VIA) that they
are utilizing on a pilot basis. He shared their staff report from June 2019 and pointed
out the extremely high cost for the City.
9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
• Transportation alternatives
• Measure A grant call for projects
• Traffic concerns on Rhinette
• Conditions on California Drive approaching Broadway
• Bike share options
• Update regarding charging stations on Broadway
10. ADJOURNMENT 10:07 pm