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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2020.07.091 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Approved Minutes Regular Meeting of Thursday, July 9, 2020 1. CALL TO ORDER 7:02 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) June 11, 2020 Meeting Minutes Motion: To accept the June 11, 2020 Meeting Minutes as written. M/S/C; Wettan/Londer, 5/0/0 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS – NON-AGENDA No public comment. 6. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS a) Community B/PAC Update (Informational Only) No update. b) Chapin Avenue Feasibility Study Update Environmental Regulatory Compliance Manager Jennifer Lee provided an update regarding the Chapin Avenue Feasibility Study, a green streets project effort. She stated staff is seeking feedback and a ranking of the three options as part of the project’s outreach efforts. 2 In 2017, the City contributed to a countywide effort with the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County and worked with stakeholders and the public to prepare a Stormwater Resource Plan (SRP). The purpose of this plan is to provide detailed analysis of stormwater and dry weather capture projects for the County. Chapin Avenue was one of twenty-six projects with a conceptual design fact sheet in the SRP. Ms. Lee stated that Chapin Avenue is a relatively wide street compared to other downtown City streets and includes 98 feet of public right-of-way. The excess width can encourage cars to travel at higher speeds, double parking by vehicles and delivery trucks, and illegal street crossings by pedestrians. This has the combined effect of making the area less appealing for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. In addition to traffic concerns, stormwater runoff from this commercial and parking dense corridor flow directly to the storm drain inlets on Primrose Road without treatment. Treating the runoff from this street would significantly improve the water quality from this area as well as provide treatment credit for new development projects that replace impervious surfaces. Ms. Lee indicated that to date, City staff and consultants from Wilsey Ham and Callander Associates have conducted three public outreach meetings: one to the Downtown Burlingame Business Improvement District members and two to the public. Staff invited property owners and residents within 300 feet of the project site, as well as the Beautification Commissioners, Citizens Environmental Council of Burlingame, City Councilmembers, Community Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Planning Commissioners, and Traffic, Safety, and Parking Commissioners. Wilsey Ham and Callander Associates have been working with City staff to study the opportunities and constraints for improvements on Chapin Avenue. Based on the feedback from the community meetings, Ms. Lee went over the three options the design team developed. Option A: Maximizes parking by repurposing the middle of the street with reverse angled and parallel parking spaces and a landscaped/pedestrian area. As the street approaches El Camino Real, the middle lane would transition to a turning lane and/or loading zone. The travel lane width would be reduced to 12-feet and the existing parking spaces converted to either reverse angle (western portion towards El Camino Real) or parallel parking spaces (eastern portion towards Primrose Road). These spaces allow for an improved Class III bicycle facility on Chapin Avenue. The existing sidewalk area would be enhanced with new planter areas and new streetlights. There would also be a mid-block pedestrian crossing with bulb-outs for stormwater retention and a pedestrian refuge island with plantings in the median. Commissioner Bush inquired as to how long the median on Chapin Avenue would be. Ms. Lee stated they have not decided on the length of the proposed mid-block crossing. Commissioner Londer stated he didn’t see the advantage to reverse-angled parking. Commissioner Martos said it would be helpful to have a bird’s eye view of how all of this 3 comes together. He also asked about the median being extended all the way to Primrose Road. Mr. Wong stated that is yet to be determined and confirmed the plans are still conceptual. Chair Israelit inquired about the ten percent parking reduction and requested that Ms. Lee check on that as she felt as though it appeared we would be gaining some parking. Ms. Lee stated the parking figures were estimates with the parking reduction being anywhere from one to ten percent. Option B: This option introduces a 10-foot wide median strip designated as a turning lane and parking zone (western portion towards El Camino Real) and a planted median (eastern portion towards Primrose Road). The travel lanes are 12-feet, with parallel parking replacing the existing angled parking. The existing sidewalk area would be enhanced with new planter areas and streetlights. Between the parking area and sidewalk there would be a six-foot planter strip and a five-foot bike lane. This planter strip would be a bioretention area for stormwater runoff. There would be bulb-outs at all the pedestrian crossings on Chapin Avenue. There would also be a mid-block pedestrian crossing with bulb-outs for stormwater treatment and a pedestrian refuge island in the median. Commissioner Martos asked about the mid-block median for all three options and if there is any way to make a left turn other than at the end of the street. Ms. Lee said she would have to ask the consultant. Mr. Wong stated a left-turn lane pocket at mid-block could be an option but it would decrease the amount of parking. He said during the outreach efforts, the businesses stressed they would like to maintain and or increase the amount of available parking. Commissioner Martos stated again that a bird’s eye view would be extremely helpful. Chair Israelit echoed Commissioner Martos’ comments and said it is difficult to conceptualize the plans without a bird’s eye view. Option C: Similar to the previous two options, the existing sidewalk area on both sides of the street would be enhanced with new planter areas and streetlights with bulb-outs at the pedestrian crossings on Chapin Avenue; while the travel lanes would be 12-feet. The median would be a 10-foot wide strip designated as a turning lane or loading zone (western portion towards El Camino Real) that transitions to a 9-foot wide planting median (eastern portion towards Primrose Road). Along Chapin Avenue, there would be a mixture of parallel and nose-in angled parking. The bicycle facility would be a Class IV against the curb, utilizing the parking as an additional buffer. There would also be a mid-block pedestrian crossing with bulb-outs for stormwater treatment and a pedestrian refuge island in the median. Commissioner Martos said it would be good to have some quantitative measures related to the bioretention areas and parking as it would be helpful when making a decision between the various options. 4 Chair Israelit opened public comment. Ms. Beatty said Chapin Avenue has not been discussed as a priority in the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan and that the B/PAC would not be supportive of spending a lot of bike and pedestrian funds on this effort. She said B/PAC is curious how much City money is being proposed to fund this project. Ms. Beatty went on to say that Chapin Avenue is scary from a bicyclist’s perspective because cars make illegal U-turns and they would be supportive of the middle barrier. Ms. Beatty stated that they felt traffic calming is needed on Chapin Avenue but B/PAC is not sold on the buffered bike lanes. She stated they like option A the best. Additionally, Ms. Beatty said the crossing at El Camino Real should be shortened, similar to what has been done at Primrose Road. Manito Velasco also felt a bird’s eye view would be helpful. He said he wanted to confirm the intent was to maintain the left turn pockets in and out because trucks need to be able to make those turns as they cannot make a 180 degree U-turn on Chapin Avenue. He said in regards to the two bike lane options, he felt those kinds of designs work when there are no driveways and cars are not turning in and out of those driveways. Mr. Velasco felt this was not a good set up for bicyclists or cars. Also, he pointed out that the drawings have the lanes narrowed down to 12 feet and wondered if Central County Fire would have adequate access for their emergency vehicles. Mr. Velasco was also interested in the funding plan for this project. Lastly, he felt jay walking would not apply at this location and thought Mr. Wong could clarify. Mr. Wong stated his interpretation of jay walking is crossing between two controlled intersections. Chair Israelit closed public comment and went back to the Commission for additional comments. Commissioner Bush felt Chapin Avenue does not connect to anything useful from a bicyclist’s perspective. He stated Primrose Road is a critical area due to the amount of pedestrian activity and that he would prefer work on the adjacent streets to make it safer. Commissioner Bush said he is concerned about the continuity throughout the block and transitioning to different parking schemes. He agreed with Commissioner Londer in regards to the challenges with reverse-angled parking and felt it would be better served somewhere like Howard Avenue. Commissioner Londer did not see how options B and C would be safe for bicyclists. In regards to option A, he said the center median would be ideal for pedestrians and bicyclists. Commissioner Londer also said Chapin Avenue could provide access across El Camino towards Crystal Springs. He also stated that the project could be funded with stormwater money as opposed to bike and pedestrian funds. Commissioner Londer indicated he favored a mid-block left turn for vehicles as Commissioner Martos mentioned. Commissioner Martos concurred with his fellow Commissioner’s comments, especially in regards to the reverse-angled parking. He said he would also like to see figures related to 5 the parking loss. Commissioner Martos stated he was in favor of option A with changes related to the reverse-angled parking and mid-block left turn for vehicles. He mentioned the need for a bird’s eye view of the various options again. Vice-Chair Wettan stated he was open minded about the design options but felt we should be looking at the downtown area overall given the new parking garage under construction and changes in behaviors. He said that over time we can reduce the amount of surface area parking in the downtown area but we should look at it holistically as he did not want to look at just a sliver of Burlingame but instead in its totality. Vice-Chair Wettan said option A is the only one he felt was feasible but for different reasons than previously mentioned by his fellow Commissioners. He mentioned the desire for a town square (lots E or J) and advocated that we be mindful as to where we choose to reduce parking. Chair Israelit stated she has concerns with all of the options presented and is not comfortable selecting any option at this time. She concurred with Commissioner Bush regarding the concern of having various parking schemes along the street as it would be confusing for drivers. With bigger businesses and stores along Chapin Avenue, Chair Israelit felt eliminating the turn pockets would be problematic. She also said she isn’t sure this is the best place to give up parking or spend money on bike improvements as it is not a major thoroughfare for bicyclists. Chair Israelit said it is a bit short-sighted to spend money on this area without looking at the bigger scheme of things for the east-west corridor. She would like to revisit this again prior to going back to the public for feedback in order to help guide better choices for the community. Prior to closing, Sergeant Perna stated that crossing between two intersections with traffic control devices would be considered jaywalking (CVC 21955). c) Burlingame Avenue & Broadway Street Closure Pilot Program Updates Mr. Wong provided an update to the Commission regarding the Burlingame Avenue and Broadway Street Closure Pilot Program efforts and requested their feedback. Mr. Wong went over the following background information. On June 9, 2020 the City Council held a special meeting to consider temporarily closing off Burlingame Avenue between El Camino Real and California Drive to facilitate safe outdoor dining and safe pedestrian activity. City Council directed staff to implement the temporary closure for a period of one month before evaluating whether to extend it further. Council also expressed an interest in creating parklets on side streets in the Downtown Burlingame Avenue area. Additionally, the Broadway Business Improvement District (BID) President John Kevranian requested that the Council consider closing Broadway to facilitate outdoor dining similar to Burlingame Avenue. On June 24, the Economic Development (ED) Subcommittee held a special meeting to discuss the parklets concept and options to allow additional outdoor dining along Broadway. Jenny Keleher, President of the Downtown Business Improvement District 6 (DBID), Mr. Kevranian, and Georgette Naylor, President and CEO of the Burlingame/SFO Chamber of Commerce, and Ajay Walia, owner of Rasa, attended the subcommittee meeting. At the July 6 City Council meeting, Council review three items pertaining to safe outdoor dining and safe pedestrian activity. In regards to Burlingame Avenue, Mr. Wong indicated that per City Council direction, staff implemented the one-month pilot street closure of Burlingame Avenue on the weekends of June 19-21 and June 26-28. Additionally, the street will also be closed July 3-5. Based on staff observation and input and feedback received from the public and the business community thus far, he said the street closure has been working successfully. Mr. Wong explained there have been concerns about some members of the public not following social distancing guidelines and not wearing face coverings. As a result, staff has increased signage regarding the importance of wearing face coverings and maintaining safe social distancing and has included such messaging in the eNews. Mr. Wong stated the DBID also added similar messaging to their street kiosks. Since the initial weekends have proven successful, Mr. Wong indicated the City Council approved extending the pilot program through the end of September. The extension will also allow adequate time to monitor the program and collect the necessary data to conduct CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) studies should the Council wish to continue the program on a long-term and/or seasonal basis in the future. In regards to Broadway, Mr. Wong stated the ED Subcommittee and City Council discussed closing it off to have outdoor seating in the parking areas but noted there would be more space for outdoor dining compared to Burlingame Avenue due to the angled parking. He stated the plan is to close Broadway between Chula Vista Avenue and Laguna Avenue, Laguna Avenue and Paloma Avenue, and Paloma Avenue and Capuchino Avenue. Mr. Wong explained the need to keep portions of Broadway open to vehicles due to the nature of the area and promote circulation. Mr. Wong indicated there would be a loss of roughly 57 spaces with this plan. He stated City Council approved the closure from 4 pm Saturdays through 10 pm on Sundays. Mr. Wong also indicated the DBID wanted the closure to include Fridays because of heavier restaurant business but the City had concerns related to traffic during that time. The Broadway pilot program was approved by Council for a two week period with the plan to come back and revisit. Mr. Wong stated that City Council also discussed parklets on Primrose Road, Howard Avenue, and Lorton Avenue. He pointed out the need to maintain vehicle access and indicated the parklets would be heavy water-filled barriers for additional safety compared to using A-Frames. Mr. Wong said with the addition of the parklets, the area would lose roughly 63 parking spaces. In closing, Mr. Wong went over the following rules related to the implementation of the parklets. • All restaurants, eateries, retail businesses, and members of the public must abide 7 by the State of California Health Orders with respect to social distancing, masks, etc. • Restaurants must follow the County Health Orders for serving food, including providing PPE (personal protective equipment) for employees, and providing washing stations for patrons. • All sales, service, or consumption of alcoholic beverages shall be in compliance with the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Act as described in Division 9 of the California Business and Professions Code and any implementing regulations or other applicable laws. • Each restaurant using the City right-of-way for outdoor dining is responsible for the safety of their patrons. • The businesses must maintain ADA access at all times. • Each restaurant using the outdoor dining space is responsible for keeping their frontage sidewalk and the parking lane areas clean at all times. • All tables and chairs should be removed from the sidewalk and street at the end of each day. • The City’s existing sidewalk encroachment permit template is being adapted to cover the expanded dining areas and the City Council has directed staff to waive encroachment permit fees for outdoor dining during this program. • The DBID and Broadway BID will serve as liaisons for these projects and will coordinate with merchants and businesses to ensure all the conditions are met. • Potential cessation of the pilot programs if they are causing traffic congestion, circulation concerns, safety concerns, parking problems, social distancing/face covering requirements are ignored, and/or emergencies. No public comments were received. Commissioner Martos inquired about the closure at Chula Vista Avenue and if it allowed entrance into the Walgreens parking lot. Mr. Wong stated vehicles would have access to both driveways. Commissioner Martos said he liked the closure of Broadway as well but was concerned about the late closure on Saturday and felt it would be nice to see Broadway closed in the mornings and afternoon. In regards to parklets off of Burlingame Avenue, Commissioner Martos confirmed the ability to park in between the parklets. He also inquired about how resistant the barriers are and whether or not we could reduce the speed limit around those areas. Mr. Wong stated the weighted barriers are roughly ½ ton each and they will be pinned together so they are interlocked. He said staff could explore reducing the speed limit from the current 25 MPH. On a separate note, Commissioner Martos said he has been enjoying the closure of Burlingame Avenue but he did notice a lot of people not wearing masks on the Avenue. Mr. Wong explained the late closure of Broadway on Saturdays was due to concerns of maintaining parking for the service related business along that street. Commissioner Londer confirmed the Broadway closure would start the following weekend for two weekends with the potential to extend further. He f elt both programs are good but 8 that Broadway would be a little tougher given the difference in the area (strictly commercial vs. mixed with residential). Commissioner Londer stated he was concerned about restaurants on the ends of Broadway that may feel like they have been left out. Mr. Wong responded to say it has been part of overall discussions and they will continue to monitor. Mr. Wong stated there is a potential for the use of parklets for those restaurants. Regarding Burlingame Avenue, Commissioner Londer expressed concern with the lack of compliance with wearing a mask and social distancing but was happy to hear additional signage will be going up and that the Burlingame Avenue closure has been extended to September. Commissioner Bush inquired about Burlingame Avenue how non-restaurant businesses have been doing. Joseph Sanfilippo, Economic Development & Housing Specialist stated there is currently a survey out with the results pending. Mr. Sanfilippo also said they have not heard from many retailers and the impacts to retailers have also been a concern to staff. Commissioner Bush stated his expectation is they would do better with the additional foot traffic. Commissioner Bush would like to ultimately see the closure for the full week and felt all businesses might be better off. Regarding the parklets, he asked if the City considered any other materials or mechanisms. He mentioned that big planters would be more visually pleasing but noted the additional cost factor. Commissioner Bush agreed with Commissioner Londer regarding the challenges on Broadway due to it being a main thoroughfare which may have some secondary impacts, such as additional traffic on the residential side streets. Vice-Chair Wettan echoed Commissioner Martos’ comments regarding the lack of compliance around wearing masks on Burlingame Avenue. He stated he has been asking the question for at least 6 weeks and would like to know how restaurants on Burlingame Avenue are doing with take-out and delivery services and if they need anything to mitigate those efforts. Mr. Sanfilippo stated there is a question in the DBID survey that addresses take-out functions and distribution points are a consideration, but it is still being evaluated. Vice-Chair Wettan also pointed out that restaurants on Broadway don’t back up to an open parking lot area or have back doors for take-out distribution while the front is closed. Lastly, Vice-Chair Wettan stated with the loss of parking on Broadway, access to the parking lots are very important, and although people are not supposed to drive through Lot Q, he suggested formalizing something to make it permissible for people to travel through Lot Q in order to improve access to Lot P. Chair Israelit stated she loves the closure of Burlingame Avenue but is a little concerned about the parklets as it takes away a lot of parking. She wondered how that would impact the retailers. Regarding Broadway, Chair Israelit stated it was a major thoroughfare between El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is interested to see how much traffic ends up diverted to the surrounding neighborhood streets. She also pointed out there are far fewer restaurants on Broadway. Vice-Chair Wettan stated he had no problems recently finding parking in the Burlingame Avenue downtown area. He said once we are back to “normal life” it might be a different story. Vice-Chair Wettan said he worries more about Broadway because of the challenges 9 to get to the various parking lots. 7. INFORMATION ITEMS a) Engineering Division Reports • Broadway Grade Separation – The Joint Powers Board (JPB) has received the proposal for final design. The evaluation team is working on reviewing proposals. The City was not successful in obtaining the $125 million dollar INFRA Grant and is still awaiting the results on the $7.9 million dollar BUILD Grant for the Broadway Station portion of the project. • Lots F and N – New parking garage should potentially be complete next spring with the housing element wrapping up the summer of 2022. • North Rollins Road Specific Plan – The Community Development Director is looking for a member to be on the community advisory committee. The commitment is roughly three meetings over the course of a one year period. Vice- Chair Wettan and Commissioner Martos both expressed an interest. If the limit is one person from TSPC, it was decided that Vice-Chair Wettan would be the first selection. • TSPC Priority List (revised July 2020): TSPC Led Effort 1 Downtown Parking and Access 7/9/20: Item 6c 2 Bike\Ped Plan Update: fwd to BPAC 1/9/20: Item 6c 3 School Traffic and Safety Issues 3/12/20: Item 7a 4 Neighborhood Traffic Calming 5/14/20: Item 7a 5 Broadway Parking 7/9/20: Item 6c 6 Citywide Transportation Alternatives 2/13/20: Item 6c 7 Bay Trail Improvements 8 Electric Vehicles 12/12/19: Item 6b 9 Bike Share Feedback 12/12/19: Item 6b Staff Update via Report 1 Caltrans’ ECR Corridor 2/13/20: Item 7a 2 Hoover School Update 6/11/20: Item 7a 3 Downtown Parking Strategies 7/9/20: Item 6c 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 1/9/20: Item 6c 10 8 Rec Center Parking 9 Old Bayshore Corridor Study 12/12/19: Item 7a 10 Grant Opportunities 6/11/20: Item 7a 11 Broadway Grade Separation 7/9/20: Item 7a 12 San Mateo's Peninsula Ave OC 13 School Speed Limit Updates 6/13/19, Item 7a 14 School Safety Improvements 3/12/20: Item 7a 15 Lyon-Hoag Neighborhood Traffic Calming 56/11/20: Item 7a 16 300 Burlingame Point Traffic Impacts 8/8/19: Item 7a 17 Broadway/California Update 2020 Agenda Item Action Status 1 Council Direction Regarding Improving Short-Term Parking in the Burlingame Avenue Downtown Area Poles and SMART meter have been installed and are currently being programmed. b) Police Department Reports The collision report was distributed prior to the meeting as part of the agenda packet. Sergeant Perna stated there were 19 collisions for the month of June. He pointed out a few accidents involving solo bicyclists. Vice-Chair Wettan observed two separate accidents in the late afternoon at the Ray/Rosedale intersections within the report and stated that historically, he felt like it is a problem area for the City. Sergeant Perna stated he would keep that in mind and pointed out one of the DUI collision’s was in that area. Sergeant Perna also stated he would forward the comments received in regards to the lack of compliance related to social distancing and wearing masks on Burlingame Avenue to command staff. c) Farmer’s Market No update. The Commission is currently not participating in the Farmer’s Market given the current conditions surrounding COVID-19. d) TSPC Chair/Commissioner’s Communications No updates. 8. COMMISSION & SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS a) Downtown Parking (Martos & Wettan) No update. 11 b) Broadway Parking (Bush & Israelit) No update. c) School Traffic (Israelit & Londer) Vice-Chair Wettan stated they are working with Mr. Wong to place information in the eNews to encourage drivers to pay attention as to how they are driving through the neighborhoods with the increase in pedestrian activity due to Covid-19. d) Citywide Transportation Alternatives (Londer & Wettan) No update. 9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan (Commissioner Londer requested this information a few days in advance of the meeting) • Burlingame Avenue parklets and survey update Commissioner Martos requested a status of the Lyon Hoag Traffic Calming Project efforts. Ms. Mai stated the project is on schedule with the advertisement and bidding to occur in August and construction to start in September. 10. ADJOURNMENT 9:13 p.m.