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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2020.09.101 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Approved Minutes Regular Meeting of Thursday, September 10, 2020 1. CALL TO ORDER 7:02 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG 3. ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Israelit, Londer, Martos, Wettan MEMBERS ABSENT: Bush 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) July 9, 2020 Meeting Minutes Motion: To accept the July 9, 2020 Meeting Minutes as written. M/S/C; Londer/Wettan, 4/0/0 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS – NON-AGENDA No public comments received. 6. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS a) Burlingame Avenue & Broadway Street Closure Pilot Program Update Originally listed as item 6c, the Burlingame Avenue and Broadway Street Closure Pilot Program Update was moved to the top of the discussion items in the interest of time for specific participants. Mr. Wong stated the Broadway closure continues to occur from 4 pm on Saturdays to 10 pm on Sundays. For Burlingame Avenue, he stated last weekend was the last street closure and they are now switching to parklets. Mr. Wong went over the parklet maps for Burlingame Avenue. He indicated all parklets are for restaurants with the exception of one 2 personal services business. Mr. Wong explained that the parklet for the personal services business changes the parklet layout a bit as City Council determined that there needs to be a 20 foot buffer between personal services and food establishments. Mr. Wong said that space is tight on Burlingame Avenue and there is no end date for the parklets—staff anticipates to have them at least through the end of the year. Chair Israelit stated it is unfair that Sappore’s parklet is so far from their restaurant frontage. Mr. Wong confirmed Sappore is okay with the parklet location at this time and explained it has been a balancing act, especially given there was a business in the vicinity that did not support the parklets. Commissioner Londer confirmed there is no charge for the parklets as of right now. Mr. Wong stated businesses have to commit to using the parklet three days per week due to the trade off with the loss of parking. He said businesses have to list the days they will be open on the parklet application. Commissioner Londer confirmed businesses can still have tables and chairs on the sidewalk in addition to the parklet. Mr. Wong explained there is still a fee associated with the tables and chairs permit. He also said that ADA access will still be maintained for pedestrians. Mr. Wong also stated that retailers are not eligible for a parklet based on County orders—they have the ability to operate indoors. Based on the maps presented, Vice-Chair Wettan confirmed there would still be through traffic on Burlingame Avenue and two lanes of traffic would be maintained. Vice-Chair Wettan also confirmed Broadway is still closed all day on Sundays. He then inquired if there have been any observations related to parking utilization on the weekends. Mr. Wong stated the lots appear to be at about half capacity and the business owners on Broadway seem to be happy with the current closure. Vice-Chair Wettan agreed that the crowds on Broadway appear to “fit the purpose” and he observed in the evenings that the two middle blocks are very well utilized (in front of Rocca and Broadway Prime). Additionally, Vice-Chair Wettan spoke to a few restaurant owners and they seem happy about the set-up, with no disruptions to take-out services and plenty of parking available. Vice-Chair Wettan did note that the block east of Rocca, towards California Drive appears to not be utilized. He also said he observed lunch time on Sundays seems to be underutilized and suggested possibly consolidating people to the sidewalks to keep Broadway open. Overall, Vice-Chair Wettan felt the Broadway closure has been successful in the evenings on two of the three blocks. In regards to Burlingame Avenue, Chair Israelit noticed sidewalks are wider compared to Broadway. She stated she is concerned with the lack of clearance (6 feet) for pedestrians where restaurants are placing tables and chairs on both sides of the sidewalks—it does not allow appropriate clearance to walk past unmasked diners. Chair Israelit asked if there has been any discussion to only allow tables and chairs on one side of the sidewalk. Mr. Wong stated he would look into the concern and will get back to the Commission. Commissioner Martos sought clarification regarding the parklet maps. Mr. Wong stated those in red are businesses that have already applied for a parklet. Commissioner Martos asked if all the parklets are the same size. Mr. Wong responded to say they are generally 3 al the same size—roughly 300 square feet. Mr. Wong went on to explain there is no standard for the parklets; businesses are allowed to decorate and make the area more visually pleasing. Vice-Chair Wettan shared his observations when picking up take-out on Burlingame Avenue. He said restaurants are purposely closing off their back doors and as a consequence, people getting take-out are forced to walk through the crowds. From a health and safety perspective, Vice-Chair Wettan wondered if there has been any thought to try to encourage restaurants to send take-out another way to avoid more people around the storefront. Mr. Wong shared that most restaurant kitchens are in the back and owners have been concerned with exposing that area. Vice-Chair Wettan felt there might be a way to deliver it to the back door to avoid anyone in the restaurants. Chair Israelit liked that suggestion and thought it would be worthwhile to explore. Commissioner Martos stated he was on Burlingame Avenue over the past weekend and observed many bikers riding down the Burlingame Avenue (not so carefully without masks). He asked if bike riding was allowed on the sidewalks. Mr. Wong stated that in business districts bikes are not allowed on sidewalks. b) Community B/PAC Update (Informational Only) No update. Commissioner Londer and Vice-Chair Wettan stated there was a conflict with back-to- school night. Per Ms. Mai, B/PAC did not meet this evening and postponed their meeting to the 17th due to the conflict. c) Grant Opportunities Update Mr. Wong went through a presentation regarding upcoming grant opportunities—the first opportunity being the FY20/21 Limited Call for Projects through the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) County Program. He stated C/CAG is designated the County Program Manager to receive 40% of the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) funds. Mr. Wong stated there is a one-time total of $550,000 of TFCA County Program Manager Funds available with a minimum award of $100,000 and maximum of $550,000. He said eligible applicants include cities, towns, and county and transit agencies within San Mateo County. Mr. Wong shared two projects eligible for the TFCA grant program. The first being the Lyon-Hoag Traffic Calming Improvements Implementation. He said this project would consist of quick build traffic calming projects, including restriping a Class II bike facility, constructing temporary trial traffic circles and bulb-outs with striping and flexible delineators, temporary speed cushions, and high visibility crosswalk enhancements. Mr. Wong said the goal of these improvements is to enhance safety for pedestrians and bicyclists; promote walking and biking mobility between residential neighbors a nearby transit, retail area, the City’s Park and Recreation Community Center and parks; slow 4 traffic through the Lyon-Hoag neighborhood while maintaining circulation and traffic flow; and reduce cut-through traffic. He further explained that through outreach programs and town hall meetings, City staff worked with neighbors and completed a traffic study with a prioritization of said improvements. Mr. Wong stated final design is currently underway and the City is seeking construction funds to complete these quick build improvements. The second project for submittal per Mr. Wong is the SMART Corridor Detection Improvement Project. He said the proposed project would improve existing traffic signals along Burlingame’s portion of the SMART Corridor with the addition of video detection systems. Mr. Wong stated the project will procure and install video detection cameras at six intersections along the California Drive corridor. The purpose of adding video detection is to ensure detection of all modes of transportation at the SMART Corridor intersections and enhance traffic signal operations. Mr. Wong went on to the second grant opportunity which is the FY21/22 Call for Projects for the SMCTA Pedestrian and Bicycle Program – Cycle 5. He said this grant is a combination of funds from Measures A and W and the funds are to be used for specific projects that encourage walking and bicycling. As with the previous grant opportunity, eligible applicants include cities, towns, and county and transit agencies in San Mateo County. Mr. Wong stated there is a total of $7,695,000 available for Capital Projects with $2,565,000 available for small capital projects and $5,130,000 for large capital projects. Mr. Wong shared the two project candidates for the SMCTA Pedestrian and Bicycle Program: the California Drive Bicycle Facility Improvement Project and Burlingame Station Pedestrian Improvements Project. For the California Drive project, Mr. Wong stated the work would further the efforts of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan regarding the portion of California Drive from Broadway to Oak Grove Avenue. He said the project will take the conceptual designs, determine one through a public process, and then advance it to construction. For the Burlingame Station Pedestrian Improvements, Mr. Wong explained the proposed project would construct improvements at the intersection of Burlingame Avenue/East Lane. He said the improvements would consist of curb extensions, landscaping/bio- retention areas, new curb ramps, and new crosswalks. Additionally, Mr. Wong stated the improvements will benefit traffic operation, enhance pedestrian safety, and improve access for the station. In closing, he said public outreach related to these improvements were done during the Lyon-Hoag Traffic Calming Project efforts and are currently under design as part of that project. Commissioner Londer asked how many applications can be submitted for each grant and how much are they for. Mr. Wong stated each grant program will receive two project applications, but staff is still finalizing numbers—somewhere between $500k and $1M will be requested for each project. Commissioner Martos inquired about the video detection on California Drive and whether it improves throughput. Mr. Wong stated that it allows another way to detect bicycles, gives 5 redundancy, and there is less down time when work is being done in the area since signals go on recall. Commissioner Martos asked if there are detection facilities at Broadway and Carolan Avenue. Mr. Wong responded and said there are cameras up from the interchange project but detection there isn’t necessarily the issue. In closing, Ms. Mai shared that October 15 is when C/CAG staff will bring the approval of the selected projects to their Board but applicants should be notified before then. Commissioner Martos requested a status update at the next TSPC meeting. Mr. Wong said they will provide an update but it might not occur during the October meeting. 7. INFORMATION ITEMS a) Engineering Division Reports • Lots F and N Construction Update – Contractor working on construction of third deck. Staff is working on both EV charging facilities and electronic wayfinding for the garage. Spring of 2021 is still the target date for the garage opening. Commissioner Londer inquired about the EV chargers and whether or not they will be on all levels of the garage. Mr. Wong stated he is aware they will be on the ground level but will find out if there will be additional chargers on other levels of the garage. Vice-Chair Wettan reiterated the importance for the infrastructure to expand the EV chargers down the road as the demand for charging stations may increase over time. • Carolan Avenue – Summerhill will be restriping facilities tomorrow and Friday. • TSPC Priority List (revised September 2020): TSPC Led Effort 1 Downtown Parking and Access 9/10/20: Item 6c 2 Bike\Ped Plan Update: fwd to BPAC 8/13/20: Item 6b 3 School Traffic and Safety Issues 3/12/20: Item 7a 4 Neighborhood Traffic Calming 5/14/20: Item 7a 5 Broadway Parking 9/10/20: Item 6c 6 Citywide Transportation Alternatives 2/13/20: Item 6c 7 Bay Trail Improvements 8 Electric Vehicles 9/10/20: Item 7a 9 Bike Share Feedback 12/12/19: Item 6b 6 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 3/12/20: 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 8/13/20: Item 6b 8 Rec Center Parking 3/12/20: Item 7a 9 Old Bayshore Corridor Study 12/12/19: Item 7a 10 Grant Opportunities 9/10/20: Item 6b 11 Broadway Grade Separation 6/11/20: 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 6/11/20: 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 11 collisions for the month of August. He said of the 11 accidents, there were 4 injury collisions. Sergeant Perna stated there were no DUI collisions. He said that due to the pandemic, all OTS operations stopped, but once restrictions subsided, they’ve been running DUI checkpoints each weekend. He felt that was a big reason why they are seeing a reduction/elimination of DUI’s. Sergeant Perna said the accident at California Drive and Lorton Avenue (in the roundabout) involved a bicyclist riding in the crosswalk, which is against the law. He said the collision was very minor. Sergeant Perna also confirmed it is illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalks on Broadway and Burlingame Avenue Chair Israelit inquired about the accident at Carolan Avenue and Cadillac Way as she felt that location has frequent accidents. Sergeant Perna agreed and said he would look into the accident history. He stated that the collision involved two vehicles—one entering 7 Carolan Avenue from a driveway that did not yield to the car with the right-of-way. Commissioner Martos asked Mr. Wong if there is any signage on the street that states it is illegal to ride their bikes on the sidewalk. He stated it might be a good idea to add a few signs on Burlingame Avenue and Broadway. Mr. Wong said he thought there were some signs on Broadway and Burlingame Avenue but he would double check. Chair Israelit suggested education through the schools/PTA. Sergeant Perna suggested including information in the City eNews. 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 Vice-Chair Wettan pointed out that he was on Broadway at Lot Y and there is still a large amount of real estate dedicated to EV chargers which are unused. He stated they are still not compatible with Tesla, which is one of the most common electric vehicles in town. Mr. Wong said we would check with Sigalle Michael regarding his concern. Commissioner Londer stated Sigalle Michael spoke at the Citizens Environmental Council last night and the EV charging company does not share any of their usage data with the City. He said she confirmed the chargers are underutilized but they do not have any supporting data. 8. COMMISSION & SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS a) Downtown Parking (Martos & Wettan) No update. b) Broadway Parking (Bush & Israelit) No update. c) School Traffic (Israelit & Londer) No update. d) Citywide Transportation Alternatives (Londer & Wettan) No update. 8 9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Grant results • Signal at Oak Grove Avenue/Carolan Avenue • Burlingame Avenue parklets and Broadway closure update Vice-Chair Wettan suggested accelerating the TSPC meeting schedule or to have a special meeting in an effort to weigh in on the decisions related to the Burlingame Avenue parklets and Broadway closure. Up to this point, he said TSPC has not been able to weigh in on the decisions since the closure and parklets have evolved rapidly. Vice-Chair Wettan suggested the Commission be more flexible with the calendaring of meetings and he doesn’t necessarily feel TSPC needs to meet more often. Chair Israelit agreed and also wondered how much feedback Council would want from the TSPC. Chair Israelit said she would have a conversation with the Mayor on these quick decisions that are happening. She suggested the Commission continue with their regular scheduled meetings and to hold special meetings as needed. Commissioner Londer said he thinks Council values the input of the TSPC. He felt special meetings would be ideal as needed and would eliminate the need to meet twice a month. Vice-Chair Wettan noted that historically TSPC has held two special meetings for other items in order to respond in a timely manner. Mr. Wong stated that staff would just need a two-day notice to hold a special meeting. 10. ADJOURNMENT 8:37 p.m.