Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - TSP - 2021.11.101 TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND PARKING COMMISSION Approved Minutes Regular Meeting of Wednesday, November 10, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER 7:05 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG 3. ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Leigh, Israelit, Martos, Rebelos MEMBERS ABSENT: Wettan 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) September 9, 2021 Meeting Minutes Motion: To accept the September 9, 2021 Meeting Minutes as submitted. M/S/C; Rebelos/Israelit, 3/1/1 b) October 14, 2021 Meeting Minutes (to be approved at the December TSPC meeting) 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS – NON-AGENDA No public comments received. 6. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS a) Community B/PAC Update (Informational Item Only) Commissioner Leigh stated she thought B/PAC Chair Lesley Beatty would be unable to make it to the meeting. Commissioner Leigh stated she happily went to see the new parking garage on Highland and it was dark when she went. She stated she shared with Ms. Beatty she observed there is a lot of space on the ground floor for a bike rack or two and requested staff to consider the idea. Additionally, she felt staff should be considering this for future parking lot projects as well. 2 Mr. Wong shared that Sigalle Michael also pointed out the lack of bike racks and staff has identified a location to install one towards the Highland side. Commissioner Rebelos said he is concerned about bike racks making bikes more vulnerable and suggested bike lockers instead. Mr. W ong said bike racks are costly but indicated staff would look into the suggestion. b) California Drive Parking Update Mr. Wong explained this item is to discuss parking north of Broadway and what to do about the queuing on California Drive. He stated the purpose of this item is to gather additional input before coming back to the TSPC with the final proposal. He then turned it over to Transportation Engineer Michael Tsai to provide the presentation. Michael Tsai provided a project overview of the proposed traffic lane reconfiguration and stated the project area along California Drive is between Broadway and Juanita. This evening, he stated the intent is to continue the discussion held at the February 2020 TSPC meeting by addressing traffic concerns, presenting the concept design, and going over parking impacts and solutions; to improve how the roadway is utilized; and to continue to develop a facility that meets the needs of all modes of transportation. Mr. Tsai shared the number one complaint in the area of focus is congestion and noted the southbound traffic will extend past Mills in the afternoon peak. He explained the critical point is approaching Broadway where the single lane diverts into three travel lanes—two left-turn lanes and one through lane. Mr. Tsai indicated that staff noticed as cars approach Broadway, the left-turn lane is underutilized and provided visuals of the approach to Broadway to illustrate the capacity available, which appears to be due to the one through lane backing up. Mr. Tsai said staff took into consideration the comments received in the past from the Commission and Subcommittee and came up with the proposed lane configuration below. 3 He explained the reconfiguration adds a travel lane to separate the left-turning vehicles and the through vehicles to avoid the backlog of cars trying to go straight on California Drive. He indicated by adding a travel lane, the City would have to remove parking of approximately 10 on-street spaces. Mr. Tsai said the tradeoffs would be increased efficiency of existing signal capacity and reduced congestion. Per Mr. Tsai, previous feedback from TSPC and public outreach efforts included the traffic congestion concerns, the importance of bike lane connectivity, the consideration of restricting left turns onto Rhinette, the impact of parking removal to businesses, and the consideration of modifying time restrictions in Parking Lot S. Additionally, Mr. Tsai shared the two-day parking utilization study conducted with the consideration to modify Parking Lot S, which is still on the table. Please see below for results of the parking utilization study. In closing, Mr. Tsai went over the next steps, which include the incorporation of comments received from tonight’s meeting, coming back to the TSPC with a draft report for official consideration/a motion, and ultimately bringing this item to the City Council for consideration. Vice-Chair Martos opened the public comment period. Mr. Velasco stated he lives three blocks away and feels the main issue at this location is not the parking, it is the signal on California at Broadway and Broadway/Carolan Avenue, which he felt operates inefficiently. He clarified this is not a detection issue. Mr. Velasco said the signal is not programmed optimally and has reached the end of its useful life. He felt money should be spent at this location as opposed to the intersection of Oak Grove and Carolan. Additionally, Mr. Velasco stated he is against the bike lane curbside as there will always be a car blocking the lane. Lastly, he requested to obtain B/PAC feedback on this proposal. Mr. Catlyn, who works at the corner of Juanita and Broadway, said he is speaking as a bicycle commuter and as someone who works for different clients along this stretch of Broadway. He 4 indicated he has been hit in this area before, he has had to break quickly for cars encroaching in the bike lane, and said it is a dangerous situation. Mr. Catlyn said he agreed with Mr. Velasco’s comments and doesn’t think it’s a question of adding more lanes as he stated it doesn’t reduce congestion. He mentioned options to address the signal and suggested better signage, and possibly redirecting cars to the alternate freeway access in Millbrae. Additionally, Mr. Catlyn stated the business have been hammered already with the removal of the lot across California Drive. In closing, he said he has seen drivers in the bike lane and on the sidewalk so he understands people feel quite passionate about this stretch of road but was unsure if the current proposal was the right way to address the problem. Vice-Chair Martos closed public comment. Commissioner Rebelos inquired why there are so many cars on California Drive and where they are coming from. Commissioner Leigh stated the afternoon peak is due to school traffic. Commissioner Rebelos stated he avoids that intersection at all costs and said the bike lane is an issue. He said he feels something is missing in the study and stated if traffic is due to the schools, why are people trying to get to Highway 101 southbound. Commissioner Israelit clarified that the traffic is also due to the hospital shift change at 3 pm and stated it has been consistent for years. Commissioner Rebelos wondered if there was a way to redirect people to a more sensible route. He then asked what it meant to modify Parking Lot S. Mr. Tsai clarified the intent is to modify the parking hours. In terms of the design, Commissioner Rebelos said he likes the design but would like to see some separation between the bike lane and traffic lanes because he agrees that cars will park in the bike lane given the businesses there. He said he would endorse this plan only because it is better than the current configuration but would want to have some delineators or something to prevent cars from double parking. Mr. Tsai responded to say that is still on the table and then reviewed the lane widths. He explained the area is very tight but would see if there is an area to introduce some raised delineation. He also shared the minimum width is 1.5 feet to do that, which has to come from somewhere else. Mr. Tsai suggested to bring this idea to B/PAC for consideration and feedback, and to the City’s designer. In his closing comments, Commissioner Rebelos said he would love to find out if there is a way to put up signage at Trousdale near El Camino Real near the various medical facilities to direct medical employees to Millbrae in order to access Highway 101. Commissioner Leigh stated part of the problem is left-turn lane #2 because those drivers are trying to access northbound Highway 101 and are required to dash over three lanes to access the onramp. She suggested to look at the eastbound traffic on Broadway where it turns to three lanes just before Rollins Road. Commissioner Leigh suggested the far right hand lane on Broadway be converted to a right turn only onto Rollins Road in an effort help those turning left from California Drive. Additionally, Commissioner Leigh felt Mr. Velasco’s public comment was great in terms of looking at upgrading the traffic lights. She said she has also often thought that the right-hand left-turn lane to turn east onto Broadway should be a straight-ahead and a left-turn lane. Commissioner Leigh then said we are expanding the capacity of the roadway for a street that is designated as a bike route. She went on to say this is our only north-south route in town 5 since El Camino cannot handle bikers and therefore we should prioritize bikers along California Drive. Commissioner Israelit said Parking Lot S never appears to be full and she does not feel the businesses would be greatly harmed by taking away the on-street parking due to the availability of parking on the side streets and in Parking Lot S. She said the City’s current plan does improve bike safety by not having bikers weave through traffic to get to the dashed green spot and there are no door zone concerns. Commissioner Israelit stated she has not witnessed double parking but it would be an enforcement issue by the Police Department. As far as signal improvement, she said it would be ideal and shared the City has attempted to improve the signal timing several times, but still felt changing the lane configuration is planning for the future based on upcoming development. Additionally, she did not think the lane changes would increase the number of commuters on this road; it makes it a safer intersection. Vice-Chair Martos confirmed with Mr. Wong that this concept would go to B/PAC for comments. In regards to the dedicated southbound right-turn lane onto Broadway, he inquired about the impacts. Mr. Wong explained that it would make the signal less effective; in order to make the through and left turn lane he said you would have to split phase the signal. As a result, Mr. Wong said they could not go simultaneously. He went on to say eventually there would be a signal upgrade but until there is a hard timeline on the Grade Separation, they won’t install anything that could potentially be removed. Vice-Chair Martos inquired about the timing of the spaces in Parking Lot S. Mr. Wong stated they are mostly long-term spaces with a few short-term spaces. Mr. Wong stated they could possibly promote it for employee parking in order to free up spaces closer or consider additional short-term spaces in Parking Lot S to help with parking for the local businesses. Vice-Chair Martos stated he agrees with his colleagues in that this design is an improvement over what we currently have—he said he never liked the crisscrossing of traffic with the bike lane. Vice- Chair Martos indicated he has gone back and forth regarding the removal of parking and felt making less long-term parking would assist with that, but also would like employees to have the ability to use the long-term parking where the trailer was. Overall, he said he is in favor of the concept design with the consideration of additional short-term parking in Lot S. Mr. Wong thanked the Commission for their feedback and stated they would share it with the Community B/PAC and ultimately come back to TSPC with a formalized plan for consideration. Commissioner Israelit thanked staff and said how thankful she is for their efforts. 7. INFORMATION ITEMS a) Engineering Division Reports Mr. Wong provided an update on the following Public Works/Engineering projects. • Broadway Pedestrian Street Lighting Improvements – Foundations are 6 currently being installed and the streetlights have been ordered (ETA late February/early March). Construction will not impact Broadway businesses during upcoming holiday season. • Highland Parking Garage Update – Garage fully operational. Upper level parking is not currently being utilized. Mr. Wong said they plan to do additional outreach and will consider additional signage. • Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 Grant – Staff is on schedule to submit the grant application by the November 15 deadline. • Trousdale/Loyola Improvements – The work order for increased red-curbing has been submitted which should assist with visibility. Commissioner Leigh stated crosswalks are not high visibility leading to the new parking garage, the stop signs are low visibility, and the street lights do not illuminate the crosswalks. She said she also observed drivers behaving poorly and inquired with staff about efforts to improve pedestrian visibility. Mr. Wong stated that particular location has been identified for quick-build improvements, which staff is currently working on. He explained the overhead lighting is not part of the quick-build improvements but they could look into that. Commissioner Leigh clarified she would like the lighting redirected over the crosswalks to illuminate the pedestrians. TSPC Priority List (revised November 2021): TSPC Led Effort 1 Bike\Ped Plan Priorities 5/13/21: Item 6b 2 School Transportation and Safety Issues 1/14/21: Item 7a 3 Caltrans’ ECR Corridor 4/8/21: Item 7a 4 Neighborhood Traffic Calming/Controls 2/11/21: Item 7a 5 Old Bayshore Corridor Study (s/o Broadway) 10/14/21: Item 6c 6 Electric Vehicle Discussion with Planning 10/14/21: Item 6b 7 Downtown Parking and Access 10/14/21: Item 7a 8 Broadway Parking 2/11/21: Item 7a 9 Citywide Transportation Alternatives 10/14/21: Item 6b Staff Update via Report 1 Caltrans’ ECR Corridor 4/8/21: Item 7a 2 Hoover School Update 8/12/21: Item 7a 3 Downtown Parking Strategies 7/8/21: Item 6c 4 City Hall Traffic Calming/Floribunda 4/11/19: Item 6b 5 California Roundabout 5/9/19: Item 7a 7 6 Oak Grove/Carolan Traffic Signal 3/11/21: Item 6b 7 Bike\Ped Plan Update: fwd to BPAC 1/14/21: Item 7a 8 Rec Center Parking 3/12/20: Item 7a 9 Old Bayshore Corridor Study 10/14/21: Item 6c 10 Grant Opportunities 10/14/21: Item 6d 11 Broadway Grade Separation 8/12/21: Item 7a 12 San Mateo's Peninsula Ave OC 5/13/21: Item 7a 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 8/12//21: Item 7a 16 300 Burlingame Point Traffic Impacts 12/10/20: Item 7a 17 Broadway/California Update 11/10/21: Item 6b 2021 Agenda Item Action Status 1 Highland Garage Parking Restrictions Approved by Council February 16, 2021 b) Police Department Reports Sergeant Perna provided the Collision Report and stated there were 14 documented collisions with seven of them on El Camino Real (ECR). He stated one of the collisions on ECR was a double fatal collision that occurred around midnight on October 18. He explained a vehicle traveling northbound on ECR lost control and struck a very large tree on the east side of El Camino near Carmelita. Sergeant Perna said it was one of the worst accidents he has seen in Burlingame. He also stated it was the first night of rainy weather and although the investigation is ongoing, he stated speed was definitely a factor. Sergeant Perna said the other collisions on ECR involved typical failure to yield/unsafe turning movements. He stated there were no documented collisions this reporting period with pedestrians or bicyclists. Commissioner Israelit inquired if seatbelts were on in the fatal collision on ECR. Sergeant Perna stated preliminary reports indicate seatbelts were not on. He also stated the vehicle was a late 90’s sedan, which does not have the same safety features we have in newer vehicles. Commissioner Rebelos pointed out we have had two late-night collisions in Burlingame over the last two months and he thought speed was a factor in both collisions. He wondered if preliminary reports indicate if the vehicle was trying to avoid hitting another car, did they have a red light, etc. Sergeant Perna explained another vehicle was involved but they don’t feel it was the primary collision factor. Sergeant Perna also explained the lights on ECR go from the timed lights to flashing amber at midnight and since the collision occurred shortly after midnight, he stated there may have also been some confusion with 8 the lights. Commissioner Rebelos closed his comments to say he does not think the collisions were avoidable at this point but he is concerned about the late night accidents. c) Farmer’s Market Vice-Chair Martos said they would consider TSPC presence at the Farmer’s Market next year. d) TSPC Chair/Commissioner’s Communications Commissioner Leigh stated she received an email from Manito Velasco regarding AB 43, which provides the ability to reduce speed limits to 20 MPH in business zones. Commissioner Leigh suggested the consideration to reduce the speed limit to 20 MPH from Burlingame Avenue, south on California Drive all the way to Peninsula Avenue. She said this would assist bikers and make the area more bike friendly. Commissioner Rebelos stated the Skyline Terrace Apartments have installed 22 EV charging stations and he just wanted to commend them for doing that. 8. COMMISSION & SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS a) Downtown Parking (Martos & Wettan) No new updates. With Commissioner Wettan being retired from TSPC, Vice-Chair Martos said they would be reestablishing the committee. b) Broadway Parking/Traffic Issues (Israelit & Leigh) No new updates. c) School Traffic (Israelit & Wettan) No new updates. d) Citywide Transportation Alternatives (Rebelos & Wettan) No new updates. e) Community Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory (Leigh & Rebelos) No new updates. Commissioner Leigh just reiterated her desire for B/PAC to weigh in on the proposed lane reconfiguration on California Drive north of Broadway. 9 9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Vote on new Chair and Vice-Chair • AB 43 to reduce vehicle speeds • Vehicle speed specifically on Trousdale at Loyola • Time duration of parking for downtown businesses 10. ADJOURNMENT 8:36 p.m.