The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1992-06-01; Traffic Safety Commission; ; Establish a parking restriction on the north side of Las Flores Drive across from Buena Vista Elementary School during the time that students are dropped-off or pickeCITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF: June 1, 1992 ITEM NO. 6B LOCATION: Las Flores Drive between Pio Pico Drive and Morning Glory Lane INITIATED BY: Carlsbad Police Department REQUESTED ACTION: Establish a parking restriction on the north side of Las Flores Drive across from Buena Vista Elementary School during the time that students are dropped-off or picked up from school. BACKGROUND: DATA: Buena Vista Elementary School officials have asked parents not to park their vehicles on the north side of Las Flores Drive and allow school pedestrians to cross from the south side of the roadway to the north side. On May 4, 1992 a student was injured by crossing the street from the south side of Las Flores Drive to a waiting parent on the north side. The student ran into the path of a slow moving eastbound vehicle on Las Flores with minor injuries resulting. Las Flores Drive has a 40 foot curb to curb width and functions as a collector street to Interstate Highway 5 where on-ramps and off-ramps are located. The road begins at Jefferson Street and terminates at Highland Drive, a distance of approximately one-half mile. A traffic count conducted 300 feet easterly of Pio Pico Drive on Las Flores Drive on May 12/13, 1992 indicated a 24-hour Average Daily Traffic volume of 2,726 vehicles. The count location was in the road segment adjacent to the northerly boundary of Buena Vista Elementary School. Field conditions on Las Flores Drive adj acent to the northerly boundary of Buena Vista Elementary School are shown on the attached Exhibit 1. A chain link fence along the northerly school boundary controls student access to Las Flores Drive to several gate locations. A pedestrian tunnel has been constructed under Las Flores .Drive to allow direct access from the school grounds to a concrete sidewalk northerly of Las Flores Drive. Some parents of students at Buena Vista Elementary School drop-off and pick-up students from the north side of Las Flores Drive. When this occurs, students have three choices as to how they cross the street to the school located on the southerly side of Las Flores Drive: TRAFFIC SAFE1Y COMMISSION Staff Report COMMISSION MEETING OF: June 1, 1992 Item NO. 6B (Continued) 1. Cross Las Flores Drive at the point where the parent is parked or stopped on the north side of the road. 2. Walk to the pedestrian tunnel. 3. Walk to the intersection of Pio Pico Drive/Las Flores Drive where an Adult Crossing Guard assists students to .cross the street. Unfortunately, many students cross Las Flores Drive at mid-block locations and, thus, represent conflicts with moving vehicles. Some parents assist the student to cross the street by walking to the opposite side with the student. Other parents wait in the vehicle fo r the student to cross the street alone. Similar situations are a daily occurrence at other schools. At Magnolia Elementary School signs have been installed on the north side of Magnolia Avenue to prohibit parents from parking or stopping and dropping-off or picking-up students that would be required to cross the street at mid-block locations. The signs have been effective although some parents occasionally ignore the signs and several years ago a student was struck by a vehicle when crossing from the south side of Magnolia Avenue to an illegally parked vehicle waiting on the north side. Daily school hours for Buena Vista Elementary School are 8:15 A.M. to 2:25 P.M., with the exception of Thursday. Each Thursday is a minimum day and students are released at 1:45 P.M. Weekday on-street parking volumes are relatively low except at the beginning and end of each school day. Six residences located on the north side of Las Flores Drive would be impacted by a parking restriction. To minimize the number of students crossing Las Flores Drive at mid-block locations, a parking restriction would be necessary on the north side of Las Flores Drive. Staff has observed, however, that some students utilize the pedestrian tunnel and then cross the street from the north to the south side to a waiting parent parking on the south side of the street. RECOMMENDATION: The Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee recommends that a regulatory TOW A WAY NO STOPPING sign ( red letters on white background) be installed on the north side of Las Flores Drive. The restriction would begin at the end of the red TRAFFIC SAFE1Y COMMISSION Staff Report COMMISSION MEETING OF: June 1, 1992 (Continued) Item NO. 6B curb near Pio Pico Drive and extend easterly to the Type "C" school sign installation. The Committee recommends that the regulatory sign be modified to indicate the hours of the daily parking restriction to be from 8:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M. ~nd from 1:30 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. except Saturday, Sunday and holidays. The parking restriction will not be in effect during the summer months when school is not in session and appropriate wording on the signs will indicate when the restriction applies. Section 10.40.030 authorizes the City Traffic Engineer to erect signs "indicating no parking upon that side of any street adjacent to any school property when such parking would, in his opinion, interfere with traffic or create a hazardous situation." NECESSARY CI1Y COUNCIL ACTION: No City Council action required. CONDITION DIAGRAM [%J N ___ __;,_ ___ ....,...., ◄ R1 STOP SIGN (TYP.) NOT TO SCALE LOCATION: 21 ' OF RED CURB PED. & VEH. DRIVEWAYS BUENA VISTA • ELE MENTARY SCH OOL GROUNDS • PED./VEH. GATE " • 20' IN CHAINLINK FENCE WALKWAY TO TUNNEL GRAS S PARKWAY (TYP.) ,,. . <l . uJ > a:: a ........ ........ XING • a.. 0 I-I/) PIO PICO DRIVE MARKED YELLOW X-WALK (TYP.) STOP 54' OF RED CURB I 215' SCHOOL PED. XING SIGN + ◄ R1 ~..;.a.. _______ --- ~ CHUPAROSA 34• 1/) WAY ., RESIDENCE~ {TYP.) B 1340 EJ STAIRS TO TUNNEL EJ YPE "C" INSTALLATION 769' PH -WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT SIGNS) CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE CONCRETE S/W (TYP.) FLORES DRIVE PIO PICO LAS DRIVE to MORNING GLORY LANE EXHIBIT 1 LOCATION MAP 1%) N •-===---------.-r ~ R1 STOP SIGN {TYP.) NOT TO SCALE LOCATION: 21 ' OF RED CURB Vl -t 0 "U BUENA VISTA • ELE MENTARY SCH OOL GROUNDS • ., . ,, .. w WALKWAY TO TUNNEL > 0:: a a. 0 t- Vl PIO PICO DRIVE MARKED YELLOW X-WALK {TYP.) 54' OF RED CURB PROPOSED NO STOPPING/TOW-AWAY ZONE CHUPAROSA -WAY RESIDENCE {TYP.) BB EJ STAIRS TO TUNNEL TYPE "C" INSTALLATION (SCHOOL-25 MPH -WH£N CHILDREN ARE PRESENT SIGNS) CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE LAS FLORES DRIVE PROPOSED NO STOPPING/TOW-AWAY ZONE EXHIBIT 2