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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-06-01; Traffic Safety Commission; ; Review traffic circulation in the vicinity of the Ocean Street/Oak Avenue intersection associated with parents taking their children to the Junior Lifeguard programl CI1Y OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFE1Y COMMISSION STAFF REPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF: June 1, 1992 ITEM NO. 6A LOCATION: Vicinity of Ocean Street/Oak Avenue Intersection INITIATED BY: Michael G. Silvestri, Lifeguard Supervisor I, La Costa District, State of California Parks and Recreation Department, 2680 Carlsbad Boulevard, Carlsbad, California REQUESTED ACTION: Review traffic circulation in the vicinity of the Ocean Street/Oak Avenue intersection associated with parents taking their children to the Junior Lifeguard program. BACKGROUND: DATA: For the past twenty years, the State of California has conducted the Junior Lifeguard Program in Carlsbad on the State of California beaches. However, the program has been held at the Pine Street location for the last ten years. The majority of students in this program are primarily Carlsbad residents. Last year, Mr. Doug McNaughton, 3100 Ocean Street, Apt. 5, complained to the Carlsbad Police Department and the State Parks and Recreation Department about the program. His traffic complaint was associated with the drop-off and pick-up of the program participants by parents in the Oak Avenue/Ocean Street vicinity. Mr. McNaughton has complained again this year prior to the start of the 1992 program. The 1992 California Junior Lifeguard program will be held in two sessions during the summer of 1992. Session One will be June 29 thru July 24 and the second session will be held from August 3 thru August 28. Each session is conducted Monday through Friday from 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. Maximum enrollment per session consists of 150 students, however, the State Parks and Recreation Department expects 100-120 participants in each session. Most of the children in the program arrive via an automobile driven by a parent or other adult. Drop-off occurs in the morning shortly before 9:00 A.M. at the Ocean/Oak intersection with pick-up of the student in the afternoon also in the vicinity of the Ocean/Oak intersection. TRAFFIC SAFE1Y COMMISSION Staff Report COMMISSION MEETING OF: June 1, 1992 Item NO. 6A ~--(Continued) In previous years, access to and from Carlsbad Boulevard via Ocean Street was utilized by the parents for drop-off and pick-up of students. Completion of the Split Pavilion art feature precludes access to Carlsbad Boulevard from Ocean Street. Mr. McNaughton has expressed concern that a large number of participants will congregate at the Ocean/Oak intersection and traffic circulation will be adversely impacted and significant congestion will occur. To mitigate his concerns, Mr. McNaughton has requested the State Parks and Recreation Department to move the program to the Tamarack Avenue beach location or arrange other alternatives. Because of safety concerns with ocean currents and underwater features, the State Lifeguards are unwilling to move the location of the Jqnior Lifeguard program. Sgt. Metcalf fr om the Carlsbad Police Department, Traffic Engineer Robert Johnson and State of California Lifeguard administrators of the program have met to discuss the concerns of Mr. McNaughton. The program locatio~ will not be relocated but the State of California and Carlsbad Police Department have agreed to initiate the following steps to mitigate potential problems. 1. Prior to the start of the summer program a parent orientation meeting will be held between the State Lifeguards, Carlsbad Police Department and parents of children in the program. All concerns of Mr. McNaughton will be explained and Mr. McNaughton has been invited to the meeting. 2. Car pooling will be stressed at the parent orientation to reduce the number of vehicles transporting participants to and from the program. 3. Vehicles arriving for drop-off and pick-up will be asked to unload/load passengers in different locations. Some students will arrive and be picked up on Pine Street easterly of Carlsbad Boulevard and cross at the signalized intersection of Carlsbad Boulevard/Pine Street. Other students will utilize Ocean Street near Carlsbad Village Drive for drop- off and pick-up. 4. Lifeguard supervisors will monitor program participants at the Carlsbad Boulevard/Pine Street intersection, Split Pavilion and on Ocean Street to the greatest extent possible to minimize problems. 5. Carlsbad Police Department will monitor the traffic situation at the beginning of each session. TRAFFIC SAFE1Y COMMISSION Staff Report COMMISSION MEETING OF: June 1, 1992 (Continued) RECOMMENDATION: Item NO. 6A The Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee recommends that the above listed five steps be initiated to help reduce complaints and traffic congestion. Additionally, the Committee recommends that the location of the event be determined by the State of California lifeguards based upon safety of the participants in the ocean environment. NECESSARY CI1Y COUNCIL ACTION: No City Council action required. LOCATION MAP N III NOT TO SCALE PROJECT NAME VICIN ITY □F □A K AVE, EXHIBIT OC EAN STREET INTER SECT ION 1 STATE OF CALIFORNIA-RESOURCES AGENCY DEPARTMENT OF PAR KS AND RECREATION La Costa District 2680 Carlsbad Boulevard Carlsbad, California 92008 Marilyn Strong City of Carl sbad 1200 Carlsbad Village Carlsbad, California Dear Marilyn : April 15, 1992 Drive 92008-1989 •.• ' '?, ·•'. -,. ··_,, ::")i,. .. • ': crr-1 JF Ckii ~.S8A D :NGINH~!NJ CErJ~RTME~T This is in response to your request regarding Mr. McNaughton's complaint about our Junior Lifeguard Program . We have talked with Mr. McNaughton at length and invited him to our meeting with the CPD Traffic Supervisor and the Carlsbad City Traffic Engineer held PETE WILSON. Governor on April 13, 1992. He refused to attend or to have a representative attend. Please find our -response letter to Mr. McNaughton attached. As mentioned in this letter, we are taking every reasonable step to mitigate the problem and have the support of City officials . Traffic Eng ineer Robert Johnson plans to include this issue on the agenda of the Traffic Commission meeting set for June 1, 1992. Mr. McNaughton has been advised. If you require further information please call Lifeguard Supervisor Dennis Stoufer at 729-8947. Sincerely, William V. Fait District Superintendent Attachment WVF:cmb STATE OF CALIFORNIA-RESOURCES AGENCY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION La Costa District 2680 Carlsbad Bou levard Carlsbad, Californi a 92008 ( 619) 729-894 7 Doug McNaughton April 15, 1992 3100 Ocean Street , Apartment #5 Carlsbad, California 92008 Dear Mr. McNaugh ton: fflAY ~ :~ 1992 ~ITl' Of-0 ~il"i t SSA D :NGINHRl f-!3 GEFARTMENT This is in res ponse to your March 25, 1992 phone call to the City of Carlsbad regarding our Junior Lifeguard Program. We met last summer to discuss your concerns and talked with you more recently on the phone to try to reac h a resolution. As you may know this program has provided a d~namic learning and recreational experience for Carlsbad children every summer for the last 20 years. The s ite for the program for the last 10 years has been the State Beach near Pine Street. This site was chosen for the following reasons: 1. It is a r elatively sandy area which provides a safe location for beach and swimming activities. 2. It is an established swimming area where surfing is disallowed by ordinance . PETE WILSON. Govttrnor 3. Toilet f acilities are provided near the north end of the sea wall. 4. There is an outdoor shower in the same area. 5. It provides the safest availabale area for the drop-off and pi ck-up of children attending the program. We have often discussed alternate sites for the program including Ponto, Tamarack, and the beach across from the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. None of these sites meet the needs of the program. We have taken steps to minimize impact of the program to adjoining areas. They include: 1. No buss es will be used in this area. ~-Private vehicle drop-off and pick-up will be supervised by program i nstructors. Doug McNaughton April 15, 1991 Page 2 3. The drop-off/ pick-up area will be spread out. 4. Our parent orientation meetings which are held prior to each program session will focus on the children's behavior in the area. 5. We have met with Carlsbad Police Department traffic supervisor and the traffic engineer. They concur that this is the safest available site within the city for this program. Dur i ng the summer season this beach area with its public streets and parking lot is a busy, noisy place. We feel that our efforts to minimize the children 's impact to the area have been effective. With the sculpture park now completed and available as a staging area, the addition of the traffic signal at Pine Street, and our continuing efforts to coordinate and supervise program participants our presence in this area has minimal impact on the normal existing summer use patterns. Please be advised that this issue will be included on the agenda of the Traffic Sa fety Commission meeting set for June 1, 1992 at 3:00 PM at Carlsbad City Counsel Chambers. We will continue to advise you of and include you i n any formal or informal discussions regarding these issues. Should you require further information please feel free to call me at 729-8947. ~~~ D. P. Stoufer Lifeguard Supervisor II DPS:cmb RECEIVED APRIL 1, 1992 APR O l 1992 TO: ROBERT VALES, CHIEF OF POLICE CITY OF CARLSBAD ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT FROM: SGT. DON T. METCALF, TRAFFIC DIVISION RE: COMPLAINT FROM MR. DOUG MCNAUGHTON During the su mmer of 1991 we received several complaints from Mr. McNaughton re ference the Jr. Lifeguard program that is operated by the state lifeguard service. Mr. McNaughton lives on the corner of Oak ave. and Ocean st. We made several attempts to solve the problem but were never able to satisfy Mr. McNaughton. I recently received a call from Mr. McNaughton regarding the upcoming (June 28) Jr. Lifeguard program. I suggested that he contact the lifeguard service and arrange a meeting between the lifeguard supervisor, Bob Johnson, himself, and I. I then contacted Doug Sylvestri of the lifeguard service and told him about my proposal. Mr. Sylvestri made contact with Mr. McNaughton and was advised that he was to busy to meet, and he was certain that our highly paid city staff could handl e the problem. Mr. Sylvestri then called me and gave me this information. I then re-contacted Mr. McNaughton and explained to him that we were willing to help him work on the perceived problem, but we would need his help to arrive at a cooperative solution that would be the best for all possi ble parties. Mr. McNaughton advised me that he had a very busy schedule , and simply did not · have time to work with us. I told him that we had nearly three months, and requested that he call me when he might have some time. I also advised him that absent his help, we had done all we cou ld do at this point. To this point Bob Johnson, the lifeguards, and I have done all that we can to improve the situation . Mr. McNaughton would like to see us simply cancel the program, however this is not a viable solution. We will be looking at the re-designed intersection at Pine St. and Carlsbad Blvd. to see if the installation o~ the traffic signal at that location will provide us with an additional avenue to address the perceived problems. At this point, however, the ball is pretty much in the court of Mr. McNaughton. cc: Bob Johnson, Traffic · Engineer ./ Doug Sylvestri, State Lifeguards Junior I.tfeguarb THIS SUMMER BE A CALIFORNIA JUNIOR LIFEGUARD A FOUR WEEK OCEAN SAFETY PROGRAM FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 9-16 YEARS OF AGE SESSION ONE -JUNE 29 THAU JULY 24 • SESSION TWO -AUG. 3 THAU AUG. 28 MONDAY THAU FRIDAY • 9:00 AM TO 2:00 PM • CARLSBAD STATE BEACH TO QUALIFY YOU MUST PASS A SWIMMING TEST 1) Swim 100 yards (Time limits are set according to age group) 2) Swim 15 yards Underwater 3) Tread Water for 3 Minutes TEST WILL BE GIVEN SAT. & SUN./ JUNE 6 & 7, 13 & 14, 9-11 AM and SUN./ JULY 26 , 9-11 AM Carlsbad Swim Complex 3401 Monroe St. Ca~1bad CA 92008 All necessary papers can be signed by parent or guardian at the swim test. Enrollment is limited to the 150 most qualified applicants LEARN ALL ABOUT THE OCEAN Beaches, Waves, Tides, Currents, Riptides, Marine Life, Ocean and Beach Hazards and Safety, Beach Manners, and Much More BE TRAINED IN (NO CERTIFICATIONS) First Aid and CPR Lifesaving Methods ENJOY Surf, Sand, Games, Competitions and Skin Diving HAVE FUN FOR FURTHER INFORMATION California State Lifeguard Service State Junior Lifeguard Program (619) 729-0135 REGISTRATION FEES $225 Per Child / Per Session $200 For Each Additional Child From the Same Family (Covers all costs except uniform) A PROGRAM OF YOUR CALIFORNIA STATE DEPT. OF PARKS & RECREATION