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Home My WebLink About1999-10-05; City Council; 15432; Traffic Issues At Pacific Rim Elementary School)4 h D CITY OF CARLSBAD -AGENDA BILL AB# /<!i% TITLE- . MTG. 1 o/05/99 DEPT. ENG TRAFFIC ISSUES AT PACIFIC RIM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DEPT. HD.! ‘LT.. CITY MGR. RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the City Council: 1. Direct staff to return with documents to fund an additional (second) Adult Crossing Guard. 2. Direct staff to return with an ordinance to establish an ALL-WAY STOP at the intersection of Hidden Valley RoadlCamino de las Ondas. 3. Direct staff to investigate a method(s) to provide barrier protection on the curve on Solandra Drive adjacent to the school. ITEM EXPLANATION: At the City Council meeting of September 14, 1999, under Public Comment, the City Council heard the traffic concerns of the PTA President for Pacific Rim Elementary School. The City Council directed staff to return with information regarding the concerns. Three issues have been expressed by parents at the elementary school as follows: 1. A second Adult Crossing Guard needs to be funded and placed at the intersection of Hidden Valley Road/Camino de las Ondas. 2. An ALL-WAY STOP needs to be established at the intersection of Hidden Valley RoadKamino de las Ondas. 3. A guardrail or barrier needs to be installed on the curve on Solandra Drive adjacent to and above the school grounds. Prior to Pacific Rim Elementary School opening on September 7, 1999, staff and the Police Department initiated a number of actions to establish the school zone and to address anticipated traffic concerns typical for a school zone. These actions included obtaining funding in the budget for one Adult Crossing Guard, establishing an ALL-WAY STOP at the intersections of Camino de las Ondas/Alderwood Drive and Hidden Valley Road/Plum Tree Road, installed yellow crosswalks, pavement legends, red curb and school area signing. The Adult Crossing Guard program is administered by the Carlsbad Police Department. Adult Crossing Guards are provided by an employment agency that has a contract with the Police Department. If the adult guard is not at his/her post, the Police Department sends an officer to perform the duties. The nature of this type of job makes it somewhat difficult to find individuals willing to serve as an Adult Crossing Guard. Currently, there are vacancies at other schools in Carlsbad where an Adult Crossing Guard is stationed. A recruitment for the guard previously budgeted for Pacific Rim Elementary School and for the openings at several other schools continues. Prior to school opening, it was anticipated that the Adult Crossing Guard would be positioned at the ALL-WAY STOP in front of Pacific Rim Elementary School at the Camino de las Ondas/Alderwood Drive intersection. Page 2 of Agenda Bill No. I3,43 2- Because of commute patterns of vehicles traveling through the school zone, pedestrian volumes, and morning and afternoon drop-off and pick-up patterns, it was found that an Adult Crossing Guard is needed in the morning at the intersection of Hidden Valley Road/Camino de las Ondas and in the afternoon at the Alderwood Drive/Camino de las Ondas intersection. With the budgeted Adult Crossing Guard position for Pacific Rim Elementary School being unfilled, the Police Department has been covering the intersections with one officer in the morning at one location and then moving to the other intersection in the afternoon. Based upon vehicle and pedestrian patterns at the two intersections (Hidden Valley RoadlCamino de las Ondas and at Alder-wood DriveKamino de las Ondas), it is the professional observation and opinion by staff and the Police Department that one Adult Crossing Guard working the two intersections in the appropriate time period is sufficient. However, there is concern that the children will expect and become dependent upon the Adult Crossing Guard being at each intersection during the morning arrival and afternoon departure times. For this reason, it is recommended that an interim second Adult Crossing Guard be funded for Pacific Rim Elementary School. It is expected that travel patterns at the school will change in about one year when the missing segment of Aviara Parkway located southerly of Palomar Airport Road is completed. A re-evaluation of the need for the interim Adult Crossing Guard should take place. If it is determined that a second guard is not necessary, staff will return with a report recommending that the City Council consider removing the second Adult Crossing Guard. Consideration of establishing an ALL-WAY STOP is based upon STOP sign warrant criteria in the Caltrans Traffic Manual. This criteria provides an objective methodology for evaluating whether to establish an ALL-WAY STOP at an intersection. Hidden Valley Road intersects Camino de las Ondas to create a “T” intersection. The three-leg intersection is controlled by a STOP sign on Hidden Valley Road with no STOP signs on Camino de las Ondas. A yellow school crosswalk and white limit line has been striped across Hidden Valley Road at the intersection. Vehicles are legally required to stop prior to proceeding into the crosswalks to execute a left or right turn. STOP sign warrants are evaluated based upon traffic volumes entering the intersection and the accident history at the intersection. Fortunately, the Hidden Valley RoadKamino de las Ondas intersection has not experienced any reported accidents and, therefore, does not meet the accident warrant. The volume warrant is met at the threshold level. This means the minimum number of vehicles needed to meet the volume warrant for the designated any eight hours of a day has been met. Staff recommends the installation of STOP signs on Camino de las Ondas at Hidden Valley Road. This will establish the ALL-WAY STOP. Appropriate crosswalks and advanced signing and striping would also be installed. Solandra Drive is a local street serving residences located easterly of Pacific Rim Elementary School. It has a curb-to-curb width of 40 feet and is only 700 feet in length, intersecting Camino de las Ondas on the south and Tea Tree Street on the east. A unique feature of Solandra Drive is an approximate 90° curve located adjacent to the easterly boundary of Pacific Rim Elementary School. At the curve on Solandra Drive, the road is elevated about 20 feet above the school playground. Construction of Pacific Rim Elementary School excavated some of the land adjacent to the road, further depressing the school pad below the street grade. a Page 3 of Agenda Bill No. Concern has been expressed that an errant vehicle proceeding westbound on Solandra Drive and failing to execute the 90° curve would travel down the slope and onto a school building or playground area. Although speeds and traffic volumes are very low, such an occurrence is a possibility. To prevent a vehicle from traveling down the slope located on the school site, some type of guardrail or barrier has been requested. Staff has issued work orders to the Street Department to install a curve warning sign with an advisory 15 MPH speed limit prior to the curve and a work order to stripe a double yellow centerline in the curve. These traffic control devices will warn a driver of the curve and help delineate the path of travel for the driver through the 90° curvature of the roadway. A joint proposal by the staffs of Carlsbad Unified School District and the City to install a guardrail and earthen berm behind the sidewalk in the curve was presented to the regular meeting of the sub-committee of elected officials of the City of Carlsbad and the Carlsbad Unified School District on September 15, 1999. Staff was asked to evaluate other alternatives. A second request for a barrier along a school boundary on a curved portion of a road has been received. Officials of Mission Estancia Elementary School have requested a barrier on Calle Barcelona at the location next to the school playground where the curved portion of the roadway exists. It is recommended that the City Council direct staff to investigate an acceptable type of barrier to prevent a vehicle from traveling down the slope into the school property and that will have an aesthetic appearance acceptable in a residential area. FISCAL IMPACT: An Adult Crossing Guard will cost about $8,000 a year. Installation of two additional STOP signs with appropriate striping and advanced warning signs will cost about $1,000. Costs for a special design barrier are unknown at this time. EXHIBITS: 1. Location Map. 3 ~-- I . ----- x SCHOOL BOUNDARY 1 BEACON BAY DR. x 2 ti =f z 6 g NOT 10 SCALE CAM/NO DE LAS ONDAS LEGEND: AREAS OF TRAFFlC CONCERNS PROJECT NAME PACIFIC RIM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EXHIBIT 7