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Home My WebLink About2017-01-09; Traffic Safety Commission; ; La Costa Avenue Traffic Calming/Complete Streets UpdateCITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF: January 9, 2017 ITEM NO. 68.1 LOCATION: La Costa Avenue Traffic Calming/Complete Streets Update INITIATED BY: Traffic & Mobility Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Information Only BACKGROUND: In recent years, the City of Carlsbad has been taking steps to promote complete and livable streets. This effort began with Envision Carlsbad's Community Vision. The Community Vision embraced nine core values identified as guiding principles for Carlsbad as it plans for the future. The new General Plan was adopted in September 2015 and contains a Mobility Element that incorporates the core values of the Community Vision. Specifically, the core value of Walking, Biking, Public Transportation and Connectivity has been established to help achieve the following milestones: • Increase travel options through enhanced walking, bicycling and public transportation systems. • Enhance mobility through increased connectivity and intelligent transportation management. A key goal of the Mobility Element is to create livable (or "complete") streets. This concept recognizes that the street environment is a public space and strives to ensure that this public space serves all users of the system within the urban context of that system. Implementing Policy 3-P.17 of the Mobility Element states, "Consider innovative design and program solutions to improve the mobility, efficiency, connectivity, and safety of the transportation system. Innovative design solutions include, but are not limited to, traffic calming devices, roundabouts, traffic circles, curb extensions, separated bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian scramble intersections, high visibility pedestrian treatments and infrastructure, and traffic signal coordination." Implementing Policy 3-P.16 further states, "Design new streets, and explore funding opportunities for existing streets, to minimize traffic volumes and/or speed, as appropriate, within residential neighborhoods without compromising connectivity for emergency first Page 1 COMMISSION MEETING OF: (continued) CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT January 9, 2017 ITEM NO. 6B.1 responders, bicycles, and pedestrians consistent with the city's Carlsbad Active Transportation Strategies. This should be accomplished through management and implementation of livable streets strategies and such programs like the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Plan." Livable streets can be promoted through a variety of means, including traffic calming, lowering vehicle speeds, enhancing pedestrian crossings, and improving bicycle facilities. Livable streets can be achieved by decreasing vehicle speeds on a roadway .segment using traffic calming concepts. Lower vehicle speeds can improve vehicle, pedestrian and bicyclist safety, make walking and bicycling along a segment more comfortable, and improve crossing conditions for all users. Since the posting of speed limits by local agencies is restricted by state law, the lowering of vehicle speeds must be achieved by implementing improvements that change the physical character of the roadway in order to influence driver behavior. The Traffic and Mobility Division is looking to implement a number of projects in the near future that improve the livability of streets in residential areas. A list of these complete street projects including a tentative schedule is included in Attachment #1. RESIDENTIAL STREETS The Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program was designed specifically to address speeding on residential streets. The program defines a residential street as one that meets the residence district requirement of the California Vehicle Code and has a curb-to-curb width of 40 feet or less. The program is a three-phase process, which offer solutions at increasing levels of cost and complexity. Phase I: Enforcement and Education includes measures such as the installation of speed limit signs and pavement legends, the temporary deployment of speed feedback signs, and police enforcement. Phase II: Traffic Management features performance-based practical design using enhanced signing and striping to help reduce speeds. Due to the increased cost of implementing these types of features on multiple streets throughout the city, a qualifying criteria has been established to help prioritize staff resources and budget expenditures. The program allows Phase II to be considered on streets having a critical speed (the speed at which 85% of the vehicles surveyed are driving at or below) of 32 miles per hour or higher. Typically, speed data, including determination of critical speed, is collected during Phase I. There are currently ten residential streets in Carlsbad that have requested Phase II features and have met the 32 mile per hour qualification criteria or have been granted an exemption into the program. The public input process for these streets will begin in early 2017. Based on the approved Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program, the traffic calming plans for each street will seek support from its respective neighborhood via mailed survey and each plan will be brought before the Traffic Safety Page 2 COMMISSION MEETING OF: (continued) CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT January 9, 2017 ITEM NO. 68.1 Commission for recommendation. Design and implementation will occur after City Council approval and will be contingent upon staff and funding availability. NON-RESIDENTIAL STREETS Opportunities to provide traffic calming on streets that do not qualify for the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program are being explored using pilot projects. These pilot projects are proposing performance-based practical design elements to help reduce speeds on roadway types such as Neighborhood Connector Streets and School Streets. PREVIOUSLY PROGRAMMED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS The Traffic & Mobility are leading several Capital Improvement Projects that have already been approved and programmed into the CIP process. These projects are generally larger in scope and budget than the residential and non-residential projects mentioned previously. The La Costa Avenue project comprises the implementation phase of the La Costa Avenue Improvement Plan, which was accepted by City Council on November 8, 2011 but not approved for implementation at that time. The La Costa Avenue Improvement Plan was a conceptual design that proposed traffic calming features on La Costa Avenue given the assumption that a road diet, or a reduction of the number of vehicle lanes, could be performed. A General Plan update was required to consider a road diet on La Costa Avenue, which at the time was classified as a secondary arterial. The approval of the Mobility Element of the new General Plan on September 22, 2015 allows staff to propose a road diet under certain conditions. Implementing Policy 3-P.15 states, "Evaluate methods and transportation facility improvements to promote biking, walking, safer street crossings, and attractive streetscapes. The City Council shall have sole discretion to approve any such road diet or vehicle traffic calming improvements that would reduce vehicle capacity to or below a LOS D; this also applies to streets where the vehicle is not subject to the MMLOS standard as specified in Table 3-1." The cost estimate for the La Costa Avenue Improvement Plan ranged from $1 million to $4 million, depending on the type and number of features proposed. Due to the limited available budget, Staff is evaluating an implementation strategy and will begin the public input process for the project in 2017. Page 3 COMMISSION MEETING OF: (continued) CITY OF CARLSBAD TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT January 9, 2017 NECESSARY CITY COUNCIL ACTION: None ATTACHMENT: Complete Street Project List and Schedule Page 4 ITEM NO. 68.1 Complete Streets Project Schedule Year 1 (FY16-17) Year 2 (FY17-18) Year 3 (FYlS-19) Year 4 (FY19-20) Complete Streets Projects Limits Total Cost Design Construction Design Construction Design Construction Design Construction Programmed CIP Projects La Costa Avenue Improvement Plan El Camino Real to Rancho Santa Fe Road $863,000 $88,000 $775,000 Kelly Drive/Park Drive Complete Street El Camino Real to Neblina Drive $3,765,000 $280,000 $3,485,000 La Costa Avenue/Camino De Los Caches Traffic Control $240,000 $40,000 $200,000 Neighborhood Connector Streets Kelly Drive at Hillside Drive Traffic Circle Kelly at Hillside $45,000 $45,000 Cassia Road Traffic Calming El Camino Real to Poinsettia Lane $75,000 $75,000 Cadencia Street Traffic Calming La Costa Avenue to Perdiz Street $115,000 $15,000 $100,000 Alicante Road Traffic Calming Citrine Drive to Alga Road $135,000 $30,000 $105,000 Residential Traffic Calming Qualified Projects Daisy Avenue Batiquitos Drive to Rose Drive $54,000 $9,000 $45,000 Cadencia Street Perdiz Street to Calle Conifera $54,000 $9,000 $45,000 Corintia Street Alga Road to El Fuerte Street $36,000 $6,000 $30,000 Trieste Drive Chestnut Avenue to Milano Drive $90,000 $15,000 $75,000 Estrella de Mar Road Alga Road to Arena I Road $72,000 $12,000 $60,000 Basswood Drive Monroe Street to Valley Street $36,000 $6,000 $30,000 Amargosa Drive Los Pi nos Circle to Olivenhain Road $36,000 $6,000 $30,000 Park Drive Valencia Avenue to Alondra Way $72,000 $12,000 $60,000 Hillside Drive Kelly Drive to Neblina Drive $72,000 $12,000 $60,000 Estrella de Mar Road Poinsettia Lane to Olivine Court $54,000 $9,000 $45,000 Other Complete Streets Projects Park Drive/Neblina Drive RRFB Park Dr. at Neblina Dr. $6,360 $6,360 Jefferson Street Speed Feedback Signs from 1-5 to Marron Road $30,000 $30,000 Rancho Santa Fe Road Speed Feedback Signs from Camino Junipero to La Costa Ave. $30,000 $30,000 Coastal Rail Trail Access at Tamarack Avenue Tamarack at Coastal Rail Trail $40,000 $40,000 Jefferson, Laguna, Carlsbad Blvd, PAR, Bike markings Cannon, Faraday $15,000 $15,000 TOTALS (NOT INCLUDING PROGRAMMED CIP PROJECTS) $1,067,360 $66,000 $301,360 $75,000 $400,000 $0 $225,000 $0 $0 Complete Streets Update/ La Costa Avenue Traffic Calming CIP January 9, 2017 Background Core Value of Walking, Biking, Public Transportation and Connectivity •Increase travel options through enhanced walking, bicycling, and public transportation systems •Enhance mobility through increased connectivity and intelligent transportation management Residential Traffic Calming Qualified Projects Neighborhood Connector Streets Complete Streets Projects Limits Total Cost Design Construction Design Construction Design Construction Design Construction Kelly Drive at Hillside Drive Traffic Circle Kelly at Hillside $45,000 $45,000 Cassia Road Traffic Calming El Camino Real to Poinsettia Lane $75,000 $75,000 Cadencia Street Traffic Calming La Costa Avenue to Perdiz Street $115,000 $15,000 $100,000 Alicante Road Traffic Calming Citrine Drive to Alga Road $135,000 $30,000 $105,000 Year 1 (FY16-17)Year 2 (FY17-18)Year 3 (FY18-19)Year 4 (FY19-20) Programmed CIP Projects Complete Streets Projects Limits Total Cost Design Construction Design Construction Design Construction Design Construction La Costa Avenue Improvement Plan El Camino Real to Rancho Santa Fe Road $863,000 $88,000 $775,000 Kelly Drive/Park Drive Complete Street El Camino Real to Neblina Drive $3,765,000 $280,000 $3,485,000 La Costa Avenue/Camino De Los Coches Traffic Control $240,000 $40,000 $200,000 Year 4 (FY19-20)Year 1 (FY16-17)Year 2 (FY17-18)Year 3 (FY18-19) Other Complete Streets Projects Projects Limits Total Cost Design Construction Design Construction Design Construction Design Construction Park Drive/Neblina Park Dr. at Neblina Dr.$6,360 $6,360 Jefferson Street Speed from I-5 to Marron Road $30,000 $30,000 Rancho Santa Fe Road Speed Feedback Signs from Camino Junipero to La Costa Ave.$30,000 $30,000 Coastal Rail Trail Access at Tamarack Avenue Tamarack at Coastal Rail Trail $40,000 $40,000 Bike markings Jefferson, Laguna, Carlsbad Blvd, PAR, Cannon, Faraday $15,000 $15,000 Year 1 (FY16-17)Year 2 (FY17-18)Year 3 (FY18-19)Year 4 (FY19-20)