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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-06-03; Traffic Safety Commission; MinutesMINUTES MEETING OF: TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION DATE OF MEETING: June 3, 1996 (Regular Meeting) TIME OF MEETING: 3:OO p.m. PLACE OF MEETING: City Council Chambers CALL TO ORDER: Traffic Engineer Bob Johnson called the Meeting to order at 3:OO p.m., and requested the Commission to elect an Acting Chairperson. By unanimous vote, Commissioner Stachoviak was elected Acting Chairperson. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Stachoviak, Allen and Blake. Absent: Commissioners Courtney and Green. Staff Members Present: Bob Johnson, Traffic Engineer Police Sgt. Jim Byler APPROVAL OF MINUTES: On motion by Commissioner Blake, the Minutes of the Regular Meeting held May 6, 1996, were approved as presented. AYES: Stachoviak, Allen and Blake ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: There were no requests to address the Commission PREVIOUS BUSINESS: Bob Johnson reported that the item on the prima facie speed limit on Carlsbad Boulevard from Walnut Avenue to Mountain View Drive is scheduled to be on the City Council agenda on June 11. June 3, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 2 NEW BUSINESS A. La Costa Avenue. Rancho Santa Fe Road to Camino De Los Coches - Request to establish a prima facie speed limit. Bob Johnson gave the report, using a transparency to show this segment of roadway. He stated that there is no prima facie speed limit, and therefore, the maximum speed on this roadway is 55 miles per hour, subject to the basic speed law. La Costa Avenue is a secondary arterial and this segment is an extension of the portion of La Costa Avenue that has a posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour. Mr. Johnson stated that due to the excitement on the new La Costa Canyon High School that will be opening in September, the Police and Traffic Department are trying to get everything in place before the school opens. This roadway will be used by some of the students and parents arriving at the high school, and staff felt it would be appropriate to have a prima facie speed limit in place. Mr. Johnson stated that an Engineering and Traffic Survey was conducted and all the reports were included in the packet. There were 3,800 vehicles on a daily basis and this is expected to reach 7,100 with buildout. The speeds are relatively low at this time, with two lanes at Camino De Los Coches. He stated that the critical speed is 48 miles per hour, with the pace speed being 40 to 50 miles per hour and 88 percent of the vehicles in the pace. The Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee made a recommendation of a prima facie speed limit of 45 miles per hour, and Mr. Johnson made that recommendation to the Commission. Acting Chairperson Stachoviak stated he was pleased to be able to vote for a reduction in the speed limit. ACTION: On motion by Commissioner Allen, the Traffic Safety Commission adopted the recommendation of the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee to establish a prima facie speed limit of 45 miles per hour upon La Costa Avenue from Rancho Santa Fe Road to Camino De Los Coches. AYES: Stachoviak, Allen and Blake B. Melrose Drive. Rancho Santa Fe Road to Alga Road - Request to revise the prima facie speed limit. Bob Johnson gave the report, using a transparency to show this segment of roadway. June 3, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 3 NEW BUSINESS: (Continued) Mr. Johnson stated that this is a short segment of Melrose Drive, from Rancho Santa Fe Road to Alga Road, and the speed limit was 45 miles per hour based on a study done in 1987. He said that a recently completed Engineering and Traffic Survey indicates that the posted speed limit is not justified. Mr. Johnson reported that 8,200 vehicles are using the road each day, and Melrose Drive is a prime arterial with a design speed of 60 miles per hour. He said that the segment between Rancho Santa Fe Road and Alga Road is .50 miles in length, and is built to the prime arterial standard consisting of six traffic lanes, raised median, bicycle lanes, curb and gutter, sidewalk and street lights. He said that in the future Melrose Drive will be extended to the north City limit to join the portion that has been constructed in Vista. The current critical speed is 51 miles per hour, with the pace speed between 43 and 53 miles per hour and also 44 to 54 miles per hour. Mr. Johnson stated that 86 percent of the vehicles were within the pace speed. Mr. Johnson stated that the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee has recommended raising the existing prima facie speed limit to 50 miles per hour on Melrose Drive from Rancho Santa Fe Road to Alga Road. He added that the speed limit must be within the first 5 miles per hour below the critical speed, and with all the improvements existing on this roadway, the 50 miles per hour would be the appropriate speed limit. Mr. Johnson added that only 21 percent or below of the vehicles were traveling at the existing speed limit, making law breakers out of many vehicles using that short segment of Melrose Drive. Commissioner Allen inquired what the speed limit will be when the extension is made to Palomar Airport Road, and Mr. Johnson stated this would be based on an Engineering and Traffic Survey and would not be anything less than 50 miles per hour. Commissioner Allen stated that the three lanes cut into two lanes going north approaching Alga Road. Mr. Johnson stated that the conditions are an interim situation and will be changed. Acting Chairperson Stachoviak stated he had a query for Sgt. Byler. He asked why this item was before the Commission, was this a speed trap? Sgt. Byler stated that this area is not worked by the Police Department very extensively, but because the speed survey was very old, a new current speed survey was needed. With the new survey, the Police would be able to issue valid tickets in that area. Sgt. Byler reiterated that a new survey was necessary to make any tickets issued in that area valid. June 3, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 4 NEW BUSINESS (Continued) Acting Chairperson Stachoviak stated that this segment of roadway is approximately one half mile long and he thinks the present speed limit is sufficient and does not see changing the speed limit 5 miles per hour, if there is no problem with the way it is now. When the road does go through, then the road could be looked at again. He stated that his vote would be to leave it alone. Mr. Johnson stated that staff feels it is important to establish prima facie speed limits that the judges will uphold. He stated that three or four years ago he went to court with the Police on a speeding ticket on the north end of Carlsbad Boulevard and a drunk driver. The driver had been pulled over and the officer noticed alcohol on his breath and determined that the driver was under the influence. He arrested the driver and the driver protested the ticket. The driver hired an attorney and went to court, and the first issue the judge dealt with was whether it was a valid speed zone. The judge ruled that this had been unlawful detainment due to the area being a speed trap. The judge ruled that the driver should not have been stopped, and therefore, the officer would not have known that he was a drunk driver. All tickets were dismissed and the case was lost. Mr. Johnson continued, stating this is why the prima facie speed needs to be accurate to avoid having a speed trap. In this case, a drunk driver was left on the road without getting a ticket due to the speed limit being incorrect. Once a judge throws one or two tickets out, they start to question all the tickets from that area. He said that is a shame, because there are a lot of policemen sitting there in court waiting to have their cases heard when they could be out on the streets doing their jobs. Mr. Johnson stated that staff is obligated to conduct new Engineering and Traffic Surveys every five years, and if there is a problem in a particular area, then it is done sooner. Commissioner Allen stated this is about a half mile between Alga Road and Rancho Santa Fe Road and you can’t travel north on Melrose to turn onto Alga without slowing down to approximately 20 miles per hour, as it is a left turn. He said that going south you have to start slowing down before you get to the end of the street, and there is about .3 of a mile where you are driving 50 miles per hour. Commissioner Blake stated that under the existing law, you cannot set the speed limit lower than 5 miles below the critical speed. Mr. Johnson added that if you do set it below that, you must have extenuating conditions to justify going that much lower, such as a school zone around a curve, or accidents in the area, or a dip in the road that could cause loss of control. June 3, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 5 NEW BUSINESS: (Continued) Acting Chairperson Stachoviak stated that if you turn on Alga, you have to be driving 15 or 20 miles per hour and at Rancho Santa Fe you are immediately slowing down. He said that he felt that there are extenuating circumstances on this half mile of roadway and does not warrant raising the speed limit to 50 miles per hour. Commissioner Allen stated he supported Chairperson Stachoviak’s view and did not think it was worth the effort to make this change. Mr. Johnson stated that if you try to deduct segments of the roadway because of slowing down, you could make that deduction on every street; those with a number of driveways where you have to slow down to turn in them, and you would not have a true distance of a roadway, He said that some drivers take turns faster than others. He reiterated that in the absence of a speed limit, it would be 55 miles per hour. Just after the roadway was opened, 55 miles per hour was too high a speed, and a speed study was made to establish the 45 mile per hour limit. He said if it is the will of the Commission to leave the speed limit at 45 miles per hour, he would need to hear more reasons than just that it is a short segment of roadway. He said there needs something more than just having to slow down to make a turn. In response to query from Commissioner Allen regarding the length of this segment, Mr. Johnson stated staff tried to have nothing less than a half of a mile for any speed zone. Commissioner Allen stated he wanted to re-state his point of view. He was not looking at this as a half mile stretch, but .3 of a mile, because of the time it takes to get on it and off of it and that is why he does not want to change to speed limit. Acting Chairperson Stachoviak stated he agreed. He reiterated that 45 miles per hour is reasonable and safe. Mr. Johnson stated that it is reasonable to 21 percent of the drivers who are driving at 45 miles per hour or below, and 79 percent are driving at 5 1 miles per hour and below. He said that the drivers on a roadway tell what they consider the reasonable and safe speed to be and that is considered as well as all the other data. He stated that we all drive at what we consider reasonable and prudent, or we should drive that way at all times. Mr. Johnson said that the basic speed law comes into play on making turns-again, provided the person is driving under the basic speed law and can stay in their own lane and not endanger other drivers. June 3, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 6 NEW BUSINESS: (Continued) Mr. Johnson reiterated that if the 45 miles per hour is not justified, the judge will throw out the tickets issued in that area. Commissioner Allen stated that Sgt. Byler said they do not patrol that area often and there are no accidents, so they are not having tickets thrown out of court. He said the area is not worth making a change, and he favors leaving it as it is. Mr. Johnson stated he is trying to impress the Commission with the fact that the document in his hand is the one the judge will have and he will make his decision based on that document. Commissioner Allen inquired whether this recommendation of staff would go to Council, and Mr. Johnson stated their recommendation would still be to raise the speed limit to 50 miles per hour. He reiterated the condition of the roadway, and Commissioner Allen stated it is not three lanes all the way; that it becomes two lanes when you make the turn both ways and before you get to the corner at Rancho Santa Fe.. ACTION: Commissioner Blake made a motion to adopt the recommendation of the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee to establish a 50 mile per hour prima facie speed limit on Melrose Drive from Rancho Santa Fe Road to Alga Road. The motion died for lack of a second. ACTION: On motion by Commissioner Allen, the Traffic Safety Commission recommended the prima facie speed limit on Melrose Drive from Rancho Santa Fe Road to Alga Road be left at 45 miles per hour. " AYES- Stachoviak and Allen " NOES. Blake REPORTS FROM TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSIONERS Acting Chairperson Stachoviak stated he drove down Carlsbad Boulevard last Saturday around 3:OO p.m., from Walnut up to Grand, and the traffic was bumper to bumper, and there was no way anyone could drive 30 miles per hour on that stretch of road. June 3, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 7 REPORTS FROM TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSIONERS: (Continued) Commissioner Blake inquired why the Police are patrolling Carlsbad Village Drive as you approach El Camino Real, and Sgt. Byler stated that due to traffic coming out of the side streets and the possible slowing of people to turn onto those side streets, the Police are trying to watch for drivers who are exceeding the speed limit excessively in that area. He said it is a safety factor. Commissioner Allen inquired about the electronic traffic monitors that tell you the speed you are traveling, and Sgt. Byler stated that they have made a budget request for such a machine, and that machine will also have a print out of the times of the day that the speeding is happening in that area and the Police can then verify that to any person complaining about speeding that is happening there. REPORT FROM TRAFFIC ENGINEER Bob Johnson stated that the July meeting is scheduled for July 1. He said that the terms of Commissioners Blake and Stachoviak expire in July, and until new appointments are made, they should continue to attend Commission meetings. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion, the Regular Meeting of June 3, 1996, was adjourned at 3: 50 p.m g?Fd, rrlett B bbitt Minutes Clerk