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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-06; Traffic Safety Commission; MinutesMINUTES MEETING OF: TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION DATE OF MEETING: April 6,2009 (Regular Meeting) TIME OF MEETING: 3:00 p.m. PLACE OF MEETING: City Council Chambers CALL TO ORDER: Chair Cress called the Meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Chair Gordon Cress Vice-Chair Jack Gumming Commissioner Guy Roney Absent: None Staff Members Present: Robert Johnson, City Engineer Marshall Plantz, Senior Civil Engineer Steve Jantz, Associate Engineer APPROVAL OF MINUTES: March 2,2009 ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Roney, and duly seconded by Vice-Chair Gumming, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting on March 2, 2009, as presented. VOTE: 3-0-0 AYES: Cress, Cumming, Roney NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ITEM 4 - ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None. April 6,2009 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 2 ITEM 5 - PREVIOUS BUSINESS: Robert Johnson, City Engineer, stated there were no items to report. ITEM 6 - NEW BUSINESS: ITEM 6A: Overview of the Carlsbad Pedestrian Master Plan and the Carlsbad Bicycle Master Plan. Mr. Johnson introduced to the Commission Steve Jantz, Associate Engineer, who will present an overview of the Carlsbad Bikeway Master Plan and Marshall Plantz, Senior Civil Engineer, who will present an overview of the Carlsbad Pedestrian Plan. No action is required by the Commission as the City Council has previously approved both documents. Steve Jantz stated a Bikeway Master Plan is a blueprint for future and existing bicycle transportation and recreation in Carlsbad. The document outlines a system of bike lanes, bike routes, and bike paths. It identifies use-specific support facilities and proposes a variety of programs to allow safe, efficient and convenient bicycle travel. It also identifies various funding opportunities. Three years ago, the City applied for TransNet funds of $150,000 to fund the development of this project and an Environmental Impact Report. Alta Planning and Design Consultants were hired as a consultant. The City Council approved the Bikeway Master Plan on January 13, 2009 after conducting a public hearing. CALTRANS district headquarters in Sacramento will need to approve the document. Mr. Jantz indicated the General Plan goals are to promote, encourage and accommodate a variety of transportation modes as alternatives to automobiles. It also provides education, encouragement and enforcement programs which promote the use of bicycling as a mode of transportation. The Bicycle Master Plan looks at destination points, such as schools, parks, beach, shopping, employment, trails and regional connections. Recommended community programs include adopting bicycle design requirements, developing Employer Incentive Programs, developing Safe Routes to School Programs, bicycle enforcement, and to continue and expand education programs. There are a number of federal, state, regional and local funding opportunities. Most funding for bicycle facilities is on the state-funded side through the Bicycle Transportation Act (BTA). Once CALTRANS headquarters approves the Bicycle Master Plan, the City of Carlsbad is qualified to apply for funds. Mr. Jantz stated recommendations to the City Council are to pursue applicable funding, complete the Carlsbad Bikeway Network, install additional support facilities, i.e., bike racks and lockers, and consider increasing community education efforts. DISCUSSION: Chair Cress asked for clarification of class 1,2, and 3 bikeway facilities. April 6,2009 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 3 Mr. Jantz replied that a class 1 facility is a stand alone bicycle path that is not connected to the roadway. For example, the Coastal Rail Trail between Carlsbad Village Drive and Tamarack Avenue. The Coastal Rail Trail is one of two class 1 facilities hi Carlsbad that is separated from the roadway. It is in the railroad right of way. Class 2 is the painted bicycle lane within the roadway envelope adjacent to the curb and gutter. It is a painted line adjacent to traffic that has bicycle lane signing. Class 3 is a bicycle route and is not striped. For example, Highland Drive or Chestnut Avenue over to Carlsbad Village Drive is a bicycle route. Mr. Johnson clarified that the Coastal Rail Trail actually starts at Oak Avenue and proceeds south to Tamarack Avenue. Another example of a class 1 facility in Carlsbad is on Calle Barcelona on the south side between El Camino Real and Rancho Santa Fe Road. Commissioner Roney asked if there was a performance requirement once the approval and funding was obtained. Mr. Jantz answered that once the project is funded it is up to Carlsbad to take care of it. There is a requirement to update the master plan every five years. Vice-Chan- Gumming stated that he was familiar with the Coastal Rail Trail as he has walked it, but he wasn't aware that it was a bike trail. He has not seen the actual Bikeway Master Plan. He could not find it on the internet. The Pedestrian Master Plan indicates that less then 1 percent of Carlsbad citizens walk to work. He wanted to know if there is an indication of the percentage of bikers that cycle to work. Mr. Jantz replied that the percentage was approximately the same - a very small percentage. Vice-Chair Gumming asked if it was fair to conclude that the principal bicycle demand accommodation relates to recreational needs. Mr. Jantz responded that was a fair statement. There are a number of bikers that are very comfortable riding with vehicles that we see everyday as we commute to work. Through the user survey, there are a lot of families that don't feel safe on the road riding a bicycle and don't want their children riding on the road with vehicles. Vice-Chair Gumming referred to the slide showing Carlsbad Boulevard that illustrates two lanes of traffic in each direction, a striped bike lane, and parked cars — no protection for the bikers. Bike April 6,2009 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 4 injury and fatality rates are the highest of any mode of transportation. Does the state or federal requirements preclude curbed bikeways? Would it be impossible to put the bike lane over on the other side of the parked vehicles so that they are separated from the traffic and protected? Is there a reason why Carlsbad near the Army/Navy Academy down to the Power Station is striped to be two lanes in each direction, whereas most of the Coast Highway appears to be one lane in each direction? Since that seems to be where the bicycle traffic is concentrated, it is like an invitation to an accident. You have to be in this area where you're exposed to vehicles. He wanted to know if our hands were tied. Mr. Johnson pointed out on the slide Vice-Chair Gumming referred to with the striped bike lanes was the customary manner for striping when there is parking next to the curb as indicated in the CALTRANS design documents. In fact, it is the preferred and required method of providing a bike lane between the number two traffic lane and parking lane. The configuration as shown would result in weaving of vehicles across the bike lane to get to the parking space. When a vehicle leaves the parking space, car doors are opened into the bike lane. People step from behind or in between vehicles into the bike lane. There are some issues that are presented by striping in mis manner, but the bicyclists that regularly ride this type of route are familiar with the situation. A lot of families don't like to bike in the street for this reason. Completion of the Coastal Rail Trail, which is a biking and walking pathway, would help this situation. Getting more class 1 facilities and the Coastal Rail Trail completed gets the bicyclists and pedestrians away from the traffic and the conflicts. Mr. Johnson stated Carlsbad Boulevard is designated as a major arterial on the Circulation Element of the General Plan. It is therefore intended to have two lanes of traffic hi each direction. For the most part, there are bicycle lanes on the entire length of the street. Bike lanes up and down the entire length of Carlsbad Boulevard are desirable. Eventually, where there is only one lane in each direction from the Army/Navy Academy northerly, someday there will be a good chance of getting funding and addressing environmental issues and constructing the full major arterial cross-section. Staff is looking at the lagoon location - perhaps leaving it as one lane hi each direction with bicycle lanes, because the projected volumes do not seem to support the need for four traffic lanes. Vice-Chair Gumming commented that he suspected the configurations come from the federal level. Mr. Johnson replied that when it comes to bicycles and bicycle riders, just like there are different opinions among drivers of motorized vehicles, some would prefer a striping configuration as shown on the screen; others would prefer what Vice-Chair Gumming is suggesting to put the bikes next to the curb and put a parked car in between them and the moving vehicle. Each possibility has its own inherent set of problems, pros/cons and so on. When Mr. Jantz was working on the Bicycle Master Plan, there was a lot of input from bicyclists, and some of the input was conflicting. April 6,2009 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 5 Chair Cress observed that he has never seen an adult bicycle rider stop at a boulevard stop sign. They almost invariably just bust right through them like they are not even there. It doesn't do much for the happiness of motorists to see bicyclists bust on through and breaking traffic laws. This might be an issue to bring up in Mr. Jantz' education classes. Hearing no other comments, Mr. Johnson stated the overview of the Pedestrian Master Plan would be presented by Senior Civil Engineer, Marshall Plantz. Mr. Plantz informed the Commission that preparation of the Pedestrian Master Plan was funded from $ 100,000 from Transportation Development Act Funds and $23,000 from the City GCC Funds. The plan was prepared by City of Carlsbad staff, Alta Planning and Design Consultants, and input from citizens of Carlsbad. Approval was given by the City Council last month and the master plan will go to SANDAG and the SANDAG B&P Working Group for approval. Mr. Plantz stated the general principles of the Pedestrian Master Plan were based upon the existing General Plan's goals, objectives, and policies. The purpose of the plan is to provide a guide for future development and enhancement of pedestrian facilities in the City and promote walking as an integral mode of transportation. The plan will support documentation for competitive funding opportunities. Benefits of walking include traffic and air quality, public health, a sense of community, and walking routes in Carlsbad. Census data show there are approximately 775 people who walk to work, 7.9 percent of commuters in Carlsbad. The regional average is 3.4 percent. Goals, objectives and policies include streets and traffic control, alternative modes of travel, overall land use patterns, residential, commercial, Village and transportation corridors. Mr. Plantz indicated existing documented conditions include sidewalks, curb ramps, trails, street lights, and crosswalks on a citywide basis. A needs analysis includes pedestrian generators, pedestrian attractors, pedestrian barriers, and pedestrian needs locations. Pedestrian mfrastructure projects identify priority project areas and citywide areas. Encouraging people to walk involves awareness and education. Funding sources involve federal, state, regional and local resources. Federal sources are SAFETA-LU, CMAQ, and recreational trails. State sources include the Safe Routes to School Program and Transportation Development Act. Regional and local sources consist of TransNet Bicycle and Pedestrian and Traffic Impact Fee Program. DISCUSSION: Vice-Chair Gumming commented there is a fundamental conflict between the alternative design streets and the safe routes to school. One is an aesthetic need and one is a child and safety need. Did the City Council set a priority there or did they leave it as an open issue? April 6,2009 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 6 Mr. Plantz indicated this issue of alternative design streets versus the compatible design streets was brought up to the City Council. There are areas in the northwest quadrant of Carlsbad that have that overlay of alternative design streets. When the priority project areas were laid out, one was around the elementary schools. There are sidewalks in that area not on an alternative design street that could be improved. There are opportunities to expand and fill out the sidewalk in those areas that provide routes to school. That is not to say there may be some challenges in providing safe routes to school in conjunction with the alternative design streets. There was not a solution that was proposed at that time to the City Council, but it is a challenge that will need to be faced hi a couple of locations, especially hi the northwest quadrant. Vice-Chair Gumming stated there appears to be a great focus on sidewalk and trail gaps. The Aviara Trails map shows considerable gaps hi the trail system. Is there a priority or commitment to giving Carlsbad an integrated integral system of trails? Mr. Plantz replied there was a Trails Master Plan. Aside from becoming aware of the trails and trying to secure funding to fill hi the gaps, that is where we are at. Vice-Chair Gumming felt it would help the Carlsbad tourism industry by attracting people if there was an attractive trail system. There really are some wonderful trails. In the Village area, he noticed there is a project that relates to the Plaza Camino Real Shopping Center. There is nothing that really integrates the shopping center with the Village area, although there is clearly some kind of a synergy between them along the Jefferson corridor. He noticed hi the Village they seem to favor diagonal parking over attractive sidewalks. Sidewalks are made narrow to accommodate diagonal parking. His personal preference would be to have attractive pedestrian walkways where people could encounter each other and have conversations over congregate parking. There has been discussion and some funds set aside to build parking structures for parking for the Village area, but he wants the record to show that it would be desirable to have more congregate parking at the expense of the street parking together with attractive pedestrian walkways and possibly a pedestrian mall hi the Village area. Public Testimony; Chair Cress called for Public Testimony. Thelma Hayes, 2855 Carlsbad Boulevard, Carlsbad stated her reaction to today's presentation was she wished she felt more excited and that the Commissioners felt more excited about the spirit of walking and riding a bike can be. When words like "facilities" or "bike lanes" are used, there is a communication gap with the public. When the master plans are approved, it needs to be translated into some exciting thing that we're trying to accomplish with Carlsbad. It can be done. Right now it April 6,2009 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 7 is "government language" and not "friendly people language." She felt we were trying to make Carlsbad a friendly City. She noticed the room was empty at today's Commission meeting and that makes it even more remote from the citizens. She felt this room should have been full today. The same goes for the Planning Commission to try and get 100% attendance as far as the seating is concerned, because the citizens have to get excited about this. If we're going to get people out of then* vehicles, we're going to have to make it safe for them to walk and ride and other means of communication. Ms. Hayes asked how much enforcement there is from the police. Now that she cannot see, she uses her walker to get around the City. When a bicycle passes her on the sidewalk, she gets scared because she never heard it coming. She wasn't sure what kind of enforcement there can be, but someone should notify them that they are not obeying the law. It's scary. One of the things that have helped her at the corner of Grand Avenue and Coast Highway is the talking stop sign - it is very comforting to hear it say it is okay for her to cross the street. It adds to her sense of security. All pedestrians want to be safe and that's what we want for our children. Many of the ideas of making a safe route to school are excellent. Michael Bullock, 1800 Bayberry Drive, Oceanside stated he was a retired Lockheed Martin Systems Engineer and has been in the area for two years. He was a bicycle activist in bis thirties and now his main interest is the economics of car parking and transportation in general. The reason he is here is to make the Commission aware of Oceanside's Coast Highway Vision and Strategic Plan. The Coast Highway through much of Oceanside is similar to Carlsbad's situation. There are stop lights and two lanes in each direction. Oceanside hired the best consultants to improve their situation. For pedestrian and bicycle safety they have roundabouts and medians. Oceanside spent approximately $350,000 on a plan for roundabouts and medians and Carlsbad can get it for free. Roundabouts will do away with stop lights, and yet be able to drive from end to end taking the same amount of time. Roundabouts offer a tremendous advantage for pedestrians and bicyclists. Carlsbad could do this on Carlsbad Village Drive and really change the feel for pedestrians. Seeing no others wishing to testify, Chair Cress closed Public Testimony. Chair Cress stated there was no action required by the Commission as the City Council has previously approved both documents. ITEM 7: REPORT FROM TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSIONERS Vice-Chair Gumming noticed at a recent City Council meeting traffic was a citizen concern. Is there some way in which the Traffic Safety Commission can be more effective in supporting the City Council in its attempts to address this priority? April 6,2009 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 8 Mr. Johnson clarified that Traffic Management through Traffic Signal Coordination came up at the City Council workshop. That will be addressed at a City Council workshop in May. Chair Cress stated he had two citizens contact him this past month. One gentleman addressed Valley Street between Magnolia and Chestnut. He was concerned about the width of Valley Street and the congestion before and after school. There are throngs of pedestrians on both sides of the street. There are no sidewalks. There are cars going both directions. He felt it was just a matter of time before there was a head-on collision or pedestrians are hit He wanted the Commission to know and pass on to staff about his concerns about how narrow Valley Street is there. A woman spoke to him about bike lanes, mainly the area of Costco along Palomar Airport Road. Isn't it illegal to cross the solid white line where there are bike lanes? There is a right turn lane for some distance between Carl's Junior and the entrance into Costco at the stop light on Armada. The whole distance is solid white lines. There are no dotted lines indicating where cars can turn in. However, cars routinely cross both those solid bike lines and the concern is that a biker is going to get hit or killed. Maybe there should be some dotted lines down near the stop light at Armada. Mr. Johnson stated that last month staff took to City Council a request to advertise for bids for Valley Street widening, including the construction of sidewalks between Chestnut and Magnolia, and also the widening of Magnolia just to the east of Valley Street on the north side. There were residents living along both streets that came to City Council and they were not supportive of the project. Several of them have future improvement agreements which the City would have to call and they would have to pay for the frontage improvements. The City Council determined for the under grounding issue that staff should go back and include it in the project, which means staff will work with SDG&E, and it will delay the project at least one year. Instead of bidding and starting construction this summer, it will the summer of 2010. The City Attorney will look at the FLA agreements to see if there is any way for Council to waive FLA obligations. Regarding bike lanes on Carlsbad Boulevard, there is a set of double yellow lines where there is parking next to the curb, two sets of white lines in the two traffic lanes which cars routinely cross to get to the parking lane and to leave the parking lane. It is very similar to what is on Palomar Airport Road between the Carl's Junior driveway and Armada Drive. The need for striped lanes at the intersection is something staff will look at. Standards were different when that road and striping was placed in the early 1990's than they are today. Staff will check the potential for the dashed lines. Currently, when mere is a bike lane the minimum requirement for dashing is 200 feet prior to the intersection. ITEM 8: REPORT FROM TRAFFIC ENGINEER Mr. Johnson informed the Commission that there would be no quorum with the current numbers on the Commission for the May 4, 2009 meeting and it would most likely be cancelled unless the April 6,2009 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 9 Mayor and City Council are able to appoint replacements to fill the two vacancies on the Commission. They would have to do that at either at the April 14th or April 21st meeting, and he has not heard that the new Commission appointments would be on either City Council date. If the May meeting is cancelled, the next Traffic Safety Commission meeting would be scheduled to be held on June 1,2009 at 3:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion, Chair Cress adjourned the Regular Meeting of April 6,2009 at 4:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ruth Woodbeck Minutes Clerk