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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-07-06; Traffic and Mobility Commission; MinutesPage 1 of 7 Public Works Transportation 1635 Faraday Avenue  Carlsbad, CA 92008  760-602-2746 t Council Chambers 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 Tuesday, July 6, 2021, 3:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Gocan called the Meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Gocan, Perez, Hunter, Penseyres, Fowler and Linke Absent: Wanamaker PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Hunter led the Pledge of Allegiance This meeting was conducted virtually via Zoom due to the stay-at-home order for COVID-19. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Commissioner Linke, seconded by Commissioner Hunter to approve the minutes for the June 7, 2021 meeting as amended Motion carried: 5/0/1/1 (Abstained: Gocan; Absent: Wanamaker) PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA: 1. Ron Ealy - Proposal – Implement Thoroughfares I have presented my proposal to the traffic commission in the past but have not received a specific response. In short, this proposal identifies several east-west and several north-south roads as “thoroughfares”. These roads would post a consistent speed limit, have synchronized, non-interrupted traffic lights, and be alternatives to freeways. Synchronized traffic lights start with a light turning green on the thoroughfare. Cars and trucks following the first car through the green lighted intersection until the last car or truck through that intersection before the light turns yellow is called a “platoon”. All cars in this platoon should sail through subsequent lights as long at the cars and trucks in this platoon are traveling at the posted speed limit +/- 5MPH. Cars on a road approaching a thoroughfare will wait for the light to turn green for them. There would be no right turn on red for these cars onto a thoroughfare. In addition, pedestrians will wait for a red light. No more pressing a button to cause the light to turn earlier than the planned light change. These changes and more are done to ensure the platooning is not interrupted. Signs would be hung below streetlights on thoroughfares to identify the road as a thoroughfare and remind the rider of the speed limit. Waiting for streetlights to change is an enormous waste of energy and contributes needlessly to our carbon footprint. Based on my research and calculations, California could save and estimated 2.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually (a balloon ten yards in diameter weighs approximately one ton). We do not have to wait for more electric vehicles to make a difference in our carbon footprint. We can make this change now with minimal cost. In addition to the positive impact or our environment, traffic accidents could be reduced as there would be no reason to speed to get to through an intersection before the light turns yellow. I believe drivers would welcome the restrictions if they did not have to wait at most traffic lights on thoroughfares. There would also be a reduction in lost time and aggravation. Page 2 of 7 Public Works Transportation 1635 Faraday Avenue  Carlsbad, CA 92008  760-602-2746 t Two keys to success include a marketing campaign in local newspaper and on social media and for Carlsbad to encourage neighboring communities that contain the same set thoroughfares to adopt the same scheme: It cannot start and stop with Carlsbad. I would be happy to present an expanded PowerPoint version of this proposal to the council. One final thought: The first traffic light in the U.S. was installed in Cleveland, OH over 100 years ago. We are still waiting for too many traffic lights to change! 2. Steven Ahlquist - Dear Sirs: I have been communicating since 2018 with city staff: John Kim and Brandon Miles regarding the two traffic circles (roundabouts) on Kelly Drive at Hillside and Park Drive. I was told that Kelly Drive is being re-engineered, but no time line was given. The traffic circles cause problems with drivers, because many don’t know how to use them. Additionally, it is my understanding the the universal purpose of traffic circles is to 1) slow traffic, and 2) keep traffic moving. While they most certainly slow traffic (more on that below), they do not keep traffic moving. Both of these traffic roundabouts have stop signs; one on Hillside at Kelly Drive, and one on Kelly Drive at Park Drive, where drivers are required to STOP. Then yield to oncoming traffic, all in 25 MPH zones. Some drivers turn hard left at both roundabouts, going against traffic because they are either confused on how to use them, or don’t want to drive 270 degrees around the roundabout to proceed. I have a 39 ft fifth wheel recreational vehicle. It is virtually impossible to turn left onto Park Drive from Kelly Drive without the wheels of the trailer going over the roundabout and usually hitting several of the yellow bumps. This is especially true if someone is legally parked on Kelly Drive by the tennis courts, preventing me from getting as far to the right of the roundabout as possible, or if someone is illegally parked in the no parking area by the barrier at the end of Kelly Drive next to the storm drain outlet. When students are released from school, parents back up for many cars westbound on Kelly Drive, waiting to get into the school’s parking lot to pick up their student. This causes a tremendous traffic jam for those of us that live in the area, as we have to wait until we pass Hillside and can resume our trip to Park Drive. Many residents avoid this delay by simply driving straight through the roundabout. You give them no other choice, other than to wait 10 - 20 minutes to get past the traffic jam. I strongly suggest that you revisit this problem and remove both roundabouts. 3. Mike Tindall - I live on Los Robles Drive. Every day I either walk, bike or drive on the short portion of Cerezo between Carlsbad Boulevard and Los Robles. This short section on the south side is dangerously congested when cars blindly turn right off north bound of Carlsbad Boulevard and interact with pedestrians, traffic and open car doors. Many surfers change on the street side of their cars because there is not a sidewalk. Other beachgoers with surfboards and children walk down the middle of the street. Oncoming traffic cannot pass when this occurs. Add to this congestion, many cars making a U turn at the intersection of Los Robles. A simple solution would be to make the south side of Cerezo a No Parking Zone. That would allow larger traffic lanes and a pedestrian walkway along the south side of Cerezo. Maybe 4 parking spots would be lost. Maybe a few injuries or fatalities would be prevented. Thank you for considering this concern. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1. AUTHORIZATION OF AN AGREEMENT WITH CHEN RYAN ASSOCIATES, INC. FOR THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF COLLEGE BOULEVARD REACH A PROJECT- Support staff recommendations to City council to adopt Page 3 of 7 Public Works Transportation 1635 Faraday Avenue  Carlsbad, CA 92008  760-602-2746 t a resolution authorizing execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Chen Ryan Associates, Inc. (Chen Ryan) for preliminary engineering design and environmental assessment of College Boulevard Reach A, Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Project No. 3636, in an amount not to exceed $1,919,294. 2. ESTABLISH A 45 MILE PER HOUR SPEED LIMIT UPON POINSETTIA LANE FROM CASSIA ROAD TO EL CAMINO REAL - Support staff recommendation to establish a 45 mile per hour speed limit upon Poinsettia Lane from Cassia Road to El Camino Real ACTION: Motion by commissioner Vice-Chair Perez, seconded by Commissioner Hunter to approve Consent Calendar Items 1 and 2 as presented. Motion carried: 6/0/1 (Absent: Wanamaker) DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS: 3. POLICE MONTHLY REPORT – (Staff Contact: Lt. Steve Thomas, Police Department) Lieutenant Thomas presented the report and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk) Lt. Thomas informed the T&MC that bicycle patrol continues and enforcement efforts were directed at the seawall and downtown areas. E-Bike enforcement/education will be a priority. The City of Carlsbad has also prepared a general information on e-bike safety and laws, it is posted on the city website. On Friday, June 11, the police conducted a DUI checkpoint at Carlsbad Boulevard and Beech Avenue. Lt. Thomas said that in the month of June the police responded to a solo fatal vehicle collision on Breakwater Road. DISCUSSION: Commissioner Penseyres inquired about collecting data from the Radar Speed Detector on northbound Carlsbad Boulevard close to the City of Oceanside entrance. Traffic Engineer Kim explained that the Traffic division deployed the Speed Feedback Sign and it is used to collect speed data for traffic calming. Commissioner Fowler inquired if the police are monitoring the speed on e-bikes specially going downhill almost at the same speed of a vehicle? Lt. Thomas answered that the department and the school district are doing education on safety and rules. Commissioner Penseyres commented that his experience as a bicyclist is that going downhill with the speed of traffic is quite safe. Commissioner Fowler inquired if anyone that rides an e-bike has to follow the same speed limit law as the driver of a car? Lt. Thomas answered yes, they do not have a different rule for young children riding their e-bikes and that is the reason why parents and children need to be educated on the existing law. 4. EL CAMINO REAL ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS FROM ARENAL ROAD TO LA COSTA AVENUE, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROJECT NO. 6051 - (Staff Contact: Hossein Ajideh, Public Works) Staff’s Recommendation: Support staff recommendation Page 4 of 7 Public Works Transportation 1635 Faraday Avenue  Carlsbad, CA 92008  760-602-2746 t Engineering Manager Ajideh presented the report and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk). DISCUSSION: Commissioner Penseyres inquired if there was a reason that staff did not opt to narrow the median by one foot, from 6’8” to 5’8” feet, and keep the travel lanes at 11 feet. Engineering Manager Ajideh answered that the median was reduced from 18 feet to 6’8” feet in order to provide sufficient storage room for the southbound left turn pocket into the shopping center. It was a compromise that staff recommended in order to provide the 8 foot wide bike lanes and 3 foot wide buffers. Commissioner Penseyres inquired about the need for the city to acquire right-of-way the cost and how many property owners would be involved. Engineering Manager Ajideh answered that right-of-way would be required from one property owner with an estimated cost of around $150,000. Commissioner Linke submitted and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk). Commissioner Linke’s main concern is about the 10.5 feet travel lanes and he offered some suggestions to provide travel lanes at 11 feet. He believes that with arterial streets staff should consider keeping the travel lanes at a minimum of 11 feet. Commissioner Linke suggested to narrow the bicycle lane to 7 ½ feet or a combination of narrowing the bicycle lane on northbound to 7 ½ feet and the southbound to 6 ½ feet. Engineering Manager Ajideh said the this is a conceptual design and staff will consider these comments and revise the concept plans if needed. Transportation Director Frank said that he will bring an item to the T&MC at a future meeting to discuss these comments and other general mobility related design updates to get commission feedback. Transportation Director Frank explained that in general for arterial roads the safest travel lane width is between 10 to 11 feet. Transportation Director Frank mentioned that traffic congestion is typically heaviest at the intersections which can be impacted by longer pedestrian crossing times due to the wider roadway. Transportation Director Frank explained how important it is to maximize the right balance for all of the users of the roadway. Commissioner Linke commented that NCTD’s guidelines request 11 ft. wide bike lanes in order to sufficiently accommodate the width of their buses. Transportation Director Frank responded that Commissioner Linke is correct on the NCTD guidelines however this recommendation was developed prior to the use of buffered bike lanes which create additional width for both bike lanes and travel lanes. ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Hunter, seconded by Commissioner Penseyres to support staff’s recommendations for Alternative 2 for the San Marcos Creek bridge segment of the El Camino Real Roadway Improvements from Arenal Road to La Costa Avenue, Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Project No. 6051 (Project Motion carried: 5/1/1 (No: Linke; Absent: Wanamaker) Chair Gocan requested a break at 4:22 p.m. and the meeting resumed at 4:30 p.m. Page 5 of 7 Public Works Transportation 1635 Faraday Avenue  Carlsbad, CA 92008  760-602-2746 t 5. SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY PLAN ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION MONITORING PROGRAM DATA COLLECTION PLAN – (Staff Contact: Nathan Schmidt, Public Works) Staff’s Recommendation: Receive a presentation and provide input Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager Schmidt presented the report and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk). DISCUSSION: Vice-Chair Perez inquired about the trail network showing in the map on the east side of Freeway 5 that he does not think it is really a trail. Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager Schmidt explained that the trail showing in the map includes both the existing and proposed trail network. Staff will revise the online maps to make a clearer distinction between the existing and proposed facilities. Commissioner Linke explained that the SANDAG Regional Bike Network includes bikeway projects on El Camino Real and Palomar Airport Road. He suggested adding two or three counting sites on El Camino Real with one counting site being the intersection of El Camino Real and Palomar Airport Road and two more counts on Palomar Airport Road to account for these proposed bikeways. Commissioner Linke also suggested that staff uses the video cameras on our traffic signals to save money and increase the number of counts. Commissioner Linke suggested counting bikes in public bike racks and counting users of rideshare programs. Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager Schmidt explained that our video camera technology does not currently have the capability to accurately conduct the counts. The bike rack parking occupancy counts are a great suggestion and staff will consider these at other places like school sites and in the Village. Currently the rideshare tracking program is not active due to the severe decline in rideshare use as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we can consider it for the future monitoring counts once rideshare is active again. Commissioner Penseyres inquired about doing a traffic count at the intersection of Carlsbad Boulevard and State Street where the roundabout is located. His reasoning is that the Oceanside data is not very useful. Commissioner Penseyres suggested the use of the License Plates Readers to help with the traffic counts and make it less expensive. Transportation Director Frank answered that it would not have a significant cost differential because most of the cost involved in the process is labor. Commissioner Penseyres if the traffic counts could start one hour earlier than the proposed time to be able to capture the early morning commute. Transportation Planning Manager Schmidt agree that a count should be conducted at the Carlsbad Blvd./State St. roundabout and will revise the data collection plan accordingly. Staff will also extend the count duration time to 6 AM in order to account for the early morning bike commute. 6. ESTABLISH A SCHEDULE FOR THE TRAFFIC AND MOBILITY COMMISSION TO RETURN TO IN-PERSON MEETINGS – (Staff Contact: Nathan Schmidt, Public Works) Staff’s Recommendation: Approve a date and time to return to in-person meetings Page 6 of 7 Public Works Transportation 1635 Faraday Avenue  Carlsbad, CA 92008  760-602-2746 t ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Hunter, seconded by Commissioner Fowler approved to return to in-person meetings at the Council Chambers at 4 p.m. starting on August 2, 2021. Motion carried: 6/0/1 (Absent: Wanamaker) CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER REPORT: City Traffic Engineer Comments: Attachment A Traffic Engineer Kim added that a staff report for No Overnight Parking on Avenida Encinas is going to City Council on July 20, 2021. Traffic Engineer Kim said that staff will follow-up with the public comments and report back to the commission. TRAFFIC AND MOBILITY COMMISSION COMMENTS: Vice-chair Perez inquired about signal lights from Cannon Road all the way to College Boulevard the side streets seems to trigger any cars that come to intersection and stop the flow of the major corridor. Can something be done to get Cannon road to have a better traffic flow progression? Traffic Engineer Kim said that he will discuss this with traffic signal system staff about improving coordination along corridors like Cannon Road. This coordination timing is always a balancing act because we get comments from side streets and well as corridors street. Commissioner Penseyres inquired about the traffic circles at Kelly Elementary with stop signs, is this an oversight or did we leave that on purpose? Traffic Engineer Kim said that was planned to keep cars from speeding near the school. It is something that can be removed and next month staff will bring the Kelly and Park Project which will include this intersection. Chair Gocan read into the record Commissioner Hunter Commendation for the eight years served on the Traffic and Mobility Commission. Commissioner Linke expressed concerns that staff made material revisions to the Vehicle Miles Traveled Analysis Guidelines just a couple of months after they had undergone review by the Traffic and Mobility Commission and City Council for implementation in July 2020, and that the changes had already allowed at least one development to avoid CEQA transportation analysis. ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Linke, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, to add to a future agenda the review of the Vehicles Miles Traveled Guidelines and discussion of changes that were made after approval from City Council. Motion carried: 6/0/1 (Absent: Commissioner Wanamaker) Page 7 of 7 Public Works Transportation 1635 Faraday Avenue  Carlsbad, CA 92008  760-602-2746 t ADJOURNMENT: Chair Gocan adjourned the Traffic and Mobility Commission Meeting on July 6, 2021 at 5:38 p.m. Eliane Paiva Eliane Paiva, Minutes Clerk Attachment A Meeting Date: July 6, 2021 To: Traffic and Mobility Commission Staff Contact: John Kim, City Traffic Engineer John.Kim@carlsbadca.gov, 760-602-2757 Subject: City Traffic Engineer Report Past City Council Items on Traffic and Mobility None Upcoming City Council Items on Traffic and Mobility July 20, 2021 • College Boulevard Reach A July 27, 2021 • Semiannual Transportation Report • Traffic and Mobility Commission FY21-22 Work Plan, Vice Chair Perez to represent the T&MC • Two (2) Traffic and Mobility Commissioner Appointments Other Items City Traffic Engineer Report (i TRAFFIC AND MOBILITY COMMISSION - . . Page 2 Non-Agenda Public Comments Item Action Grand Promenade (Village and Barrio Master Plan Mobility Project) The prioritization of the mobility projects identified in the Village and Barrio Master Plan will be considered by City Council at their July 20, 2021 meeting. Traffic concerns on Cerezo Drive including request for all-way STOPs at Las Robles Drive and El Arbol Drive Staff is working with Ms. Achey on specific requests and will be bringing back all-way STOP study to Traffic and Mobility Commission as a future agenda item. Commissioner Comments Item Action Report on College Boulevard speed feedback sign data Project not complete.