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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-08-18; Traffic and Mobility Commission; Minutes Page 1 of 7 Council Chambers 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Special Meeting Carlsbad, CA 92008 Aug. 18, 2022, 4:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: 4 p.m. ROLL CALL: Perez, Linke, Penseyres, Fowler, Coelho and Proulx Absent: Newlands PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Chair Perez led the Pledge of Allegiance APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of the Regular Meeting held July 5, 2022. Motion by Vice-Chair Linke, seconded by Commissioner Penseyres to approve the minutes for the July 5, 2022, meeting as amended. Motion carried, 5/0/1/1 (Absent: Commissioner Newlands; Abstain: Commissioner Proulx) PUBLIC COMMENT: Cindy Beauchamp spoke about traffic speeding and running stop signs on Plum Tree Road. Residents met with council member Priya Bhat-Patel to discuss these issues. The residents would like this area to be considered for Phase II of the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program. Tim Morgan spoke about traffic speeding on Valley Street and the installation of curb extension. We need staff to follow the recommendation to remove the HAWK signal and the curb extension and seek alternatives. Robert Wilkinson spoke about the Grand Promenade. He would like the Traffic and Mobility Commission to vote tonight to have Imagine Carlsbad come and give a presentation on the idea of a Grand Promenade. Laura VanLoh spoke about E-Bikes speeding and other issues. She would love to be involved in a committee to get a handle on e-bike safety. CONSENT CALENDAR: 1. AVENIDA ENCINAS COASTAL RAIL TRAIL AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT - FINAL DRAFT – The Traffic & Mobility Commission supported staff’s recommendation to implement the improvement plans for Segment 2 of the Avenida Encinas Coastal Rail Trail and Pedestrian Improvements, Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6004. PUBLIC COMMENT: David Pierce is a Carlsbad Resident who lives near the Batiquitos Lagoon. With the current design on Avenida Encinas, he believes there will be many more bicycle accidents. State Law, the Complete Streets Act calls for innovative measures to be taken. Page 2 of 7 Vice-Chair Linke remembered that the T&MC was concerned that this portion of the coastal rail trail was not going to run alongside the railroad tracks, and that the protected bike lanes at each intersection would not help since cars will still be pulling in front of the bicycles. Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager Schmidt responded that this entire corridor is part of the coastal corridor rail trail which is a regional rail trail that extends from North County in Oceanside to Downtown San Diego. This was part of the re-alignment study that was conducted by SANDAG and it was determined that funds were not available to construct it directly along the railroad corridor as it goes over the Batiquitos lagoon, and this is the reason that the re-alignment is at Avenida Encinas. 2. INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS AT MELROSE DRIVE AND PALOMAR AIRPORT ROAD –The Traffic & Mobility Commission supported staff’s recommendation to approve the plans and specifications of the intersection improvements at Melrose Drive and Palomar Airport Road, Capital Improvement Project No. 6034. PUBLIC COMMENT: David Pierce spoke about Melrose Drive which is a large intersection that has no protection for bicycles. He does not think the intersection improvements are adequate to keep cyclists safe. 3. REVISE PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS FOR GATEWAY ROAD AND CADENCIA STREET - The Traffic & Mobility Commission supported staff’s recommendation to City Council to revise prima facie speed limits on: a) Gateway Road between El Camino Real and El Fuerte Street, from 40 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour b) Cadencia Street from Del Rey Avenue to 0.15 mile north of Piragua Street, from 40 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour PUBLIC COMMENT: David Pierce spoke about the Gateway Road improvements. The data shows that when you redesign the street, cars will travel through in a lower speed. The traffic calming elements seem to be doing their job in this location. Motion by Commissioner Proulx, seconded by Commissioner Penseyres to approve Consent Item Nos. 1 through 3. Motion carried: 6/0/0/1 (Absent: Commissioner Edward Newlands) DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS: 4. AMEND THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE BY ADDING SECTION 10.40.302 TO RESTRICT OVERNIGHT PARKING ON SURFSIDE LANE AND ISLAND WAY – Receive staff’s recommendation that City Council introduce an ordinance amending the Carlsbad Municipal Code by adding Section 10.40.302 to restrict overnight parking from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on both sides of Surfside Lane, north of Island Way and both sides of Island Way, east of Carlsbad Boulevard. (Staff Contact: Scott Meritt and Allegra Frost, Police Department and City Attorney) Staff’s Recommendation: Receive a presentation Page 3 of 7 Commissioner Proulx recused herself due to a potential conflict of interest related to her employment at 4:26 p.m. Sergeant Meritt and City Attorney Frost presented the report and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk) PUBLIC COMMENT: David Pierce is against this ordinance as it does not solve the underlying problem. Most unhoused people who live in their cars don’t do so out of choice, but out of necessity as they can’t afford a home. This ordinance is just going to move these vehicles to a different location which they will then be banned from. Motion by Commissioner Penseyres, seconded by Commissioner Fowler to recommend that City Council introduce an ordinance amending the Carlsbad Municipal Code by adding Section 10.40.302 to restrict overnight parking from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on both dies of Surfside Lane, north of Island Way and both sides of Island Way, east of Carlsbad Boulevard. Motion carried: 5/0/1/1 (Absent: Newlands; Abstain: Proulx) Commissioner Proulx returned to the dais at 4:38 p.m. 5. POLICE REPORT REGARDING TRAFFIC & MOBILITY RELATED MATTERS DURING THE MONTH OF JULY 2022 – (Staff Contact: Sergeant Scott Meritt, Police Department) Staff’s Recommendation: Receive a presentation Sergeant Meritt presented the report and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk) Commissioner Coelho inquired about a past presentation where we discussed putting together a bike traffic safety program. Is there an update on the implementation of this program? Sergeant Merritt replied that Malcom Warfield, the Juvenile Justice Program Manager is currently working with the San Diego Bike Coalition and other biking organizations to have a prepared class to allow offenders of the municipal code to attend the class in lieu of paying the $50.00 fine, municipal code citation. They hope to have this new program rolled out in the next two to three weeks, so offenders are able to attend the class. Commissioner Coelho asked if the T&MC could have a presentation on the details of the program once is finalized and requested quarterly updates during the first year of the program. Commissioner Proulx inquired if there is any consideration of requiring licensing for e-bikes that would require them to attend a safety class ahead of receiving a citation versus catching them after a citation. Sergeant Merritt replied that he would have to refer to the City Attorney on this issue, but he does not believe that we can require someone to have a license to operate a bicycle in the City of Carlsbad. Page 4 of 7 Assistant City Attorney Contreras responded that he had a discussion with the City Attorney recently regarding this question. He reminded everyone that we are limited to conversation relating to July police issues. Commissioner Proulx asked what type of citations are currently being written for e-bikes. Sergeant Merritt responded that typical violations are reckless riding, riding unsafely on trails, riding on sidewalks, and speeding. Commissioner Fowler asked if the Police can cite riders of any type of electric mobility device for speeding, reckless riding and riding on the sidewalk? Sergeant Merritt responded that the Municipal Code allows Police to cite riders of all electric mobility devices. Chair Perez inquired about the Driving Under the Influence, or DUI, checkpoint and if there are possibilities for the Commissioners to do a ride along during these checkpoints. Sergeant Merritt said that absolutely the Police Department would love for more people to be out there and see how the police operates. 6. UPDATE ON THE SOUTH CARLSBAD BOULEVARD CLIMATE ADAPTATION PROJECT: Receive an update on the traffic impact analysis and roadway design options studies for the grant-funded South Carlsbad Boulevard Climate Adaptation Project. (Staff Contact: Tom Frank and Katie Hentrich, Public Works) Staff’s Recommendation: Receive a presentation Commissioner Proulx recused herself due to a potential conflict of interest related to her employment at 4:52 p.m. Transportation Director Frank and Senior Program Manager Hentrich presented the report and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk) PUBLIC COMMENT: Jim Davidson, the president of the Solamar Homeowners Association shared his concern regarding the recent bicycle fatality that happened right in their neighborhood. He believes they should not have to wait for the study to be completed next February to address safety concerns. Bill Canepa, of the Hilton Garden Inn on Solamar Drive shared his concerns regarding traffic safety. They have heard of a plan to reduce the southbound lane down to one lane to reduce traffic. They want to know what can be done in the short term to lower the speed limit. Bill Fenner, a resident of Oceanview Drive spoke about traffic issues on Carlsbad Boulevard. Motorcycles have been speeding and there have been fatalities. He would like to see the speed limit on Carlsbad Boulevard reduced to a reasonably safer speed limit. He agreed that reducing the lanes on the southbound side to one lane would be beneficial. Page 5 of 7 David Pierce spoke in support of the roundabouts considering they have protected bicycle infrastructure within them. He wonders why we can’t implement this same design in other parts of the city. Commissioner Coelho spoke about the design process and reiterated that the commission would like to see the 30% design set once it is ready to be reviewed. He also inquired if the work is expected to be done by sometime in February 2023. Transportation Director Frank replied that they will bring back the options analysis along with the traffic study to support our updated options analysis. The options analysis report will then be presented to City Council to provide background information and to have a recommendation for a preferred alternative. The preferred alternative will then be given to the design team of the climate adaptation study to then further to a 30% design. This would be the conclusion of the study. From there, we would go to City Council for direction as to what the next steps would be. Staff is also looking for potential funding opportunities for this project if City Council is interested in furthering the project. Commissioner Coelho inquired about the measures that can be taken in the interim. He asked if staff is working on a plan for reducing speed limit or re-striping. Is anything under consideration at this point? Transportation Director Frank replied that the final plans that are going to City Council for approval includes the reduction of travel lanes for Southbound Carlsbad Boulevard between Solamar Drive and Island Way. Commissioner Penseyres stated that the T&MC did not provide any recommendations on the three different options at the last meeting. Does this mean that staff cannot proceed with anything until after the traffic study is completed in February 2023? Transportation Director Frank replied that the traffic study is an additional work tool which needs to be built into the critical path schedule. We are collecting data before Labor Day for the summer months, and we will be collecting data again after Labor Day as well. This traffic study does delay and extend the final deliverables. Vice-Chair Linke inquired about the sequence of events that should take place for a project to be launched. He mentioned that he was the one who asked for the traffic study during the July meeting. Transportation Director Frank replied that the normal process is to look at the traffic conditions, by doing a data collection on traffic counts, pedestrian counts and bicycle counts. In a perfect world the traffic study would be completed prior to the options analysis. We did look at the data which we had available from past studies and the consultants felt comfortable presenting the options based on the past data. Commissioner Proulx returned to the dais at 5:30 p.m. CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER COMMENTS: City Traffic Engineer Kim stated that he prepared an informational memo for the Commissioners. Page 6 of 7 TRAFFIC AND MOBILITY COMMISSION COMMENTS: Commissioner Coelho asked Assistant City Attorney Contreras what authority the T&MC has to ask staff to agendize items and expedite projects. Assistant City Attorney Contreras responded that the T&MC approved a resolution in 2020 that lists commission rules and procedures. An item under “Meeting Agenda” states that the Commission can place items on the agenda by a majority vote. Assistant City Attorney Contreras advised that commissioners should limit discussion to that which is necessary to direct staff to the parameters of an item the commissioner would like staff to bring before the commission and the time frame in which to have the item return. After further comment from Commissioner Coelho on how discussion of a proposed agenda item would be limited to the scope of information proposed by the item, Assistant City Attorney Contreras advised against prolonged discussion of the underlying topic during the brief discussion on agendizing an item for a future agenda. Commissioner Coelho asked if the T&MC can put an item on the agenda that they would like to ask the staff to consider, for example adding a speed bump to a specific street. Commissioner Coelho asked whether commissioners needed to ask for a broader discussion on speed issues on that specific street. Transportation Director Frank responded that the Commission has an advisory role to the City Council and therefore, makes recommendations to the City Council. The Commission can ask staff to consider bringing forward an item and then staff will consider their workload and timing. Then staff will report back to the Commission on how they are going to address the recommended action. City Traffic Engineer Kim stated that in the past staff has worked individually with Commissioners, not as commissioners but as concerned residents or parties on items that they would like staff to investigate. If it is a simple request it is more appropriate to go that route rather than put it on the agenda. Chair Perez inquired if there are any issues if a member of the T&MC were to discuss an item with a City Council member directly. Assistant City Attorney Contreras would caution the Commission about discussing an item with anyone before the item comes to the T&MC but encouraged commissioners to speak with staff first. Commissioner Penseyres expressed his concerns about Jefferson Street Northbound and Eastbound recommendations from last month’s meeting. Northbound on Jefferson Street there is a suggested narrow bike lane and a blind right-hand turn and then going over the freeway there is not enough room so they would have sharrows. He would like to revisit this item at the next meeting, or he would like to work with staff on this issue. Transportation Director Frank asked Commissioner Penseyres to please call Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager Schmidt so they can work together on this issue. City Traffic Engineer Kim said that the Jefferson Street project will be coming before the Commission next month and staff will contact Commissioner Penseyres prior to that meeting. Vice-Chair Linke brought up three traffic concerns raised at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022 and one traffic concern raised today during our public comment. The common factor on these traffic concerns that we heard is residential traffic speed and safer routes to school. He would like to make a motion to make a recommendation to City Council to have them hire another engineer and additional planning staff. He appreciates City Council’s fiscal conservatism but there is a critical mass of people demanding that these projects get done. Page 7 of 7 Assistant City Attorney Contreras cautioned the Commission that the Comments portion of the meeting was not designed for extended discussion on dozens of issues that were not agendized. Vice-Chair Linke said that he would like to make a motion to recommend to City Council to add two additional staff positions. He realizes that might not be possible due to these issues not being on the agenda. Therefore, can we make a motion to put on the next agenda an item involving adding additional staff members in order to expedite many of these projects. Assistant City Attorney Contreras responded that we can set an item to be agendized such as a discussion of the Traffic and Mobility Commissions duties as outlined in the municipal code and whether those duties allow for certain recommendations. Assistant City Attorney Contreras advised that agendizing items would give the commission the needed room under the Brown Act to talk about specific projects and whether a recommendation can be made, whether staff’s workload could accommodate the request and whether the request is consistent with the commission’s work plan. Motion by Vice-Chair Linke seconded by Commissioner Penseyres to recommend the City Council to allow the hiring of two additional staff members to address Safe Routes to School and Traffic Calming projects that the T&MC has duties over which would expedite these projects. Commissioner Proulx said that she feels that she doesn’t have the information available to her to suggest to City Council that they hire additional staff. Transportation Director Frank suggested that the Commission makes the motion and see if it carries. This will be recorded in the minutes. Staff will then see if it is appropriate to bring that information to City Council. At a minimum it could be part of the next Semiannual Transportation report. Commissioner Fowler said that the Commission should revise the motion to remove the hiring of two staff members. The motion should be to discuss the topic of prioritizing projects and how to deal with the influx of public interest and concern about certain areas of the city. Commissioner Penseyres retracted his second on Vice-Chair Linke motion above. Motion by Vice-Chair Linke, seconded by Commissioner Fowler requesting staff to agendize a staff report presenting solutions to expedite projects. Motion carried: 5/1/0/1 (No: Proulx; Absent: Newlands) Motion by Chair Perez, seconded by Commissioner Coelho requesting staff to agendize an update on Valley Street and Magnolia Avenue Complete Streets Project, Capital Improvement Projects Nos. 3904 and 6019. Motion carried: 6/0/0/1 (Absent: Newlands) ADJOURNMENT: Chair Perez adjourned the Traffic & Mobility Commission Special Meeting on Aug. 18, 2022, at 6:05 p.m. ___________________________ Eliane Paiva, Minutes Clerk