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Home My WebLink About2023-01-03; Traffic and Mobility Commission; ; Reconfigure El Fuerte Street from Faraday Avenue to Loker Avenue Providing a More Balanced Street Cross SectionMeeting Date: Jan. 3, 2023 To: Traffic and Mobility Commission Staff Contact: Tom Frank, Transportation Director/ City Engineer Tom.Frank@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2766 Subject: District: Reconfigure El Fuerte Street from Faraday Avenue to Loker Avenue Providing a More Balanced Street Cross Section District 2 Recommended Action Support staff’s recommendation to the City Council to reconfigure El Fuerte Street from Faraday Avenue to Loker Avenue to provide a more balanced street cross section including one 10-foot vehicle lane in each direction plus a center median or two-way left turn lane, 8-foot bike lanes, and 9-foot buffers. Background On Aug. 23, 2022, the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services proclaimed a state of local emergency for bike, e-bike and traffic safety. On Aug. 30, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2022-214, ratifying the proclamation, which the City Council extended and ratified again on Oct. 18, 2022, with Resolution No. 2022-250. On Sept. 27, 2022, staff presented the Safer Streets Together draft plan including a menu of options for city council consideration. At the September 27 meeting, the City Council approved a motion to approve everything in Option A, and refer Options B and C to the Traffic & Mobility Commission and the Planning Commission for their input and bring the item back to the City Council. This project to reconfigure existing arterial streets was one of the five roadway segments identified in Option A that was approved by the City Council. The reconfigure arterial streets projects including vehicular lane reductions and seal the roadways to improve pavement condition as a part of our Pavement Management Program and enhance conditions for all users of the road. Reconfiguring roadways also reduces the long- term pavement maintenance costs and improves the line of sight for side street users approaching the arterial. This program would be phased, with the first phase including: •Carlsbad Boulevard – from Pine Avenue to southern border near La Costa Avenue •El Fuerte Street – from Faraday Avenue to tie into the existing one vehicular lane in each direction south of Rancho Pancho, excluding the segments approaching Loker Avenue to Bressi Ranch Way Jan. 3, 2023 Item #3 Page 1 of 6 • Grand Avenue – from Ocean Street to Hope Way. This would be the first phase to the Grand Avenue Promenade Project to provide short-term benefits until the ultimate promenade improvements are completed. • Poinsettia Lane – from Avenida Encinas to Carlsbad Boulevard • Cannon Road - Avenida Encinas to El Arbol Drive This report is focused only on the northern most section of El Fuerte Street between Faraday Avenue and Loker Avenue. The proposed project would replace the existing temporary traffic control measures that are in place to close one southbound lane (see Figure 1 below) by restriping the roadway to include one 10-foot vehicle lane in each direction plus a center median or two-way left turn lane, 8-foot bike lanes, and 9-foot buffers. A schematic cross- section of the proposed street configuration is provided in Exhibit 1. The striping on the roadway would maintain the existing vehicle lane configurations at the intersection with some minor modifications to better accommodate bicyclists. Figure 1 – El Fuerte Street South of Faraday Ave. (Southbound View) The remaining sections of El Fuerte Street south of Bressi Ranch Way will be addressed as part of a future phase considering more public outreach is required for the school street typology portion of El Fuerte Street. Traffic Operations and General Plan Consistency In accordance with the City of Carlsbad Mobility Element there are several applicable policies for this project including: • 3-G.1 Keep Carlsbad moving with livable streets that provide a safe, balanced, cost- effective, multi-modal transportation system (vehicles, pedestrians, bikes, transit), accommodating the mobility needs of all community members, including children, the elderly and the disabled. • 3-P.15 Evaluate methods and transportation facility improvements to promote biking, walking, safer street crossings, and attractive streetscapes. The City Council shall have the sole discretion to approve any such road diet or vehicle traffic calming Jan. 3, 2023 Item #3 Page 2 of 6 improvements that would reduce vehicle capacity to or below a level of service, or LOS, D. Staff evaluated vehicular LOS, using the current version of the Highway Capacity Manual based on the City of Carlsbad Service Volume Tables Report (dated June 2021). The proposed reconfigured roadways will not change the number of travel lanes at signalized intersections within the project limits. Based on the LOS analysis, the street segment would degrade from an existing LOS C to LOS D with the proposed industrial street reduction. Table 1 below summarizes the peak hour segment capacity and LOS for the AM and PM peak hours for the proposed project. Additionally, the existing peak hour segment capacity and LOS are included in the table. Table 1 – Existing and Proposed Project Roadway Segment Analysis ** Indicates LOS cannot be achieved during the peak hour. (e.g., signal spacing is too close to achieve smooth traffic flows even at low volumes). As shown in Table 1, with the proposed project, the roadway would operate at LOS D in both directions in the AM peak hour. During the PM peak hour with the proposed project, the southbound direction would operate at LOS D, while the northbound direction would continue to operate at LOS C. It should also be noted that the low peak hour volume thresholds for this segment of El Fuerte Street are attributed to the short distance between the traffic signals at Loker Avenue and Palomar Airport Road. The proposed project will not modify this short segment and would not change lane configuration at either intersection. Thus, this analysis presents an overly conservative assessment of the roadway segment LOS and staff is confident there will be no significant change to the delay along this segment of El Fuerte with the proposed project. Next Steps Following the Traffic and Mobility Commission’s review, staff will finalize the project construction plans, specifications and cost estimates and include the project in the bid package for the east-west corridors project. Staff will then bring a staff report to the City Council in January 2023, and recommend that the City Council approve the project plans and specifications and authorize the City Clerk to advertise for construction bids for the project. Staff will bring the completed striping plan to the Traffic and Mobility Commission for review in A B C D E Volume LOS Volume LOS 2/45/U NB ** **420 1362 1698 220 C 194 C 2/45/U SB ** **420 1362 1698 229 C 313 C 1/45/U NB ** **210 681 849 220 D 194 C 1/45/U SB ** **210 681 849 229 D 313 D Proposed 1-Lane Undivided Configuration El Fuerte Street Faraday Avenue to Palomar Airport Road 4,881 PM Peak Hour ADT Existing 2-Lane Undivided Configuration El Fuerte Street Faraday Avenue to Palomar Airport Road 4,881 Street Limits Lane/Posted Speed/Median Type Direction Peak Direction Capacity AM Peak Hour Jan. 3, 2023 Item #3 Page 3 of 6 the February meeting. If there are needed revisions, staff will either revise the bid documents or issue an addendum to the bid to include any striping plan changes. After the bidding process is complete, staff will return to the City Council with a recommendation to award a construction contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The construction is targeted to begin in April 2023. Exhibits 1. Schematic cross-section of the existing and proposed street configuration Jan. 3, 2023 Item #3 Page 4 of 6 El Fuerte Street Cross- Section Schematic using Streetmix Exhibit 1 Jan. 3, 2023 Item #3 Page 5 of 6 Jan. 3, 2023 Item #3 Page 6 of 6 Reconfigure El Fuerte Street from Faraday Avenue to Loker Avenue Providing a More Balanced Street Cross Section Tom Frank, Transportation Director/City Engineer January 3, 2023 RECOMMENDED ACTION Support staff’s recommendation to the City Council to reconfigure El Fuerte Street from Faraday Avenue to Loker Avenue to provide a more balanced street cross section including one 10-foot vehicle lane in each direction plus a center median or two-way left turn lane, 8-foot bike lanes, and 9-foot buffers. ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET 2 Complete Street Concepts •Wide straight streets promote high speeds •Speed correlates to fatality of collisions •City Mobility Element focuses on providing livable streets that improve mobility and connectivity for all users ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET 3 4 4 Reconfiguring Major Roads MID-TERM ACTION: WITHIN 12 MONTHS MID-TERM ACTION: WITHIN 12 MONTHS 5 Striping Approach Typically •10-foot vehicle lanes •8-foot bike lanes •Buffers next to door-zones and vehicles •Green paint reserved for conflict zones 6 ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET Reconfigure Arterials Benefits Road Yoga •Improves conditions for all users –balances lanes, reduces speeding, and more separation between different user speeds •Reduces the long-term maintenance costs •Improves the line of sight and access for side street users 7 ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET Reconfigure Arterials Approach •Typically, no change to number of vehicle lanes approaching intersections •Comply with Mobility Element 8 ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET 99 Existing Reconfigured Arterials •Avenida Encinas-Palomar Airport Road to Cannon Road •Carlsbad Blvd. –Beach Avenue to State Street •La Costa Avenue-From Fairway Lane to Rancho Santa Fe Road ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET Avenida Encinas-Palomar Airport Rd to Cannon Rd 10 ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET 1111 Existing Conditions ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET 1212 Existing Cross-section ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET 1313 Proposed Cross-section ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET 1414 Mobility Plan LOS ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET •Segments would degrade from LOS C to LOS D at times •Low peak hour volume thresholds are attributed to the short distance between the traffic signals •Project will not modify this short segment and will not change lane configuration at intersections •Analysis is overly conservative assessment and staff is confident there will be no significant change to the delay 1515 Existing conditions ITEM 3: RECONFIGURE EL FUERTE STREET Southbound segment has been operating with one vehicle lane for over one year with no observed congestion NEXT STEPS 16 ITEM 4: EAST WEST CORRIDORS •Finalize project plans and bid documents •City Council scheduled to approve plans January 24 2023 •Present final striping plans to Traffic and Mobility Commission in Feb 6 agenda •Target construction Spring 2023 RECOMMENDED ACTION Support staff’s recommendation to the City Council to reconfigure El Fuerte Street from Faraday Avenue to Loker Avenue to provide a more balanced street cross section including one 10-foot vehicle lane in each direction plus a center median or two-way left turn lane, 8-foot bike lanes, and 9-foot buffers. ITEM 4: EAST WEST CORRIDORS 17