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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-06-06; Traffic Safety Commission; MinutesMINUTES Meeting of: TRAFFIC SAFETY -1SSION Time of Meeting: 3:OO p.m. Date of Meeting: June 6, 1983 Place of Meeting: Council Chambers p'" COMMISSIONERS CALL TI ORDER: The meeting was called to order by ViceXhairman Wood at 3:Ol p.m. Vice-chairman wood welcomed the new Cdssioner, Pat O'Day, to the Traffic Safety Comnission. A. ROUCALL: Present: Vice-chairman wood, Comnissioners Jeff Punches, Mary Melideo, William Harkins and Pat O'Day. Absent: None. Also present were: Ron Beckman, Assistant City Manager, Steve Tisdale, Engineering Department Dr. Me1 Meilach, 2018 Saliente Cathy Regan, 7728 Palacio Theresa Bean, 2585 Jefferson Jill Duncan, 1728 Catalpa Dione Kaebisch, 2790 Jefferson Gunther Rostock, 2475 Jefferson Dan Goldstein, 2501 Navarra Maury Goosenberg, 2404 La Costa Avenue Andre Williams, 2408 La Costa Avenue C. Schmaltz, 7887 Falda Place Ann Kulchin, Council Me&r Developmntal Services B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the April 4, 1983, meeting were approved as presented. ViceXhainnan Wood requested the Minutes be reduced from legal size to 8 1/2 by 11 size when they are reproduced. C. ACTION ITEMS: 1. Election of Chairperson By unanimous vote, the Comission elected Jeff Punches Chairman of the Traffic Safety Cdssion. By unanimous vote, the Comnission elected Robert Wood Vice-chairman. 2. La Costa Avenue - speeding cars & accidents Chairman Punches read the staff report on this item. Steve Tisdale smrized charts that were available for the Comnission to study. In 1980, there were 14 accidents in this area; 1981, there were 15; and in 1982, there were 28. damage, etc. Comnissioner Wood asked haw many accidents were because of speeding, and Mr. Tisdale answered 7 out of the 14 were speeding; 5 of the 15; and 5 of the 28 were caused by speeding. The charts also shawed the amount of property wood Melideo Punches Harkins O'Day _- MINUTES June 6, 1983 Page 2 \ COMMISSIONERS Fbn Beckman, Assistant City Manager, stated the maps had been prepared within the last two weeks to show the location and type of accidents to see if there were any discernable pattern. hour, which is as far as the City can stretch it and use radar to enforce the speed limit. The speed limit is 45 miles per Police Chief Jimno stated the Police Department had increased their enforcement in that area. They had looked at the citations issued for that area, and 146 speeding violations were issued for the whole stretch of road from Rancho Santa Fe to El Cdno for a year. For the time involved and traffic, it was not significant. in the area the last mnth or so, and that has helped. A developer will be widening Rancho Santa Fe and a signal will be installed, both of which will help solve the problem. timetable on that. industry that would be doing the work, so there is nothing definite at the present time. There has been an additional traffic unit Comissioner Wood asked whether there is a Ron Beckman answered it is private Chairman Punches asked Mr. Goldstein whether he wished to address the Cdssion. Mr. Dan Goldstein, 2501 Navarra, spoke to the Comnission, stating the traffic situation in that area is very dangerous. The near misses that occur all the time are extremely upsetting. street is excessive. Also, the banking of the street doesn't seem to be correct. Mr. Goldstein continued, describing the blind curves, sloping roadway and general dangers of the road. limit was too high and should be lowered. The speeding on the He felt the 45 mph speed Ron Beckman explained the State Vehicle Code states the City, in order to be able to enforce the speed laws with radar, mst have a speed survey done on a street; clock the average speeds of cars driving in a given area and plot them. Whatever the speed is, the 85th percentile is the speed at which the speed limit can be set. The fact that a street is an arterial has nothing to do with the setting of the speed limit. speed limit is too low, the courts will throw out any ticket issued for speeding. was done June 1, 1983. If the The survey on this area Police Chief Jimno confirmed what Mr. Beckman stated and agreed that 45 nph speed limit was stretching the limit downward as far as the City could safely go. Mr. Maury Goosenberg, 2404 La Costa Avenue, addressed the Comnission, confirming what Mr.Goldstein said. stated he had driven over this area, first at 40 nph, then 45, 50, 55 and finally 60 nph, and was passed by every vehicle. He expressed deep concern over the excessively high speeds on this road. expressed concern over the heavy trucks using this road and wondered if this could be prohibited. He also explained that pulling out of the driveways is very threatening. make La Costa a "no through" avenue for trucks, unless making a delivery, and no double bottoms under any circumstances. He requested stop signs on La Costa at the intersections between Rancho Santa Fe and El Camino Real. He felt the street should be marked at many intervals-with the speed limit painted on the streets. He He also Mr. Goosenberg suggested the Comission MINUTES June 6, 1983 Page 3 COMMISSIONERS Mr. Goosenberg asked for mre Police cars to be sent to that area, as that would help slow traffic. Mr, Andre William, 2408 La Costa Avenue, addressed the Cornnission, confirming what the first two witnesses had stated. He also stated the statistics used were of no value as far as he was concerned. they hired a special policeman to write tickets there, they could pay his salary from that mney, although he had been informed the money would go back into General Fund. discriminated against. should be designated as a residential street. there is a day school on the street, and the speed should be lowered for that area. Mr. William also stated the street was not banked properly. for one of the Comnissioners to go up there and watch the speeding. He added that if He felt the higher income people were being Mr. Williams felt this street Also, He asked Ron Beckman explained there are standards for putting up stop signs put out by CalTrans and the State of California. The City is not ignoring the situation, but stop signs cannot be indiscriminately installed, for that causes more problems. false sense of security to the peaple aware of the signs, and allows serious accidents to happen. Sometimes, this gives a The suggestion of 25 qh in the school area was discussed and staff will investigate whether this can be done in that area. Chief Jimno stated they would patrol the area mre and try to erect any signs legally allowable. that in the traffic grant request they are asking for mre people to do just what this problem presents. speed limit cannot be pushed down any further and be enforceable. As far as the stop signs, they seldom solve the problem-just change the type of accidents, He really felt the key to the problem was to step up the enforcement of the speed limit as mch as possible. Comnissioner Melideo stated it was an area of high tourist traffic, and eventually the City could become liable in some way. He stated The Comnissioner Harkins stated that mst people are reasonable and try to obey the laws, and some problem have to be lived with for the time being. Chief Jho stated he would get copies of the grant for the Cornnissioners. The Comnissioners agreed that mre street and sign markings of speed limit would help. Also, if any slowing signs can be used legally, to erect them. Mr. Beckman stated staff would explore anything they could do to help the problem, and report back to the Comnission next mnth and send a copy of the report to Mr, Goldstein. MINUTES June 6, 1983 Page 4 Y COMMISSIONERS D. STAFFREPORTS: 1. Joggers on Carlsbad Boulevard Chairman Punches read the staff report on this item. Ron Beckman stated this had been discussed at the Comnittee meeting and the Comnittee would welcome any suggestions on haw to educate the joggers on traffic safety. Chief Jho stated he was going to try to get Julie Moss to make a public statement and try to get it into the newspaper in a spot where the joggers would read it. The main thing, he felt, was to continue to try to educate the public on the need for safety. 2. Jefferson & Laguna - request for four-way STOP Chairman Punches read the staff report on this item. Mrs. Kaebisch, 2790 Jefferson, addressed the Comnission, and presented another petition to the Comnission, making a total of 288 signatures. are handicapped people trying to cross Jefferson, two nursery schools on Jefferson, and people trying to come out of driveways. the fast driving on the street and the need for the stop signs to slow the traffic. There She expressed concern about Chief Jho stated in that section the traffic doesn't show speed as the primary cause of accidents. Further north, speed is a problem, near Las Flores. they are aware there is a problem and they are working on the problem by having a patrol officer there to give tickets, but a four-way stop sign is not the answer to the problem. He said Mrs. Kaebisch stated she would hate to see a child injured before something is done. should be a crosswalk there, since it is a half a mile to a crosswalk. She stated there Mr. Beckman stated that a crosswalk need not be marked on the street, and sometimes that gives a sense of false security to the pedestrian. He further stated a four-way stop sign would not solve the problem, but a signal would. The only problem is to get the mney for the signal. There is a list, and this request could be put on the list, but there is no guarantee as to when the signal would be put in. Comnissioner Melideo asked why there was no mney there to put in the signal, and Mr. Beckman answered these signals are installed out of public facilities fund, and since there is little building going on, there is little mney going into the fund at the present time. request could be made to the City Council to add this signal to the list. The Comnissioners agreed a four- way stop sign was not the proper solution to this problem. Also, at the last survey, the corner did not meet the warrants €or a four-way stop sign. Mr. Beckman stated this The Comnission conEirmed the denial for a four-way stop sign, finding this would not resolve the problem, as this is not a speed-regulating device. Further, it muld create mre problems than it would solve. wood Me1 ideo Punches Harkins O'Day MINUTES June 6, 1983 "he Codssion voted to reamend to the City Council that the Council study the feasibility of putting a traffic signal at the intersection of Jefferson and Laguna as soon as possible. 3. kvante & millo way - request for pedestrian signal and sidewalks Chairman Punches read the staff report on this item. Mr. Schmaltz stated he did not wish to speak to the Comnission. Dr. Me1 Meilach, 2018 Saliente, addressed the Codssion, stating the meeting had been very informative, and they had learned a great deal by listening to the item on the agenda. certain rules and cannot grant requests without due consideration. Dr. Meilach stated sidewalks are needed to keep the children from walking in the street to the school bus stop. mey now realize the Conmission mst abide by Ron Beckman reported the Coordinating Codttee discussed this matter and will try to get the praperty owners to put sidewalks in. Daon Corporation is responsible for part of the area and Shapell Industries will be asked to install sidewalks on a part of the street. homeowners involved, also. Mike Holzmiller, Land Use Planning Manager, has been looking into this, and will mntact Shapell about installing the sidewalks. There are some Dr. Meilach asked whether there could be a slow down of the traffic. Chief Jimno suggested a caution sign-children walking, or something similar. Dr. Meilach and Mrs. Regan asked for some "T" intersection signs to be installed. The Comnission voted to research into the school bus sign possibility, and if possible, install it as quickly as possible, and also curve ahead sign be installed. addition, any sign that is legal and appropriate for marking that area to eliminate the traffic problem. Conmission also denied the installation of a pedestrian signal, as recomnended by the Coordinating Comnittee. In The Ron Beckman stated that the City mst use approved traffic control devices, so the City is legally mnstrained from being too innovative. The Conmissioners expressed a desire to have City maps to use in locating the various sites, and Mr. Beckman promised to give copies of the maps used by the City to the Comnissioners. 4. Eureka Place - request for ONE-WAY street Chairman Punches read the Staff Reprt and it was requested to trail this item until later in the meeting and go on to Item #5 to allow for public input. 5. and private) Standards for painting red curb at driveways (public wood Melideo Punches Harkins O'Day wad Melideo Punches Harkins 0' Day MINUTES June 6, 1983 Page 6 \\\\\ \% ' COMMISSIONERS Y The Staff Report was read by Chairman Punches. Mrs. Theresa Bean, 2585 Jefferson, addressed the Comnission, stating there is a blind driveway there, and it is extremely dangerous. Mr. Beckman stated the inpact on on-street parking, maintenance and operating budget is the main issue. Once a curb is painted red, it rmst be maintained by the City. He rewrted the staff is to come up with remendations on standards on how these requests are to be dealt with and bring them back to the Comnittee and the Comnission. The Comnission voted to support staff's position on this matter. The Conmission resumed the discussion on Item #4-Eureka Place - request for ONE-WY street. Chief Jho reported one-way streets are frowned upon unless they are absolutely necessary. continue to be one-way during special events. This street will The Comnission voted to support staff and Comnittee action on this matter. OFF-AGENIX ITEM: Comnissioner Harkins stated he had received four phone calls from irate citizens regarding the changes in the traffic pattern at the Post Office. Chief Jbo agreed there is a problem getting to the mail boxes and felt they should be remved from the lot. The Comnissioners questioned why the exit was not cut through as proposed and wanted a report on the entire traffic situation. Chaim Punches stated the Cdssion requests staff to investigate the circulation pattern at the Post Office and report back. of amplaints to the Comnissioners from concerned citizens. This request mmes as a result 6. street, request for NO PARKING Monroe Street between Elm & Hosp, east side of This was an informational item only. 7. sign Carlsbad Boulevard & State Street - request for STOP Ron Beckman reported staff said this was unnecessary. There is no reason to have a stop sign at this spot. Codssioner Harkins reported he was part of Comnission that came up with the design of this intersection, and a lot of time was spent on this configuration. to be the best solution possible and to be working well. It seems wood Melideo Punches Harkins O'Day wood Melideo Punches Harkins O'Day ,. : 'r .. June 6, 1983 MINUTES Page 7 fie Comnission voted to support the Comnittee's action on this item. Chairman Punches announced he would like to hold Traffic Safety Comnission meetings each month, and if there are no Agenda Item, there would be an educational presentation. Ron Beckman stated he and the Coordinating Codttee want feedback from the Comnissioners as to their desires for disseminating information to the Comnission. By proper mtion, the meeting was adjourned at 5:34 p.m. Respectfully s Harriett Babbitt Minutes Clerk y \\ \ COMMISSIONERS wood Me1 ideo Punches Harkins O'Day