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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-11-05; Traffic Safety Commission; MinutesMINUTES Meeting of: TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Time of Meeting: 3:OO p.m. Date of Meeting: November 5, 1990 Place of Meeting: City Council Chambers COMMISSIONERS \ CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Fuller called the Meeting to order at 3:OO p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Fuller, Blake, Melideo, O'Day and Stachoviak. Absent: None. Staff Members Present: Bob Johnson, Traffic Engineer Sgt. Don Metcalf, Police Department APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the September 10, 1990, Meeting were approved as presented. The Minutes of the October 1, 1990, Meeting were approved as presented. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: There were no requests to address the Commission on a non- agenda item. OLD BUSINESS: None. NEW BUSINESS: A. State Street in Laauna Drive Vicinitv - Request to establish a NO PARKING zone on the westerly side of the street. Bob Johnson stated that the Western Family National Bank and several employees at the Trade Center Building have requested that parking be removed to improve circulation and sight distance. Mr. Johnson said there is sight restriction due to the alignment of State Street in the Laguna Drive vicinity. He said that the critical speed in a speed survey in March of 1989, was 33 m.p.h. There would be a prima facie speed of 25 m.p.h., and based on the prevailing speed, adequate stopping distance is not available. Mr. Johnson said the removal of on-street parking from the 750 feet length of street would result in the removal of between 12 to 17 parking spaces from the westerly side of State Street. Fuller B 1 ake Me1 ideo 0 ' Day Stachoviak Fuller Blake Me1 ideo 0 ' Day Stachoviak D s P - E E E E E E E E MINUTES November 5, 1990 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 2 NEW BUSINESS: (continued) Mr. Johnson showed slides of the subject area indicating the view restrictions. He said that parking is a problem in the downtown area, and several parking lots have been constructed to alleviate the problems, with no public parking lots in that particular area. The closest lot is at Grand and State. Mr. Johnson said that staff and the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee felt that to remove 12 to 17 parking spaces could present a problem to the merchants in that area and to the general public trying to shop in those businesses. He added that no accidents have been attributed to the driveways on the west side of the street. This item was discussed at the Housing and Redevelopment Advisory Committee Meeting and the Members were concerned with losing these parking spaces. They recommended that staff paint the curbs red on the northerly side of the driveways to improve the situation. However, this will not provide the sight distance that is required, as with a critical speed of 33 m.p.h., 250 feet is required to stop. The Traffic Safety Committee determined that painting the curb red would not provide the sight distance, and felt the only way to solve the problem would be to implement NO PARKING on the west side for 750 feet. Therefore, that is their recommendation. Commissioner Melideo inquired about the red curb that has been painted there for several years. Mr. Johnson said that staff would check the records to make certain that is there legally. There is ten feet of existing red curb in the area, and that will be researched by staff to determine the validity. Mr. Johnson said the Housing and Redevelopment Advisory Committee recommended that the property owners look at working out access rights and reciprocal parking agreements . In reply to query from Commissioner Stachoviak, Mr. Johnson listed the parking available for this area, stating there is some limited parking behind the businesses. Commissioner Blake asked how many parking spaces would be lost with red curb painting, and Mr. Johnson said that if the red curb were 20 feet to the north of each driveway, there would be one space lost by each driveway. There would also be some loss to the south, but not as much. There would be approximately four parking spaces eliminated. Commissioner O'Day asked whether all parking had to be eliminated to get the proper sight distance, and Mr. Johnson answered "yes 'I. Chairman Fuller opened the item for public testimony at 3:25 p.m. MINUTES \ \ NEW BUSINESS : (Continued) J. B. Yonce, 2737 Forest Park Lane, representing Culligan Soft Water, stated that abxt one-third of their employees occupy the parking spaces under discussion. These are the route and service people, and Mr. Yonce said that Culligan is certainly in favor of safety measures. However, he said that he felt the complaints were coming from people who were getting tired of Culligan employees parking in front of their businesses. He said he was not convinced of the safety issue--just that it was being used as the vehicle. Mr. Yonce said Culligan would be willing to cooperate in any way they could to solve the problem. He added that the accidents in that area are because of the high speed of vehicles and the intersections--and not the sight distance from the driveways. Mr. Yonce stated that the people parking in those spaces usually park at approximately 6:OO a.m., and stay there until 1:OO or 2:OO p.m. There is some parking in the back of the building, but the business has grown to the extent that parking on the street is required. Bill Livingston, 2501 State, Culligan Soft Water, reiterated what Mr. Yonce had said regarding their willingness to cooperate with the other merchants in that area to work out the parking problem. He said that painting some of the curbs red would help a little, and perhaps that could be done temporarily while the business people in the area try to come to an agreement on a permanent solution. Max Walker, 2541 State Street, stated he is a business man in that area and the parking is a problem. He admitted concern with the Culligan employees taking up most of the parking spaces for the entire day. He felt that a two-hour parking limit would help. Mr. Walker said he had been in that area €or six years, and the traffic speed is a problem. He felt that eliminating this many parking spaces would be very critical, and he repeated his recommendation for two- hour parking. Since no one else wished to speak on this matter, the public testimony was concluded at 3:35 p.m. Sgt. Metcalf of the Police Department stated that State Street and Laguna Drive are by-passes for the elderly, who have slower reaction time and higher accidents. There is a safety question about the line of sight to the south in that particular area. The Traffic Safety Commission rejected the recommendation of the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee to establish a NO PARKING zone on the westerly side of State Street beginning at Carlsbad Boulevard and extending southerly 750 feet, and took no action at this time. The Commission also requested that a Member of this Commission be appointed to the Downtown Master Plan Committee. Fuller Blake Me 1 ideo 0 ’ Day Stachoviak ,n MINUTES NEW BUSINESS: (continued) Commissioner O'Day left the Meeting at 3:53 p.m. Commissioner Blake stated he opposed the previous motion because the problem of sight distance still remains. He felt that painting some red zones might mitigate the problem somewhat. B. Washinaton Street, Elm Avenue to Grand Avenue - Request for a TWO-HOUR PARKING time limit on the easterly side of the street. Bob Johnson reported that there were 30 parking spaces on Washington Street that were incorporated into the parking lot of the Village Faire. Steve Densham requested two-hour parking to benefit the public going to Rotary Park. At the present time, the merchants and employees park in these spaces and stay there all day. Mr. Johnson stated that several studies have been made by staff and one-third to one-half of these spaces are occupied in excess of four hours. Mr. Johnson said that the Housing and Redevelopment Advisory Committee recommended two-hour parking, but did not determine the days or time limits. The Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee recommended not establishing a time limit on parking there at this time. It takes someone to enforce such a restriction and this would be difficult at this time. They felt the merchants in the area should talk among themselves and encourage their employees not to park there. There are several lots nearby that the employees could use where all-day parking is permitted. Sgt. Metcalf stated that there is one parking enforcement Officer in the City, and enforcement of a two-hour parking limit would be spotty at best. The Traffic Safety Commission adopted the recommendation of the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee as follows: Do not establish a parking time restriction at this time; Employers work with employees to minimize the problems, and reconsider this request at a later date after other viable methods of correcting the problem have been exhausted. REPORT FROM TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSIONERS: Commissioner Melideo reiterated her request to research the ten feet of red curb on State Street to determine the validity. REPORT FROM TRAFFIC ENGINEER: None. \ \ Fuller Blake Melideo Stachoviak MINUTES ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion, the Meeting of November 5, 1990, was adjourned at 4:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted, I&& Hayriett Babbitt Minutes Clerk November 5, 1990 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 5 COMMISSIONERS