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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-03-04; Traffic Safety Commission; MinutesMINUTES MEETING OF TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION DATE OF MEETING: March 4, 1996 (Regular Meeting) TIME OF MEETING: 3:OO p.m. PLACE OF MEETING: City Council Chambers CALL TO ORDER Chairman Courtney called the Meeting to order at 3:OO p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Courtney, Allen, Blake and Green. Commissioner Stachoviak arrived at 3:02 p.m. Absent: None. Staff Members Present: Bob Johnson, Traffic Engineer Sgt. Jim Byler APPROVAL OF MINUTES: On motion by Commissioner Blake, the Minutes of the Regular Meeting held February 5, 1996, were approved as presented. AYES: Courtney, Allen, Blake and Green ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: There were no requests to address the Commission. PREVIOUS BUSINESS: Bob Johnson reported that the Traffic Signal Evaluation Policy, that this Commission recommended for approval last month, was adopted by the City Council. NEW BUSINESS: A. Pedestrian Action Plan - Request for status report. Bob Johnson stated this status report was requested by Thelma Hayes. The last update was approximately one year ago, and some items have been completed. The update of the General Pian and the Circulation Element have been updated and the Commissioners have been provided those documents. March 4, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFITY COMMISSION Page 2 NEW BUSINESS: (Continued) Mr. Johnson said that pedestrian planning in Carlsbad is done not because there is a Pedestrian Action Plan, but because it is the right thing to do. He said that planning must be done for pedestrians and must be considered. Mr. Johnson said that all modes of traffic are considered, and all new projects that are contemplated must consider pedestrians and pedestrian access. He said that whether the planning is for trails, sidewalks or bus stops, pedestrians are very much in the focus in the present planning uses, and that is true in single family residential areas, multi- family dwellings or in industrial parks. Mr. Johnson stated the sidewalk construction program is going out to bid for sidewalks needed in the school areas, including Magnolia Elementary and Valley Junior High. He stated that in 1995, staff conducted an inventory of pedestrian ramps that are missing throughout the City and created an inventory and a report in January of 1996. The handicapped ramps and pedestrian ramps that are missing throughout the City are shown in that report. He said that this will help staff in planning for installation of those ramps in future planning. Mr. Johnson said that staff has requested TDA funding for pedestrian ramps and sidewalks at the La Costa and 1-5 interchange, and hopefully Carlsbad will get that funding. Mr. Johnson said that the 2" ADA pushbuttons have been installed at new signalized intersections, and they are much easier to push than the old style, and they also accommodate the handicapped pedestrians. He said the 1996-97 CIP contains funding to change 25 traffic signal locations to the 2" pushbutton. He added that all the new signals will have that larger pushbutton. Mr. Johnson stated that staff is working with NCTD to coordinate improvements to accommodate pedestrians when getting on or off of the transit or the buses, with both Planning and Engineering working with NCTD. Mr. Johnson said that the Parks & Recreation Schedule contains updates and general articles of interest, including pedestrians, and is an educational tool. He said that flyers and information are sent out to citizens when they call the City with an issue with regard to pedestrians or other issues. He said that traffic signal timing is adjusted when complaints are received about a specific location--and again, this is to make pedestrian crossing safer. In response to Commission query regarding signals that seem to stop main street traffic when there is no traffic on the intersecting streets, Mr. Johnson said that sometimes joggers press the pedestrian button, but then jog on across without waiting for the signal to change. He said that the complaints come in when the traffic on a main street has to stop. Usually, the drivers on the side streets expect to stop at a signal, due to the traffic on the main street. Mr. Johnson said that every year more sidewalks are installed around the schools, as this is the number one priority in Carlsbad. Thelma Hayes, 580 Laguna Drive, thanked the Commission for placing this item on the agenda, and added this is the 8th anniversary of the Carlsbad Pedestrian Action Plan. She added that it is also her birthday, and this was a wonderful birthday present eight years ago. Mrs. Hayes said that she hopes that by the 10th anniversary, when she becomes 80 years old, that one of the sidewalks most in need, besides the schools, on Madison Street, will become a reality. March 4, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFITY COMMISSION Page 3 NEW BUSINESS: (Continued) Mrs. Hayes stated that the schools are the number one priority, and she hopes that it will be established that within a half mile or mile radius of every school, safe sidewalks will be installed so every child could walk to school. She said she wonders how near the City is to that goal, and felt it would be advantageous next year to have a report of just how many sidewalks are needed to get that radius around each school. Mrs. Hayes thanked the Commission for their support and concern in this matter. This report required no action by the Commission. B. Intersection of Carlsbad Boulevard and Cypress Avenue - Request to investigate need to prohibit left turns. Bob Johnson stated that this item was requested by Mayor Lewis at a City Council meeting. He asked staff to investigate whether there is a need to prohibit eastbound to northbound left turns from Cypress Avenue onto Carlsbad Boulevard. Mr. Johnson stated that traffic data was gathered and is presented in the staff report. He showed a transparency of the area, including Mountain View Drive, which is 670 feet northerly of Cypress Avenue. He said that Cypress Avenue provides access to the Army and Navy Academy and is 30 feet in width, with a low traffic volume of 300 vehicles per day. He said the critical speed is 38 mph on Carlsbad Boulevard. The sight distance should be 440 feet, and there is more than that in both directions at this intersection, making the sight distance very good. He said the accident history would tell whether there was a problem at that intersection, and since 1991, there has only been one collision there and it was not of the type to require any restriction or change in the operation of the intersection. Mr. Johnson referred to the data included in the survey and stated the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee evaluated the intersection and based on the factors; low turning movements, very good sight distance, low collision history and gaps in the traffic to facilitate turning and the number of pedestrians using that intersection is very low with no complaints by them, they did not recommend any change in the intersection at this time. They also recommended that the Parks & Recreation Department keep the vegetation in the median well-trimmed to eliminate any sight problem due to the foliage. Commissioner Allen stated that he was concerned about the street going from two lanes to one lane right in that area and felt that, along with the vegetation in the median, made a left turn a little more dangerous. However, he felt that the disadvantages to shutting down left turns there would outweigh the advantages. Commissioner Blake stated he had no problem with the intersection as it is, and Chairman Courtney concurred. Commissioner Stachoviak stated that as long as the vegetation is kept low, he has no problem with the intersection as it is. Commissioner Green asked whether Sgt. Byler had any input on that area other than what was contained in the report. Sgt. Byler stated he did not, and had been on duty in that area and there were no problems with the left turn out of Cypress Avenue. March 4, 1996 TRAFFIC SAF€TY COMMISSION Page 4 NEW BUSINESS: (Continued) ACTION: On motion by Commissioner Green, the Traffic Safety Commission adopted the recommendation of the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee to make no changes or restrictions to turning movements at the Cypress Avenue/Carlsbad Boulevard intersection. AYES: Courtney, Allen, Blake, Green and Stachoviak C. Faradav Avenue, El Camino Real to Orion Street - Request to establish a prima facie speed limit. Mr. Johnson reported that this item was requested by Lt. Metcalf of the Police Department, and involves a 1,700 foot section of Faraday Avenue between El Camino Real and Orion Street. There has never been a speed limit set on this section of the street, and since the change in speed limit, allowing 65 miles per hour in unposted areas, this area needs to be posted. The segment of Faraday on the west side of El Camino Real to College Boulevard is posted at 40 mph, and is justified by the traffic survey. Mr. Johnson stated the traffic survey is included in the staff report, and it shows a critical speed of 40 mph, with 84% of the vehicles traveling within a 32 to 42 mph pace speed. He stated that the speed limit cannot be posted above the critical speed, because it would be a speed trap. There have been no speed-related collisions in that area. Mr. Johnson stated that the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee recommended a 40 mph prima facie speed limit on Faraday Avenue from El Camino Real to Orion Street. ACTION: On motion by Commissioner Blake, the Traffic Safety Commission adopted the recommendation of the Traffic Safety Committee to establish a 40 mph prima facie speed limit on Faraday Avenue from El Camino Real to Orion Street. AYES: Courtney, Allen, Blake, Green and Stachoviak REPORTS FROM TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSIONERS: Commissioner Green stated that when this Commission discussed the Procedures, it was the desire of the Commission to keep "Presiding Officer" instead of "Chairperson" and change the "their" to "his/her". He said that most of the text of the Procedures was changed, but the word "Chairperson" still appears in a number of places. Mr. Green said the Procedures were signed by Jim Courtney and staff, but the changes were not made throughout the documents. Mr. Johnson stated that it was his understanding that the Commission wanted the Procedures to read as they had last year, without making any of the recommended changes initiated by staff. He said if the Commission wants this item on the agenda, in order to discuss it, he will be happy to do so; or the Commission could wait until next year when this appears on the agenda. Commissioner Green stated he thought it was pretty clear that the discussion was intended to reflect the choice of "Presiding Officer" rather than "Chairperson". Mr. Johnson reiterated that the issue was left as it had been a year ago, and where staff suggested changing "Presiding Officer" to "Chairperson", it was changed back to "Presiding Officer". He suggested the Commission either change the wording or appoint a subcommittee to make recommendations and then present them to the Commission. -. March 4, 1996 TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Page 5 REPORTS FROM TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSIONERS: (Continued) Chairman Courtney stated that if the Commissioners had a problem with the language, he had made a motion at that time to have them take the document home and mark it up; however, that motion was killed due to a lack of a second. He said he was not in favor of wasting any more staff time or Commission time on this. At the time this was on the agenda, several motions were made and it was very confusing to everyone, but the Commission did not want to continue the item one month, but instead act on it at that meeting. Commissioner Green said that the document is not consistent and could be a problem in interpretation. Chairman Courtney stated he did not see any inconsistencies in the document. In reply to query, Mr. Johnson explained that this document is specifically for this Commission, as all other Commissions have their own procedures. REPORT FROM TRAFFIC ENGINEER: Bob Johnson stated that the April meeting will be on April 1, 1996. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion, the Regular Meeting of March 4, 1996, was adjourned at 358 p.m. Respectfully submitted, .? Minutes Clerk