Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-08-06; Traffic Safety Commission; MinutesMINUTES MEETING OF: DATE OF MEETING: TIME OF MEETING: PLACE OF MEETING: TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION August 6,2007 (Regular Meeting) 3:00 p.m. City Council Chambers CALL TO ORDER: Chair Roney called the Meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. Chair Roney introduced and welcomed Jack Gumming, the new Traffic Safety Commissioner. ROLL CALL: Present: Chair Guy Roney Vice-Chair Gordon Cress Commissioner Steve Dorsey Commissioner Susan Gardner Commissioner Jack Gumming Absent: Staff Members Present: None Robert Johnson, City Engineer Jim Murray, Associate Engineer, Transportation Brandon Miles, Associate Engineer, Transportation Lt. Don Rawson, Carlsbad Police Department Jim Weigand, Fire Marshal APPROVAL OF MINUTES: July 2,2007 ACTION: VOTE: AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: Motion by Vice-Chair Cress, and duly seconded by Commissioner Dorsey, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting on July 2,2007 as presented. 3-0-2 Roney, Cress, Dorsey None Gardner, Cumming August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 2 ITEM 4 - ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None. ITEM 5 - PREVIOUS BUSINESS: Bob Johnson, City Engineer, reported that on August 7, 2007 based on a previous action and recommendation by the Traffic Safety Commission, the City Council will consider introducing ordinances to establish a prima facie speed limit on Palmer Way and Impala Drive. At the August 13,2007 City Council meeting, the City Council will consider introducing ordinances to establish stop signs on Janis Way where it intersects Donna Drive, and will consider introducing an ordinance to establish a prima facie speed limit on Town Garden Road. ITEM 6 - NEW BUSINESS: ITEM 6A: Approve Donna Drive as an "exception" to the eligibility criteria in accordance with the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program (CRTMP) for a street to be considered for study in Phase II and ultimately Phase III of the Program. Mr. Johnson informed the Commission that the staff report will be presented by Associate Engineer, Jim Murray. Mr. Murray mentioned that this item is a recommendation to approve Donna Drive as an "exception" to the eligibility criteria in accordance with the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program (CRTMP) for a street to be considered for study in Phase II and ultimately Phase III of the Program. In May 2001, City Council approved the CRTMP in a document that has the City's policies and procedures on how to address speeding in residential neighborhoods. A group of residents on Donna Drive have expressed their concerns to staff regarding speeding on Donna Drive. Staff has been working with these residents per Phase I of the document. Staff has exhausted Phase I measures in the document, and the residents have asked staff if they can move to Phase II. In order to move to Phase II, there are minimum qualifying criteria to be met. Each of the seven eligibility criteria must be met for a street to be considered for further processing through the CRTMP. Donna Drive meets six of the seven eligibility criteria. Item 4 of the criteria is not being met, which is the reason this item is being presented today. Mr. Murray informed the Commissioners that Item 4 states that the Fire Chief determines that the candidate street is not a primary emergency response route and sends a memorandum to the City Traffic Engineer. For Donna Drive, however, the Fire Department determined that the street is a primary emergency response route, resulting in all seven criteria not being met. However, on a case- August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 3 by-case basis, the City Traffic Engineer may determine exceptions. In accordance with the CRTMP, a street being considered as an exception must be approved by the Traffic Safety Commission. Mr. Murray indicated that he met with Fire Marshal Weigand to discuss Donna Drive being considered a primary emergency response route, and the Fire Department's main issue that they cannot and will not support any traffic calming measures that would significantly reduce their emergency response time. After a review of Phase II and Phase III "Tools in the Tool Box" with the Fire Marshal, staff determined that with proper design and Fire Department input and review, most of Phase II and III methods could be considered, subject to fire truck access and circulation being considered in the design. The Fire Department's determination does not preclude Donna Drive from being considered as an exception. Because most of the traffic calming measures could be considered for use, provided they are designed for fire truck access and circulation, it is staffs recommendation that it is appropriate that Donna Drive be deemed an "exception," and be allowed to move into Phase II. Mr. Murray stated that the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee recommends that Donna Drive be approved as an "exception" and that it be processed in the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program as if it met all qualifying criteria. DISCUSSION: Commissioner Dorsey asked Mr. Murray when he said it "could be designed" it doesn't necessarily mean that they would be designed, would it? Mr. Murray answered that in order for the Fire Department to agree to the designs, they would be involved in the design of the traffic calming measures. If a particular traffic calming methodology couldn't be designed to provide fire truck access and circulation, the Fire Department wouldn't approve it. Commissioner Dorsey asked when this actually goes into implementation, assuming the Commission accepts the recommendations, would the Fire Department have veto approval over specific traffic calming measures. Mr. Murray replied that the Fire Department would be involved in the design process. If they weren't in agreement with it, staff wouldn't go forward with it. Vice-Chair Cress asked if it the Traffic Safety Commission and TSCC would review the issue like they have now? August 6, 2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 4 Mr. Murray said it would be more City staff working with the neighborhood in the design phase of Phase II and III of the program. That is when staff would be looking at the type of traffic calming measures to consider. That's when staff would work with the Fire Department. Mr. Johnson stated that the Fire Department in essence can veto a proposal. That would be sorted out at the City Council level if it had to go to that level. The presumption is that if the Fire Department has concern with a particular traffic calming measure, there would be an alternative measure that could be considered and designed into the street. The action today is to determine the exception. There are a number of steps that have to take place before staff gets into design, including determination of the project area of influence. The steps are all contained in the CRTMP. Again, the presumption is that eventually Donna Drive would move into the design phase and City staff would work very closely with the Fire Marshal and the Fire Department to determine the appropriate traffic calming measures to place on Donna Drive. Commissioner Dorsey asked Fire Marshal Weigand if the Fire Department was satisfied to go forward with the next phase. Fire Marshal Weigand replied that the Fire Department firmly believes in trying to have better, safer, and easier streets to ride bikes on and to walk on. They understand the concerns of the residents in the community. They try to look at the larger picture of all the people on the other streets that they have to provide emergency response service to. One of the things that necessitates this is that unlike communities that he worked in Northern California, some of the things that are in their Phase I - things as simple as putting a line down the center of the street - require Phase II determination in order to be able to do it. So there are some very simple things that absolutely won't create any problems for the Fire Department at all, but they can't explore it until this variance is approved by the Commission. Chair Roney asked Fire Marshal Weigand if he was going to be working with staff and that any issues or anything pertaining to fire service and safety will all be maintained for the people that live along Donna Drive. Fire Marshal Weigand affirmed not only for the people that live along Donna Drive, but for the people who live along the other streets that aren't expressing a lot of concern about what is happening on Donna Drive and who might have their response time reduced by anything they did. The Fire Department will be working hand in hand with City staff to make sure response times are maintained. Commissioner Gumming stated that his concern arises because of the Fire Department criterion is part of Phase I. Once an exception is approved, he is not sure that the issue returns to the August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 5 Commission. He infers from what Mr. Murray said that it does not return to the Traffic Safety Commission, which is the primary time when the residents get to have a say in it. The Fire Department in their e-mail wrote that they oppose traffic calming activities that would significantly reduce their response times, and the assumption is staff working with the Fire Department that any traffic calming that is introduced into Donna Drive will not interfere with response times. He asked if that was a correct understanding. Fire Marshal Weigand answered that Commissioner Gumming was correct, It is the Fire Department's intent to try and find some method that will reduce the speed on the street, be acceptable to the members of the community that live on Donna Drive, and still allow the Fire Department to respond in an appropriate time. Commissioner Gumming asked if it would be within the Traffic Safety Commission's pervue to approve this conditional on the design phase returning to the Commission for their review before it moves forward. Mr. Johnson explained that there are several opportunities for the Commission to review what is being proposed on a particular street, not just Donna Drive. The Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program that was approved by City Council. The steps in the document are very clear as to when the Commission interacts on a particular item. The development of traffic calming measures on Donna Drive, if it gets into the design phase, includes not only the Fire Department, but it involves the residents. The residents get together and develop a committee that works with staff. Once there is a design that looks like it is workable to City staff, including the Fire Marshal and Fire Department and the residents' subcommittee, then that goes out to the broader community that are impacted by the potential of the traffic calming measures. This is called the project area of influence. Residents have to vote on the design. So there is significant interaction throughout the process with the community and City staff, and at the appropriate times that are outlined in the CRTMP when it does return to the Traffic Safety Commission. Staff is following the steps that the City Council approved and the steps they indicated to staff that will be followed in order to process traffic calming in the City of Carlsbad. Commissioner Gumming asked if this exception is approved today, once the design phase is completed and the Fire Department's concerns are alleviated, will it be returning to the Traffic Safety Commission. Mr. Johnson stated yes, there will be several opportunities throughout the program when the matter comes back to the Traffic Safety Commission. August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 6 Public Testimony; Chair Roney called for Public Testimony. Chuck Tyson, 2071 Janis Way, Carlsbad, stated that his home is on the corner of Janis Way and Donna Drive, along side of the "Double Donna Dips." His home office looks out onto the intersection, so he has a good position to see the activity at this intersection. He has noticed local teenagers revving up their car engines and approaching the intersection at excessive speeds and becoming airborne as they are flying through the air down the street. This is a dangerous situation. He sees cars going airborne two to three times per week. It is worse on the weekends and during the summer. The laws of probability say that a tragedy will occur sooner or later. He feels he is giving a birds-eye view of what is going on at that intersection during the day. He hopes that the Commission will take action quickly before something really tragic happens. John Stenzel, 3 322 Donna Drive, Carlsbad, stated that he lives in the "trophy run," a straight piece of road that is attractive to young speeding drivers. In addition to teens, there are couriers and soccer moms who all see this street as their own emergency response route as well as the Fire Department. Dangerous speeds are putting lives in peril. Marlys Vosburgh, 3620 Donna Drive, Carlsbad, stated that the change for Donna Drive is that it is now a thoroughfare for drivers to get from one side of town to the other. Posted speed limits are broken daily and hourly and are not being enforced. Children and adult drivers — moms, dads and kids - have no regard for the speed limit or the safety of the pedestrians. The speed limit is posted, but it is not enforced. Children and parents travel in excess of 50-60 miles per hour coming down Chestnut. They careen around the corner on Donna Drive and they are out of control. Neighbors hedges are being plowed into, lawns are driven on, and mailboxes are being mowed down. Children walking to and from school have had to jump out of the way of speeding vehicles or they would be mowed down. She has witnessed drivers speeding past other cars on quiet streets in order to get ahead of the other guy, trying to find a place to park or to get their child to school ahead of them. There are possible head on collisions. There are dips on Donna Drive. It is a favorite for kids to accelerate in speed and careen around corners. They go faster and faster until they hit the dips and become literally airborne. When she was walking on Donna Drive with her daughter in the afternoon, they heard a truck coming, and it zoomed past them and he hit the dip and became airborne. They screamed and jumped out of the way and as they did that, a neighbor said they had already called the police, he was going to jump in his car and follow the truck to keep the police informed. He followed him into a Von's parking lot and lost him. The police had not contacted him or investigated it. The police did nothing. She wanted to know what it was going to take - a child's life? An adult's life? It is out of control and wants everyone to think carefully about how to handle this. August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 7 Reese Harris, 3372 Donna Drive, Carlsbad, stated that as evidence by the number of residents that have turned out to this meeting, this issue has touched a nerve. It has been astounding to him how the traffic occurs and how fast people get going on Donna Drive. A couple of nights ago a Cadillac floored it down Donna Drive going maybe 70 miles per hour. It is mind-boggling. There has been a death of a child on Donna Drive a number of years ago. On the Donna Dips, he was walking with his wife and witnessed a jeep with four teens in it and it went up on its front bumper and literally scrapped along its front bumper with sparks flying and he thought if that continued, a real tragedy would occur. He feels the solution is simple and a solution will be found to work for everybody. Commissioner Gardner announced that she needed to step down since she has a potential conflict of interest due to the proximity of her home and she needed to recuse herself from this hearing. Mary Massery, 3591 Donna Drive, Carlsbad, stated that she is astonished at the speed at which drivers are traversing. She has six children in the neighborhood. She is a registered nurse and it is heart wrenching when you care for a child who comes into the emergency room who has been hit by a car on a street like Donna Drive. You have to look at the parents. When you go home you bring it home with you, and hug your own child and pray to God it won't happen to them. She was sure the Police Department and Fire Department understand. She is asking the Commission to bring it to a place where they don't have to worry about that. Also, a portion of Donna Drive does not have sidewalks so children have to walk on the road and there are times where they have to jump out of the way of vehicles. Tom Flanagan, 3331 Donna Drive, Carlsbad, stated that he is the one who started this request. He has lived on Donna Drive for six years. It is as bad as everyone has been saying. He bought his home on a Sunday in August. His dog got hit by a vehicle last year and he wants the City to do something. Cars travel at 50-60 miles per hour. He is requesting it be a high priority. Robert Frazee, 3341 Donna Drive, Carlsbad stated that he has lived on Donna Drive for 40 years. He has watched the growth. A five year old was killed on Donna Drive by a student years ago. It was very traumatic. You take your life into your own hands. Referring to the overhead, Donna Drive is a long street. Two families recently left who had small children. They feared for their children's lives. They don't have all the answers. They just ask that some action be taken. A line down the street. Additional stop signs. Traffic calming like in Oceanside. They're far ahead of us. It works well for them. Day in and day out. There was a child killed, a dog, a cat, a fire hydrant - all taken out. There is drag racing down the street, two abreast, exceeding speeds over 60 mph. There are other students walking. There needs to be an exception to the rule. Kids are not the total problem. His observation is that the majority of the adults speeding are young mothers - soccer moms - in SUV's speeding down street. He once pretended to be taking pictures of speeding cars. One mother turned around and came back, shouting at him and challenged him. They don't have all of the answers. They're just asking the staff that some action be taken. August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 8 Seeing no others to testify, Chair Roney closed Public Testimony. DISCUSSION: Chair Roney asked what the timeline was for Phase II and if there were any interim steps that could be taken. Mr. Murray stated that staff has initiated a number of things during Phase I, such as install speed limit signs, the pavement legends. There has been police presence and the placement of the speed sentry, a radar monitoring device. If the Commission approves the exception today, then staff will establish the project area of influence (PAOI). Once that is accomplished, then staff turns to the neighborhood representatives and they have to get a simple majority of the people in the PAOI to sign. In the interim, other than any additional enforcement, Phase I has pretty much been exhausted. The residents who want to continue with the neighborhood traffic monitoring program can write down the license plate number of the vehicle they observe to be speeding and can call the Police Department. The Police Department will send a letter to the registered owner. This action today is needed in order for them to move from Phase I to Phase II. Vice-Chair Cress asked how long of a time interval for the Phase II. What does that normally encompass? Are we talking 30 days, 6 months? What are we talking about? Mr. Murray responded that it depends on how active the neighborhood is in pursuing it. Once staff has determined the project area of influence, they turn it over to the residents to obtain signatures on the petition. Vice-Chair Cress mentioned that the neighborhood is pretty active. Mr. Murray agreed. Once the residents turn the petition back to staff, staff will do a points assessment to determine, per criteria in the CRTMP, where Donna Drive is points wise. Every November or December, streets that are traffic calming candidates are brought to the Traffic Safety Commission with a recommended point's assignment. Then it goes to City Council. The City Council either approves the list or modifies it, and then the issue about funding comes up. Vice-Chair Cress asked if they get it in the next 30 days, would the Commission be getting that as part of this November's agenda, or would that be too soon? August 6, 2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 9 Mr. Murray stated that if within the next 30 days, residents were to bring staff a petition signed by a simple majority or greater of those living in the project area of influence, staff would be coming back to the Commission in November or December. Vice-Chair Cress asked Lt. Rawson if they had made any effort to get a police presence at the subject area in the morning and evening rush hours to do some enforcement of the 25 mile per hour speed limit? Lt. Rawson stated that they have an officer assigned around the high school and are working with the community on a lot of the things discussed today. They have had officers out there more frequently, normally during school hours, although not as much during the summer. However, the Police Department has been out there helping. They are never there enough and are never there when the really bad guys come through. MOTION: ACTION: Motion by Vice-Chair Cress, and duly seconded by Commissioner Dorsey, to approve Donna Drive as an "exception" to the eligibility criteria and that it be processed in the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program as if it met all qualifying criteria. VOTE: 4-0 AYES: Roney, Cress, Dorsey, Gumming NOES: None ABSENT: Gardner ITEM 6B: Establish a No Parking zone on both sides of Salk Avenue from College Boulevard to Fermi Court. Mr. Johnson informed the Commission that the staff report will be presented by Associate Engineer, Brandon Miles. Mr. Miles began by saying that the requested action was initiated by Seth Schulberg to establish a No Parking zone on both sides of Salk Avenue from College Boulevard to Fermi Court. Mr. Schulberg represents the Carlsbad Research Center Owners' Association. Referring to Exhibit 1, Mr. Miles indicated that Salk Avenue connects College Boulevard and El Camino Real. The new section of Salk Avenue has a width of 52 feet curb-to-curb, a length of about 790 feet (0.15 mile), and currently does not have a posted speed limit. It was just recently constructed and will serve the new industrial park. August 6, 2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 10 At the intersection of Fermi Court and Salk Avenue, with the recent road extension, a stop sign was installed on Fermi Court, and painted crosswalks were added at the pedestrian ramps in both the east/west and north/south directions. A pedestrian crossing sign has been installed on Salk Avenue on the eastbound approach to Fermi Court to give notice to drivers of the pedestrian crossing location. Parking is provided on both sides of Salk Avenue and Fermi Court except in the red curb. Traffic counts were collected at two locations on Salk Avenue on July 10, 2007 that verify that significantly more drivers utilize Salk Avenue between College Boulevard and Fermi Court than from Fermi Court to El Camino Real. The volume imbalance is expected to change after buildings located on the newer segment of Salk Avenue become occupied. Mr. Miles said that upon receipt of the letter from Mr. Schulberg, staff began an informal survey of parked vehicles on Salk Avenue. That survey resulted in the observance that the maximum amount of vehicles parked on Salk Avenue was 26 vehicles on a weekday. Weekend counts were taken and minimal vehicles were observed parked at that time. Based upon the review by staff of the tenant improvement plans for each business located on Fermi Court, there are more off-street parking spaces provided than are required for the industrial lots on Fermi Court. However, most of the industrial lots were full during staff observation times. In years past, staff has received a number of requests from the property owners to add to or maintain the existing public on-street parking to accommodate the industrial lost parking overflow. The only time staff has removed parking in those areas is due to corner sight limitations to enhance the visibility or by a red curb in front of fire hydrants. In the future, to accommodate a significant traffic volume increase on Salk Avenue, property owners will be required to install a traffic signal at the College Boulevard and Salk Avenue intersection. At this time, some parking will be removed on Salk Avenue to accommodate the dual left turn lanes to be constructed on College Boulevard. This should take place within the next two years or so. The accident history on Salk Avenue has been one traffic collision in the past five years and no traffic collisions on Fermi Court. The Traffic Safety Coordinating committee recommends that the request to establish a No Parking zone on both sides of Salk Avenue from College Boulevard to Fermi Court be denied. Staff further recommends monitoring of Salk Avenue and should safety be compromised, a reconsideration of a parking restriction could be initiated. DISCUSSION: Vice-Chair Cress stated that he drove to the area to check out the parking lots three times during the week. Two times on Monday through Thursday the parking lots were jammed. There were no spaces available. There were approximately 20 vehicles parked along Salk Avenue. He feels that street parking needs to be available to the public along Salk Avenue because there is obviously not enough parking inside the lot. Furthermore, he wondered why there was a need for No Parking going east from Fermi Court on the south side where a driveway goes into some kind of a maintenance yard. Why can't that be available for parking on both sides of the street up to there? He'd like to see more parking along Salk Avenue because there obviously isn't enough parking in the parking lot there. August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 11 Mr. Miles commented that when the improvement plans were originally submitted to the City for the new segment of Salk Avenue east of Fermi Court, staff removed parking from that entire segment due to the geometry of the roadway. Vice-Chair Cress said he really felt bad for the people who work there and have to visit them, because except for Friday, there appears to be every other Friday off for some people, there were some parking spaces available in the lots on Fridays. He'd like to see even more parking along Salk Avenue if it can be done. Can staff look into extending some parking east of Fermi Court? For a hundred feet or so it would help. Mr. Miles responded that it was something that could be investigated. Vice-Chair Cress stated that he endorsed the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee denial of the no parking request. Chair Roney asked on the south side of the street just before you get to Fermi Court there is an out building that looks somewhat like a clubhouse. Is that for entertainment for one of the companies or when they're practicing their golf? Mr. Miles stated he thought it was a clubhouse for the driving range. They have a practice facility there. Chair Roney asked where they park if they are utilizing the clubhouse? Mr. Miles said there was a dirt parking lot at that location. It will probably be paved. The City allowed them to leave a curb cut so they could put in a driveway access point. Currently, the business tenants take golf carts back and forth across that roadway segment. Staff painted a crosswalk to encourage them to cross at that location. Mr. Gumming stated that he also visited the site and noticed the lot being full. He also noticed that the off-street parking is supposed to be adequate. He assumes there was a parking ratio that was required as part of that. He wanted to know if that needed to be reexamined. Is there something else in play that is the reason why there is this overflow parking? He also noticed that some of the signage entering the lot was a bit ambiguous. It wasn't clear that visitors could enter the lot, because it says that a plaque is required before you enter the lot. But once you get inside, there are visitor spaces that presumably don't require a plaque. Is there something that the developer or owner might August 6, 2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 12 do with the off-street parking that could help the situation? He shares their feeling that the street is quite wide, at least 52 feet, and clearly accommodates the parking. Mr. Miles replied that any time there are improvements on the site itself, a tenant improvement plan needs to be submitted to the City to make sure that there is adequate parking on-site. Those plans show that they have excessive parking available to them. During staff observations, we saw many storage bins parked in numerous parking stalls. The property owner could relocate those to enhance their on-site parking. Many parking locations had specific parking names identified for a specific or special employee. That could possibly be changed. Since it is a private lot, staff does not have regulations over how they utilize their off-street parking, except for those tenant improvement plans stating they need to provide enough parking spaces for the amount of people that will be using the facility. Public Testimony: Chair Roney called for Public Testimony. Christopher Neils, 501 W. Branduay, #1900, San Diego, stated that he has worked with the Taylor Made people for a long time. He and Taylor Made endorse the position and recommendation of the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee that the request to establish a No Parking zone on both sides of Salk Avenue from College Boulevard to Fermi Court be denied. Taylor Made is very sensitive about safety concerns, and applauded the crosswalks that Mr. Miles mentioned to assist in the necessary pedestrian crossing and the worker crossings. They feel, as some of the members of the Commission have expressed, that the street is pretty wide and there does seem to be adequate space and clearly additional parking is needed. Mr. Neils stated that the letter from Mr. Schulberg from the Carlsbad Research Center Owners' Association mentioned their concern for public safety regarding parking on Salk Avenue. His concern was about cars heading westbound and coming down the hill and perhaps going faster than the speed limit and being surprised at the cars parked on the side of the road. If you take a look at the roadway there, you can see the westbound traffic has quite a long run. It isn't like you come around the corner and all of a sudden there are a bunch of parked cars. It's pretty visible and the space is pretty wide. He said they agree with staff based on the sight lines, the widths of the street, the absence of any increased safety concerns, what is allowed to members of the public including visitors they have a place to park on the street as long as it is appropriate. The suggestion from the Commissioner about looking for additional parking to the east, particularly on the south side of the road might be a good one. He would be willing to have staff take a look at that. August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 13 Seth Schulberg, 7343 Alicante Road, Carlsbad, stated he was here representing the Carlsbad Research Center Owners' Association. He gave the Commissioners two handouts. One was the Carlsbad Research Center Specific Plan where on page 22 it says "Off-street parking shall be provided to accommodate all parking needs for the site. No parking shall be allowed on arterial-type streets (B Street and College Boulevard)." It is clear that the intent is that there be no on-street parking for the Carlsbad Research Center. The other handout was a fold out map showing that 90- 95% of the Carlsbad Research Center is posted as No Parking. There are a few cul-de-sacs that for obvious reasons have no street parking. The biggest on-street parking area allowed is on Van Allen Way which is next to their food court and is endorsed by the CRC. Mr. Schulberg asked the Commission to consider what has changed since Taylor Made opened. They don't have enough on-street parking. Have they changed their ratio from warehouse to more office space, which would create more of a parking demand? Something has changed since the initial application. If there isn't enough off-street parking, why are storage containers taking up space in the parking lot? Assigned parking to individuals while being a great advantage, exacerbates parking spaces available. If only one person can use that space, what happens when that one person isn't there? He believes that that it is necessary to follow the Carlsbad Research Center's Specific Plan. Salk Avenue is a brand new street as far as its connection to El Camino Real. It used to dead-end at Fermi Court. Now you have College Boulevard as a primary arterial, El Camino Real a major arterial being connected by this through road, Salk Avenue. For consistency, Mr. Schulberg asked the Commission to look at the map handout and locate Rutherford Road which connects Faraday Avenue to Priestly Drive on the south side of the Carlsbad Research Center. Rutherford Road has much less traffic, slower speed traffic, yet there is no parking on Rutherford Road. For consistency, they don't see why the major roads through the Carlsbad Research Center aren't designated as No Parking for safety reasons and traffic flow. When you leave work, you often congregate on the streets around your cars, talking to the person parked next to you, and somebody is zipping down Salk Avenue and it is hazardous. There should be no need for off- street parking. Paul Danninger, 1049 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, stated that he was the Association Manager for the Salk Community Association. The owners of the property are concerned about safety issues with the speed of cars going up and down the hill. There is not a lot of traffic now, but there will be more traffic in the future as the area develops, and they are concerned for their safety. Jeff Brusseau, 1525 Faraday Avenue, Carlsbad, stated he represents a commercial real estate company. He is a board member for the CRC Owners' Association. They have been working on this project for the last four years. They recently completed $10-million worth of improvements. They were conditioned to design and construct the traffic signal at Faraday Avenue and Priestley Drive. That signal was also conditioned by the original development which included several office buildings. August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 14 When the project first came before the CRC Owners' Association, they communicated that they had adequate parking for the uses at the facility. Based upon that, they approved their plans. Mr. Brusseau indicated they had no enforcement mechanism that precludes the owner that has a dense parking requirement. When Wells' Fargo came in the dense parking requirement was precluded. The CRC Owners' Association Specific Plan required no on-street parking. This was done for safety, traffic circulation, and aesthetics. Regarding the extension of Salk, they were told there could be no parking. Staff did not want parking on Salk. From a developer's perspective, it is better to have on street parking. They have gone forward in constructing two of the three office buildings totaling 250,000 square feet. He is also completing a subdivision map for lot 2 which is a two office building, a 160,000 square foot project. He has been commissioned to design and construct a dual left-hand turn pocket from College Avenue to Salk Avenue. When this project came before the CRC Owners Association, they indicated they had adequate parking for the facility. Based upon that, the architectural firm approved their plans. There is no enforcement mechanism that precludes owners from leasing to a tenant who has a dense parking plan. Taylor Made's facility has industrial manufacturing areas. The CRC's Owners' Association governing documents, the Specific Plan, requires that there be no on-street parking throughout the CRC. In the course of the next six months the Engineering Department will have fully engineered extended turn pockets on El Camino Real, a dual turn pocket on College onto Salk Avenue, and a signalized intersection at Salk Avenue and College Boulevard, hi an effort to construct those improvements, the right-of-way on Salk Avenue ought to preclude on-street parking. Additionally, Salk has a segment through to El Camino Real that has become the new Carlsbad Auto Mall testing facility, so all of the guys bring their new cars there and race up and down Salk Avenue at 50,60,70,80 miles per hour, testing brakes, testing acceleration. People that have lived in this area for the last ten years, they don't understand that Salk goes through to El Camino Real. They come flying around Fermi Court and many of them don't stop at the stop sign. They are very concerned about possible accidents due to failure to stop. It's just a matter of time before an accident. He is also concerned about the golf cart traffic going to and from that facility without some means of controlling the cars coming up and down Salk Avenue. The Owners' Association would very much like to see preclusion of parking on Salk Avenue. Seeing no others to testify, Chair Roney closed Public Testimony. DISCUSSION: Vice-Chair Cress stated that he would like to see public streets be for the public, as in having public parking wherever possible. Since there appears to be inadequate parking, many vehicles are parked on Salk Avenue because there is no space in the lots. August 6, 2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 15 Commissioner Gumming asked what happens if a building is authorized with presumed sufficient off-street parking and the usage changes, so that there is more parking needed than is required, is there enforcement that comes into play to address the parking? Does the City have any recourse in that case? Mr. Miles responded that has not been identified at this time, so staff does not see that as an issue. However, it would be enforced by the Building Department to take the necessary action to make sure that those needs were being met and were conditioned under the tenant improvement plans. Mr. Johnson explained that if there are complaints received about on-site tenants, it is more appropriate to direct the complaints about whatever the issue is - parking, overflow parking - to the Building and even the Planning Department. If there are CUP's in place, the Planning Department does annual reviews and then they could have that CUP brought back to the Planning Commission for review for whatever the issue is. Otherwise, the Building Department often gets involved with the code enforcement issues. The Traffic Safety Commission gets involved, not enforcing specific plans, but addressing the traffic safety issues on the public street. That's why this particular item is in front the Traffic Safety Commission today. There has been some contradiction stated about the CRC Specific Plan where the CRC Board wanted parking to be allowed on Van Allen Way, yet the Board is asking that parking be removed on Salk Avenue. That is why staff and the Traffic Safety Commission, from a traffic safety/traffic operations perspective, tries not to get into those contradictions that a particular Board of Directors is initiating. Staff looks at safety matters and issues. As presented today, there will be parking removed on Salk Avenue in the future once those plans for the traffic signal at College Boulevard and Salk Avenue are submitted, which will have the inclusion of an additional southbound left-turn lane. By having two left-turn lanes on College Boulevard to turn onto Salk Avenue, that implies there has to be two receiving lanes. In order to achieve two receiving lanes for the dual left-turns, parking has to be removed off Salk Avenue. So there will be some removal of parking on Salk Avenue in the future, based on that plan once it is submitted and staff has a chance to review it. Since staff has not seen the plans, they are not in a position to comment how much parking will be removed, but in order to accommodate all of the future traffic that is anticipated on Salk Avenue, both a portion on the north side and portion on the south side will have parking removed. With that additional traffic, if there are safety issues or other considerations that staff has regarding leaving or removing parking, staff would address it at that time. Mr. Johnson indicated that the photo being shown on the overhead was the most current photo they have. It is several years old and that is why the photo does not indicate the current road conditions. Salk Avenue has been completed from Fermi Court to El Camino Real. That is why a red line on the photo shows that condition. Staff is not trying to hide anything with respect to what the existing alignment looks like. There are horizontal and vertical curves on that new alignment. El Camino Real is significantly higher in elevation than the intersection of Salk Avenue and Fermi Court. August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 16 Depending on the Commission's action today, if the Commission agrees with the recommendation of the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee, their action could be appealed to the City Council. If the Commission's action is to recommend removal of parking, then that matter also has to go to the City Council. Therefore, there will be two opportunities for the matter to get to the City Council. Otherwise, the Board of Directors may want to pursue going to the Planning Department and the Building Department to follow-up on their concerns about what is happening on those lots, why there is a potential shortage of on-site parking due to too intense land use, or storage containers and other items that staff has observed occupying valuable parking spaces. That is the recourse for the Board with respect to several options. Commissioner Gardner commented that her initial feeling is that it is not the purpose of the Traffic Safety Commission to enforce local CC&R's, which this feels like at the beginning. However, she is concerned about safety and it seems like there is a lack of fairness as indicated by the new developer working on Salk Avenue that there is kind of a moving target for some people. That is the Planning Commission, not the Traffic Safety Commission that should address this. MOTION: ACTION: Motion by Vice-Chair Cress, and duly seconded by Commissioner Gardner, to deny the establishment of a No Parking zone on both sides of Salk Avenue from College Boulevard to Fermi Court. VOTE: 5-0-0 AYES: Roney, Cress, Dorsey, Gardner, Gumming NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ITEM 6C: Establish a prima facie speed limit upon Gateway Road from El Camino Real to El Fuerte Street. Mr. Johnson informed the Commission that the staff report will be presented by Associate Engineer, Brandon Miles. Mr. Miles stated that this item is a request to establish a prima facie speed limit upon Gateway Road from El Camino Real to El Fuerte Street as indicated in Exhibit 1 on the aerial photo on the screen. This photo is several years old and the land uses have intensified and built up more than is shown, but the photo gives the Commission a good idea of the location. The road was constructed within the past two years as a requirement of the Bressi Ranch development of Carlsbad. Referring to the photo, he stated that the red line represents Gateway Road and everything to the left of that is an industrial park and primarily everything to the right of the red August 6, 2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 17 line represents residential, which is occupied and built. The premise of a establishing prima facie speed limit on Gateway Road is that of the Traffic and Engineering Survey. Among many factors, the three most persuasive arguments to consider when setting a realistic or rational speed limit are: (1) critical speed (85th percentile speed), (2) collision history, and (3) conditions that may not be readily apparent to the driver. Gateway Road has a curb-to-curb width of 52 feet and is unclassified on the Circulation Element of the General Plan. One traffic lane is provided in each direction with lanes separated by a two-way left-turn lane that functions as a striped median in some locations. Bicycle lanes are provided within the subject roadway east and west. Gateway Road, between El Camino Real and El Fuerte, intersects Campbell Place, Alicante Road, Innovation Way, Village Green Drive, Colt Place, and Finnila Place to create a T-intersection with each. All of those intersections are stop controlled on the side street and there is a signalized intersection at El Fuerte Street and Gateway Road. Mr. Miles said the collision history has shown one collision on Gateway Road between El Camino Real and El Fuerte Street that was due to a bicycle colliding with a maintenance vehicle. From the speed survey data, the critical speed has been determined to be 40 miles per hour east of Alicante Road and 39 miles per hour east of Innovation Way. Based upon the results of the Engineering and Traffic Survey, the Traffic Safety Coordinating Committee recommends establishing a 40 mile per hour prima facie speed limit upon Gateway Road from El Camino Real to El Fuerte Street. MOTION: ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Gardner, and duly seconded by Vice-Chair Cress, to establish a 40 mile per hour prima facie speed limit upon Gateway Road from El Camino Real to El Fuerte Street. VOTE: 5-0-0 AYES: Roney, Cress, Dorsey, Gardner, Cumming NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ITEM 6D: Consider adoption of a Traffic Safety Commission Resolution of Commendation for Susan Gardner. Mr. Johnson stated that this item is to consider adoption of a Traffic Safety Commission Resolution of Commendation for Susan Gardner as outgoing Chairperson. MOTION: ACTION: Motion by Vice-Chair Cress, and duly seconded by Commissioner Dorsey, to adopt a Traffic Safety Commission Resolution of August 6,2007 Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Page 18 Commendation for Susan Gardner for serving as Chairperson the past year. VOTE: 4-0-1 AYES: Roney, Cress, Dorsey, Gumming NOES: None ABSTAIN: Gardner ITEM 7: REPORT FROM TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSIONERS Commissioner Dorsey offered his congratulations to Mr. Johnson for his recent promotion to City Engineer. Commissioner dimming asked if the September Traffic Safety Commission meeting would be cancelled because of the Labor Day holiday. He also informed the Commission that he would be unable to attend the October Traffic Safety Commission meeting. ITEM 8: REPORT FROM TRAFFIC ENGINEER In response to Commissioner Gumming's question, Mr. Johnson stated that with September 3rd being Labor Day, there will not be a Commission meeting in September. Therefore, the next regular meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission is scheduled to be held on October 1,2007 at 3:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. At this time, the tentative opening of Faraday Avenue from Orion Street to Melrose Drive is scheduled for October 1,2007. City Council would like to have a ribbon cutting and dedication. That will be scheduled close to the October 1st timeframe. Details are being worked on. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion Chair Roney adjourned the Regular Meeting of August 6,2007 at 4:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ruth Woodbeck Minutes Clerk