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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-27; Traffic and Mobility Commission; Minutes Page 1 of 9 Council Chambers 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive SPECIAL MEETING Carlsbad, CA 92008 Oct. 27, 2022, 5:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: 5:01 p.m. ROLL CALL: Perez, Linke, Penseyres, Fowler, Coelho, Proulx and Newlands PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Chair Perez led the Pledge of Allegiance DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS: PRESENTATION ON THE SAFER STREETS TOGETHER PLAN - 1.) Receive a presentation regarding the Safer Streets Together Plan; and, 2.) Provide feedback to staff regarding various options in the Safer Streets Together Plan for staff to present to City Council. (Staff Contact: Scott Chadwick and Tom Frank, City Manager and Public Works) Staff’s Recommendation: Receive a presentation and provide feedback City Manager Chadwick presented the report and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the City Clerk) PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mark Embree spoke in favor of Option C. We need to be proactive instead of reactive. Adding Chicanes in many locations would force traffic to slow down. Allen Manzano spoke about his concerns regarding no sidewalk on Highland Drive which runs from Tamarack Avenue to Adams Street. He would like to propose that staff add a stop sign at the intersection of Highland Drive and Chinquapin as this would solve a major problem with the ability to cross due to lack of visibility. Another stop sign heading north on Highland Drive where it meets Hoover Street would solve this same problem. Please also restore the four-way stop at the intersection of Hoover Street and Adams Street. This will help in terms of slowing traffic down. Jason Oziel spoke about the HAWK signal at Tamarack Avenue and Valley Street. The neighborhood has been to many meetings to discuss how dangerous the HAWK signal is and even a few of the Commissioners came out to see this themselves. Residents are sick of this HAWK signal and want change. Brian Connor spoke about being proactive when it’s related to traffic safety. He had been involved in a car accident four years ago and was hit by a driver that could not see a stop sign as it was wrapped in vegetation. This stop sign is located at Oak Street and is still not clearly visible to drivers at 300 feet which is DOT standards. Christina McGoldrick spoke about her concerns with the Sustainable Mobility Plan and the Safer Streets Page 2 of 9 Plan. She requested that middle school crossing guards be added to the city contract. She is specifically concerned about College Boulevard which has four schools and three miles of residential homes but has become a commuter thoroughfare to the Faraday businesses. School zones need to be re-evaluated. She requested that for all future housing developments that there be a specific, separate corridor for the bikes and pedestrians to have a direct route to reach the school where they do not have to be on the public roads. Andy Hanshaw, Director of San Diego Bike Coalition, spoke about the 200 percent increase in bicycle crashes in Carlsbad since 2019. He asked the Traffic and Mobility Commission to recommend Option C to City Council. There are three engineering proposals in the plan that he wanted to highlight. The first would be to update the residential traffic calming plan to prefer roundabouts over stop signs. Studies have shown that roundabouts reduce fatal and serious crashes by over 80 percent. Second, install more speed cushions near schools. Third, update the Carlsbad Street Design Manual to use NACTO standards. The NACTO Urban Street Design guide is the safest manual for street design and Carlsbad should be following these recommendations. Commissioner Newlands inquired about the part of the presentation where staff says that reducing the street down to one lane does not have any impact on traffic. He asked if these are major arteries or are they low volume streets? Transportation Director Frank responded that the streets are typically arterial but could be a lower- class arterial like a neighborhood collector arterial. Typically, we would be looking at a four-lane arterial and most of these have turn lanes. When we talk about doing an arterial reconfiguration, we would be considering a lane reduction within the segment portion of the roadway. We would leave intersection control the same as it is today. If it is a four-lane roadway and we did an arterial reconfiguration, we may drop a lane after an intersection and then transition back to a four-lane roadway at the next intersection. Commissioner Coelho asked about the list of planned projects and their timeline on page 17 of the document. The timeline of these projects is over fifteen years. Can you tell us when some of these projects are planned for? There are some major areas in this list that are important to the community. City Manager Chadwick responded that on page 17 and 18 the midterm category means that we expect the project to be completed in the next twelve months. We do not have specific timing identified but we will keep the Commission updated on all of those efforts as we move forward. Commissioner Coelho said that he would like to understand in more depth the timeline that the city is considering for these projects. Transportation Director Frank responded that the timeline will vary. The most current timeline for these projects can be referenced in the Semiannual Transportation Report which we present every six months. Commissioner Coelho asked about digital signage and how the marketing team measures the effectiveness of the placement of a specific sign. City Manager Chadwick responded that it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of a message boards because they were rolled out at the same time as other efforts. The point is that people see it and that it is visible to drivers. The message is brief so as not to distract drivers from the road. Page 3 of 9 Commissioner Coelho asked if this was intended to be a long-term solution or are we looking for other solutions in key areas? City Manager Chadwick responded that the intent was to get everyone thinking about traffic safety. Having bigger signs which are more visible is a good way to make a connection with the drivers. Commissioner Coelho inquired about the lists of options, the fact that some are funded, and some are not. Does the commission get to voice their opinion on the projects that are already funded? What type of recommendation do you want the Commission to make to City Council? City Manager Chadwick responded that City Council is asking for input from the options presented, what does the Commission consider a higher priority than others. This is specifically for Options B and C in those columns. City Council authorized and approved everything in Option A. Commissioner Coelho said that under Option C there is a line item for expediting infrastructure projects of $620,000 annually. What does that represent as an expansion of traffic related capital improvement projects on an annual basis? Is that a 60 % increase? Transportation Director Frank responded that the allotment for street related capital projects varied by the year depending on the City Council’s direction. Commissioner Coelho asked about street parking on specific street areas where it is problematic to pedestrian safety. Is this analysis included in any of the actions that are being proposed? Transportation Director Frank responded that this is not included in any of the options or actions being brought forward today. However, when staff designs Capital Improvement Projects, as a part of designing an intersection we would look at line of sight and if there is issues we might consider removing street parking so we can adequately provide safe intersections. Deputy City Manager Gomez said that usually the annual budget for Capital Improvement Projects is about 50 million dollars and approximately 40% of that would be for transportation and mobility related projects. The question asked before regarding the percentage increase of the $620,000 would be about 2.5%. Commissioner Proulx inquired about the vizion zero plan and the $150,000 to complete that project. What does this bring that is above and beyond what we already have in our mobility and traffic plan? Transportation Director Frank responded that both options are available to the Commission and that is why we are meeting here today. The City Council will take this into consideration while doing the budget. This will include outreach to disadvantaged communities and partnering with regional partners. Commissioner Fowler asked about Community Oriented Policing. What does this look like for traffic? Police Chief Williams responded that the Community Oriented Policing team is a team that we had within the Police Department in the early 2000’s. It was disbanded around 2012. This team will have the opportunity to deal with community emergent needs and they would be able to respond to community concerns and address programs which need a more consistent touch from law enforcement. Page 4 of 9 Commissioner Fowler inquired Community Oriented Policing team would address issues like the HAWK signal at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Valley Street and the community that is trying to remove the HAWK signal. Would they meet with the community to listen to their concerns? How would this new team help in this type of situation? Police Chief Williams replied that this new team would have the flexibility and time to devote to the community regarding their concerns. The team would hear the concerns, bring people together to decide long term decisions. Commissioner Fowler would like to understand better the consequential things of the City of Carlsbad adopting Vision Zero. What are the consequences regarding the way that Carlsbad does business? Commissioner Penseyres asked Police Chief Williams about having some Police Officers become certified instructors under the League of American bicyclists. Five officers have completed the first step and passed the test. Is this still the plan for the Police Department? Police Chief Williams answered yes and said that they have been in discussion with the schools on how they will utilize these officers once they are certified instructors. We are in the planning phase now. Commissioner Penseyres inquired about the diversion program. What is the process when you stop an e- bike rider who is nine years old? Police Chief Williams replied that there are restrictions based on age. If they issue a citation or a warning to a child aged 14 or older then they will also call the parents and let them know what led to the citation. We can issue a written warning to a child aged 13 and below. We also try to change the behavior by calling the parents and waiting for parents to arrive and take custody of the child. Commissioner Penseyres asked how the parents respond when being called by the officer? Are we getting a good response from the parents? Police Chief Williams replied that his personal account with parents has been exceptional most of the Time. Parents are thankful that we took the time to call them and welcome the explanation of what the child was doing wrong. Commissioner Penseyres asked about re-striping a road that has parked cars on the side. When we have been doing this recently on Tamarack, when we had room for a buffer then we put the buffer alongside the car doors rather than towards the traffic lane. Transportation Director Frank responded that the buffer is meant to be along the door zone. We would preferentially put the buffer along the door zone as long as there is room. Commissioner Penseyres brought up the possibility of using rumble strips. Are they supposed to make a lot of noise as you approach the intersection or are they used to notify drivers that they are drifting off the road into buffered bike lanes? Transportation Director Frank responded that the purpose is not to make noise but to alert the driver of the upcoming intersection. Rumble strips are in CALTRANS guidelines as well as METCD. Regarding Page 5 of 9 longitudinal and where we would place them in a high-speed arterial in a buffered bike lane, it would be to the right of the first bike lane buffer line which separates the vehicle into the buffer. It would be just to the inside of the first white line. This is something we would do a pilot study on and then ask for feedback from the Commission. On a high-speed arterial we wouldn’t want to put the rumble strip underneath the first 6-inch white line because people do veer off a little while driving. The thought is to move it to the inside of the first white line to alert the driver they are nearing the buffer zone. Vice-Chair Linke inquired about education for e-bike riders and drivers. Most bad drivers aren’t going to attend the Village Fair and go to the safety booth. The juvenile action safety program is another outreach effort that has small rewards. The paid advertising campaign for $105,000 doesn’t have much detail but he isn’t sure this is cost effective. Is there an assessment on how effective these actions will be? How will they add value to the messaging signs that we are already using? City Manager Chadwick responded that the messaging signs work and anytime we have the opportunity to enhance the messaging whether that be a wrapped vehicle that talks about a safe street initiative or signage will be a very effective way to communicate. Vice-Chair Linke brought up the travel safe visitor program mobile and digital signage program. Is this different than what we already have? Communication and Engagement Director Rey responded that it is similar to a mobile billboard with images and information. It would not be near a street but would be at a farmers’ market or a concert in the park. Commissioner Coelho asked if this is part of the paid advertising effort that is $105,000? Communication and Engagement Director Rey responded that it is a separate effort. The digital advertising is on websites via banner ads or pop ups on your phone. Vice-Chair Linke commented on Actions 28, 37 and 38 that are on the more expensive side but could make more of an impact. Is there more detail that can be added? Communication and Engagement Director Rey responded that they are as described in the documents. As City Manager Chadwick described, the city has a robust program especially after City Council just added it to the Safer Streets Together Program. We are doing a pilot program with middle schools. These are just some of the tools in the toolbox that can be used. Vice-Chair Linke said that he is in favor of the Smart Cycling Instructor Program. The teen engagement program, community service project plan and entry signage he would like to look into more closely but not to be implemented immediately. Vice-Chair Linke moved on to the Planning related actions like Vison Zero. It is hard to argue with wanting zero fatal collisions. However, the goals that we already have in our mobility element are very similar to the ones in Vision Zero. The pace which we have been moving these past few years has been frustrating. The problem is not that we don’t have a planning document that tells us how to accomplish these goals. We don’t need a new plan to be written up by consultants. We just need to expedite the projects that we already have lined up. He asked if there is anything that we can’t do now that we could do if we were to Page 6 of 9 adopt the Vision Zero Goals and Strategies? And can we just add those new goals to the beginning of the Sustainable Mobility Plan and not spend the money going through the complications of creating a whole new plan. Transportation Director Frank replied that the Vizion Zero document which we would craft would be tailored to our specific needs. There is nothing that says at the moment that if we took the vision zero document and added it to our current Sustainable Mobility Plan, or SMP, or an update to the Mobility Element that we couldn’t achieve those goals without the Vision Zero Plan. Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager Schmidt agreed and said that we have to look to traffic engineering solutions to address the traffic collisions. We are already doing a lot of that in the SMP. The cost estimate provided in the report would be for a full plan to be created addressing all of the elements that the city manager described. We could reduce it down and create an ordinance. We do have flexibility with using the previous planning work. Once we would adopt the resolution, we would then need to create the plan to address the actions outlined in the Vision Zero resolution. Vice-Chair Linke proposed that we take the Sustainable Mobility Plan and add a goal that states, “Eliminate all preventable traffic related fatal and severe crashes by a specific year”. This would cover the vast majority of the Vision Zero plan. We could also add additional goals to the Sustainable Mobility Plan such as “To conduct Root Cause Analysis of all severe and fatal collisions”. Also, we could address the equity issue with a goal that says when we are doing transportation projects that we take equity into account. We should do the engineering projects that will actually protect people. Vice-Chair Linke brought up Action 32, expediting infrastructure projects. He said this is important and that the $620,000 is not part of the Capital Improvement Project but is for increase in staffing. Transportation Director Frank replied that is correct, the monetary amount is for increase in staffing. Vice-Chair Linke said that the critical way to make people safer is to get the projects done faster. He is in support of adding more staff to oversee the projects so we can get them done quickly. Would be possible to increase staffing for the next year or two to get more projects in the pipeline but not make this staff increase permanent? City Manager Chadwick responded that with transportation staff we would be talking about a low number of staff so we could establish limited positions, limited for the budget cycle of two or three years. Keeping in mind that would be an ongoing expense that impacts the city’s budget for that set amount of time. Vice-Chair Linke brough up data collection, specifically Action 17 which is obtaining real time data which is parallel to the Active Transportation Monitoring Program that we have. We just had data from that a few months ago which is excellent. He is wondering if real time collection of this type of data provides enough value over and above the once annual collection that is going to change how we prioritize projects. Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager Schmidt responded that we don’t have access to that data yet, so it is a tough question to answer. The real time data would allow us to get data throughout the entire year. It would give us access to speed data, vehicle volume data, bicycle volume data and pedestrian data. This will allow us to understand how travel patterns fluctuate over a period of several years versus a small sample of a few days. Page 7 of 9 Vice-Chair Linke said that the city has been using Blue Toad technology that tracks the blue tooth signal of cars as they travel which allows us to create a congestion map. Google maps also shows the congestion map. Could we use google and these other technologies for a more quick and inexpensive solution. Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager Schmidt responded that the value of the data outlined in Action 17 is much more precise and detailed. The google data does not provide any specific speed data or any data that would be useful for staff or engineering studies. Transportation Director Frank added that one advantage to having real time data is if we do implement a new arterial configuration with a lane drop and expanded bike lanes, we could collect real time data as soon as it is operational. This would allow us to collect data on the difference the new configuration has made over a course of a month or three months. This is something we could consider and evaluate for further projects, and this would provide data to support that. Acting Chief Data Officer Van Gilluwe stated that one of the things we think about when we collect data via a study is what else that we could do with that data if we had it in real time or all the time. Some of these projects that were presented to the commission today are based off point of time data. As we implement these projects the traffic patterns will change over time. If we saw how traffic patterns were changing as we implement the project then that might affect which projects are being prioritized. The cost associated with this would be a lower ongoing cost but a large upfront capital cost. Having the live data at our fingertips to know what implementations are working and how fast would be game changing for the city. Vice-Chair Linke said that he does not think that the Commission should recommend the data solutions immediately but would put them in his second category of things that he would like to hear more about at a later date. Commissioner Proulx asked if the commission is supposed to support either Option B or Option C or do we have the opportunity to pick the items on this list that we would like to support? City Manager Chadwick responded that the direction that was received from City Council was to solicit input from the Commissions. So, if the Commission wants to say they are supportive of specific actions they can do that. They can also state which items they are not in support of. We are looking for consensus on the items. The commission can also place priority on the items. Some of the individual comments that were made will also be shared with Council. Vice-Chair Linke brought up school bussing and says in the Planning Commission meeting it was unanimous that they felt that the cost was too expensive. He says that some schools have tried to implement a ride-sharing program among parents. He recommends that the city work with the schools to promote parents creating ride-sharing arrangements. This is not as effective as a bus but is still important. Vice-Chair Linke said that Action 15, 33 and 35 are very important. We should recommend crosswalks, elevated crosswalks and speed cushions. Each school will have something that works best for them. This and the temporary increase of staff to implement these projects are most important. Action 36 is updating the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program, or CRTMP, which he thought was already happening. Page 8 of 9 City Traffic Engineer Kim clarified that the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program is being updated as Vice-Chair Linke noted. The $150,000 would be the cost associated with including more neighborhoods into that program. The changes that we are considering would essentially lower the bar and allow the city to evaluate more streets for the program. Vice-Chair Linke brought up Action 16 which is evaluate rumble strips and he would not recommend. One controversial issue that came is the quick build approach which is rapidly constructing protective bike lanes by putting up plastic bollards. He has concerns about this as these quick builds have unintended consequences. He asks if staff has any comments on the Vision Zero quick build approach? Transportation Director Frank commented that the design process is complex for a reason. They want to make sure any changes being made to the roadway are being done in a very safe manner and that is embraced by the community. The city actually has quite a bit of quick build projects in our plan. The sealing and re-striping is a quick build project, and you will see a lot of gains from that. The collisions which we see from the data are typically at intersections and driveways. The quick builds that you see are typically done along the segments of the road and that is not where we are seeing the collisions occur. Many of our projects are quick build and will be accomplished within six months. Even projects that are completed within twelve months can be considered quick build as it is a short time frame to be changing characteristics of a roadway. Chair Perez said that the focus at this time is on engineering with 36% out of the 44 action items. Education is getting 30% of the focus and only 13% is going toward law enforcement. There are a lot of community members asking for additional enforcement and changes in the law. California Vehicular Code 39002A says that as a city we can adopt a bicycle licensing ordinance or resolution. Maybe the nominal fee could help with education. Chair Perez brought up installing high visibility crosswalks near schools which he supports. He thinks this is part of the school zone and part of the Safe Routes to School program. Chair Perez stated that he would like an alternate option where we could get all of the items in Option B and Option C and put them together, minus the busses. City Manager Chadwick stated that he wants to emphasize that the role or task of the Commission is to provide input. The Commission is not approving but only recommending the items they want to prioritize. This body does not have the ability to approve expenditures but can recommend an appropriate course of action to City Council. The budget will be a unique challenge and the city will have to find a way to make everything work. Commissioner Proulx asked how we determine which projects become expedited on the expedite infrastructure projects? Transportation Director Frank said it is on projects that are not currently expedited. Any traffic and safety projects that are not currently expedited are candidates for this. Motion by Commissioner Coelho, seconded by Commissioner Newlands the Traffic and Mobility Commission recommended to City Council Option B with the exception of Item 26 (Complete Vision Zero Plan). Motion carried: 6/1 (No: Commissioner Penseyres) Page 9 of 9 Motion by Vice-Chair Linke, seconded by Commissioner Fowler the Traffic and Mobility Commission recommended to City Council to update the Sustainable Mobility Plan to reflect new goals related to Vision Zero including eliminating all preventable traffic related severe collisions by a certain year designated by staff and consider equity when planning transportation projects and conduct root cause analysis of all severe and fatal collisions. Motion carried: 7/0 Motion by Commissioner Coelho, seconded by Commissioner Newlands the Traffic and Mobility Commission to recommend City Council to adopt the following items: 29 (Messages on city assets); 31 (Mobile digital signage); 33 (Develop access plans for all schools); 35 (Speed cushions on streets around schools); 36 (Update Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program); 37 (Community Service Project Plan) and 39 (Activate Community Emergency Response Team, Citizens Academy alumni and trail volunteers). Motion failed: 2/5 (No: Chair Perez; Vice-Chair Linke; Commissioner Penseyres; Commissioner Proulx; Commissioner Fowler) Motion by commissioner Coelho, seconded by Vice-Chair Linke the Traffic and Mobility Commission recommended to City Council to adopt the following items designated under Option C: 29 (Messages on city assets); 31 (Mobile digital signage); 32 (Expedite infrastructure projects); 33 (Develop access plans for all schools); 35 (Speed cushions on streets around schools); 36 (Update Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program); 37 (Community Service Project Plan); and 39 (Activate Community Emergency Response Team, Citizens Academy alumni and trail volunteers). Motion carried: 6/1 (No: Commissioner Penseyres) ADJOURNMENT: Chair Perez adjourned the Traffic & Mobility Commission Special Meeting on Oct. 27, 2022, at 8:21 p.m. ___________________________ Eliane Paiva, Minutes Clerk