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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-10-2008 - Minutes TCCITY OF ORANGE CITY TRAFFIC COMMISSION Minutes of a Regular Meeting: September 10, 2008 Tape #CTC-28.09 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  Sept. ‘o8[N:/Traffic/CTC/2008 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper I. OPENING A. Flag Pledge B. Roll Call Present – Commissioners: J. Beil, L. Dick, W. King, N. Lall Absent – Commissioners: J. Pyne Present –Staff: A. Farahani, D. Allenbach, W. Winthers, Sgt. D. Adams, P. Then C. Approval of Minutes  June 11, 2008  August 13, 2008 ACTION: Approved with corrections from Chairman Beil. MOTION: N. Lall SECOND: W. King AYES: J. Beil, L. Dick, N. Lall, W. King ABSENT: None II. ORAL PRESENTATIONS None this meeting. III. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Request for the removal of the green curb on Clark St. adjacent to 814 W. Chapman Ave. Kip Craig 16 Technology Way, #100 Irvine, CA 92618 The oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. There was no discussion of this request. ACTION: Approved the removal of 65 feet of green curb, and two “1-Hour” parking signs on Clark St. adjacent to 814 W. Chapman Ave. Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – September 10, 2008 Pg. 2 Tape #CTC-28.09 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  Sept. ‘08 [N:/Traffic/CTC/2008 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper MOTION: L. Dick SECOND: N. Lall AYES: Unanimous NOES: None ABSTAIN: None  End of Consent Items  IV. CONSIDERATION ITEMS 1. Request for the installation of red curb markings in front of 160, 170, 180 & 190 N. Manchester Ave. (Continued from the 6-11-08 CTC meeting). Bennie Owen PO Box 1012 Orange CA 92856-0012 The oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. There was no discussion of this request. ACTION: Approved the requested installation of “NO PARKING ANYTIME” restrictions in front of 160, 170, 180 & 190 N. Manchester Ave. MOTION: W. King Vice-Chairman Lall – How long does thermoplastic last? I know it’s longer than paint. Dave Allenbach, Transportation Analyst – I’m not really sure, it does last quite a bit longer than regular paint. Painted striping on arterials generally lasts about 1 year to 18 months, depending on traffic volume. In this case thermoplastic should last a fairly long time. Manchester Ave. has less traffic than your typical arterial for these conditions. Please keep in mind that Compton Ave. is a residential street and has maybe 800 to 1,000 vehicles a day, so traffic volume in the area is fairly light. Vice Chairman Lall – I understand it would be a considerable expense for the City and I would hate to see us go through that right now, but when it’s time to r e-stripe the street we might reconsider shifting the island at that time. I expect we will remove this parking for now, when the re-striping is done perhaps we could replace a couple of spaces, if it’s safe to do so. SECOND: J. Beil Chairman Beil – The other thing I considered was bicycles, and the issue of bicycles coming out of Compton Ave. onto Manchester Ave. and trying to ride in that lane next to the traffic, and being pinched in there. It’s not a good situation and there’s really no width, basically the bicycles are riding in the traffic lane. Coupled with that, there are no Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – September 10, 2008 Pg. 3 Tape #CTC-28.09 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  Sept. ‘08 [N:/Traffic/CTC/2008 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper sidewalks in this area and that is another factor I took into consideration. The third factor I wanted to mention is the issue of the motor homes. They have the ir motor homes parked in their driveways all the way out to the curb, using quite a few parking spaces. I mentioned it the last time we discussed this. I am concerned that this isn’t even in compliance. Commissioner King – I go out there occasionally. That whole intersection is a mess, I think it’s dangerous coming in either direction. I support the red curb to get the cars off the street so maybe it will look a little better, and as a safety precaution if nothing else. Chairman Beil – I think the signal improved the situation helping with right-of-way assignment because the speeds on Manchester Ave. and the additional traffic, not only from the condo development but also the retail development mixed together. MOTION: W. King SECOND: J. Beil AYES: Unanimous NOES: None ABSTAIN: None 2. Request to prohibit on-street parking on both sides of Lawson Way from Town & Country Rd. to the south City limits. Taig Higgins, Principal Civil Engineer City of Santa Ana PO Box 1988 Santa Ana CA 92702 The oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. Chairman Beil opened the public hearing for the following discussion: Taig Higgins, City of Santa Ana – This is mitigation to the City Place development. I have no other comments unless you have any questions. Chairman Beil closed the public hearing and returned the item to the Commission for further discussion and a motion. Commissioner Dick – As I read this I see that this is one of the mitigation measures put in place for the EIR. Is it commonplace to write the EIR with suggested mitigation and then go see if your partners are in accord with that thinking? Is that the way it works? Chairman Beil – Quite often. Generally the City would be provided an opportunity to comment on traffic issues during the inter-governmental review process. Amir Farahani, City Traffic Engineer – That’s correct. When the project development comes to the City both Planning and Public Works staff look at the impact of the project and make recommendations as far as mitigation. One mitigation was providing additional lanes at Lawson Way and Town & Country Rd. I believe that was part of the conditions by the City of Santa Ana. Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – September 10, 2008 Pg. 4 Tape #CTC-28.09 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  Sept. ‘08 [N:/Traffic/CTC/2008 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper Chairman Beil – This is a Caltrans intersection isn’t it? Amir Farahani, City Traffic Engineer – That’s correct. It is within the City of Orange but it’s controlled by Caltrans. Chairman Beil - Has this already been through Caltrans permit review? I see Caltrans permit contacts on the plan sheet. Is that correct? I’m assuming you have already received a permit from Caltrans for the proposed modification not only to the signal pole, but the striping. Les Vliegen, Main St. Concourse LLC – I’ve not seen the drawings yet, I’m just reading an e-mail from our traffic consultants. I’m somewhat familiar with the reference regarding Caltrans. I believe it is in connection with a sign that may be in conflict with the striping with some number to notify Caltrans of this situation. I’m not aware of Caltrans requiring a permit. Chairman Beil – It would require a permit. I wanted to ask if you had gone though that process. It’s somewhat independent of our action. Chairman Beil closed the public hearing and returned the item to the Commission for further discussion and a motion. ACTION: Approved the request to prohibit on-street parking on both sides of Lawson Way from Town & Country Rd. to the south city limits. MOTION: L. Dick SECOND: W. King AYES: Unanimous NOES: None ABSTAIN: None 3. Request for the installation of an “All-Way” STOP control at the intersection of Sacramento St. and Adams Ave., and/or Sacramento St. and Monroe Ave. John Belovsky 2126 E. Jackson Ave. Orange CA 92868 The oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. Chairman Beil opened the public hearing for the following discussion: Phil Knoll, 2215 E. Adams Ave. – Opposed to the STOP signs. We live 5 houses from Sacramento St. on the north side of Adams Ave. It’s been our experience that the population hasn’t changed any, except for 4 new houses about 25 years ago up on Jodi lane, which is the north end of Sacramento St. just below Katella Ave. As there aren’t more residents, people aren’t driving any faster and as you mentioned there haven’t been many accidents at these intersections. Adams Ave. is not a straight through street. If you go down to Monroe Ave. you can go all the way from Sacramento St. to Wanda St., so it’s a thoroughfare, however, on Adams Ave. you are blocked when you get to Hart St. Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – September 10, 2008 Pg. 5 Tape #CTC-28.09 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  Sept. ‘08 [N:/Traffic/CTC/2008 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper We would like to see that these STOP signs are not put in; we have STOP signs at the other end at Handy St. on two streets between Collins Ave. and Katella Ave., which has slowed that down but that’s a main thoroughfare. Chairman Beil closed the public hearing and returned the item to the Commission for further discussion and a motion. Chairman Beil – The applicant’s letter mentioned two recent accidents; don’t you have any history of accidents? Dave Allenbach, Transportation Analyst – Unless they occurred within the last few months, our accident record database is current thru June 2008. If the accidents occurred after June we probably wouldn’t have them logged in. There have been no reported accidents at either intersection for the past 3 years. Chairman Beil – Mr. Belovsky mentioned a severe accident last winter in front of 1134 N. Sacramento St. at night, a hit-and-run, but you have no record of that. In the postscript of the letter the applicant raised an issue regarding center medians on Katella Ave. Is that being looked into separately? Dave Allenbach, Transportation Analyst – Yes. The proponent feels Sacramento St. is being used as a bypass to get from Katella to Collins, and vice versa. One of the issues was possibly installing a turn diverter at Katella, either closing the left-turn access from Katella onto Sacramento, or putting in a pork-chop which requires either a right-in or right-out from Sacramento St. at Katella Ave. Based on study volumes it’s fairly obvious that Sacramento St. is not being used as a bypass. We have 80 vehicles during the PM peak hour. If we were to consider a turn diverter on a residential street per our Neighborhood Traffic Management Program a candidate street would have to have a daily traffic volume of 2,500 vehicles a day. These counts were done during the peak hour, however, that’s about 10% of the total volume, so we anticipate the daily traffic volume on Sacramento St. is about 800 vehicles per day. Commissioner Dick – During the school year would that have any impact on the volume? Dave Allenbach, Transportation Analyst – I doubt seriously that it would. I did not have time to conduct the traffic counts during the school year, but I doubt we’re going to jump from an 800 VPD up to at least 2,300 VPD during the school year, since this is a very circuitous route. Commissioner Dick – I do travel Katella Ave. and I assure you that during the school year the traffic count goes up astronomically. ACTION: Denied the requested installation of an “All-Way” STOP control at the intersection of Sacramento St. and Adams Ave., and/or Sacramento St. and Monroe Ave. MOTION: L. Dick Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – September 10, 2008 Pg. 6 Tape #CTC-28.09 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  Sept. ‘08 [N:/Traffic/CTC/2008 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper Chairman Beil – I believe we previously had a request for STOP signs at Hoover Ave. and Jodi St., which is at the end of Hoover and Sacramento St. and we had denied those since they are the same claims on cut-through traffic. Vice-Chairman Lall: STOP signs are for assigning right-of-way and not speed control and it seems to be the main objective here. SECOND: N. Lall AYES: Unanimous NOES: None ABSTAIN: None 4. Request for the installation of “NO PARKING SCHOOL BUS LOADING 7:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. SCHOOL DAYS” restrictions for the bus bay currently being constructed on Sycamore Ave., adjacent to Sycamore Elementary School. Michael Christensen Facilities Improvement Modernization Program Manager Orange Unified School District 726 W. Collins Ave. Orange CA 92867 The oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. Chairman Beil opened the public hearing for the following discussion: Michael Christensen, OUSD – I’m here to answer any questions you may have. We appreciate your consideration and staff’s hard work on this. Chairman Beil closed the public hearing and returned the item to the Commission for further discussion and a motion. ACTION: Approved the installation of “NO PARKING SCHOOL BUS LOADING 7:30 A.M. TO 3:30 P.M. ON SCHOOL DAYS” signs for the bus bay on Sycamore Ave. adjacent to the Elementary School. MOTION J. Beil SECOND: L. King AYES: Unanimous NOES None ABSTAIN None  End of Consideration Items  Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – September 10, 2008 Pg. 7 Tape #CTC-28.09 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  Sept. ‘08 [N:/Traffic/CTC/2008 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper V. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS We had requested earlier to bring back information on ethics training, and Commissioner Dick advised staff he took his training course on-line this past weekend. VI. ADJOURNMENT After discussion of today’s Agenda the City Traffic Commission meeting was concluded, and as there were no further requests for action under Oral Presentations, the Chairman adjourned this session of the City Traffic Commission. The next meeting of the City Traffic Commission is scheduled: 5:30 P.M. Wednesday - October 8, 2008 Respectfully submitted, CITY OF ORANGE Phyllis Then, Recording Secretary Traffic Engineering Division pthen@cityoforange.org CITY OF ORANGE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 300 E. CHAPMAN AVENUE ORANGE CA 92866 PH: (714) 744-5536 FAX: (714) 744-5573