03-12-1986 - Minutes TC CITY TRAFFIC COMMISSION
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING �
March 12, 1986
�iGENDA MOTION MINUTES
ROLL CALL PRESENT Conunis5ioners: G. Shaw, D. Smith,
D. Turner, D. Yarger
Staff: Lt. Leintz, David Kuan,
David A1lenbach
ABSENT Commissioners : M. Baumann
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Request for driveway vision zone
at 1846 N. Batavia Street.
John B. Evans
Imperial Roofing Co.
1846 N. Batauia St.
Orange, CA 92666 �
. RECOMMENDA TIONr Approve MOTION D. Yarger .
� SECOND D. Turner
AYES Unanimous
CONSIDERATION ITEl�1
A. Receive and file report on the The Route 55 Commuter Lane Demonstration is the
Route 55 Commuter Lane first of its kind in the State of California
Demonstration Project. as we.Z1 as nationwide.
Traffic Engineering Division The decision to open commuter lanes on Rt. 55
City of Orange was made on October 14, 1985, by the Orange
County Transportation Commission. The project
RECOMMENDA�'ION: Reveive & Fi1e includes the addition of a new lane in each
direction on Rt. 55, for approximatelr� a
12-mile stretch, extending from the River_side
Fwy. (Rt. 9.Z) to the Interstate 405. The
objective of the Rt. 55 Commuter Lane
Demonstration Project is to provide more
person-carrying capacity on this heavily
congested facility by allowing carpools, two
or more persans per vehicle, to utilize this
, . new Iane. The project was made possible by
narrowing three existing freeway lanes by
one foot and by eliminating the median shoulder.
CI�.'Y TRAFFIC CO�SISSION
- MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING � � � � -
Marc.h 12, I.986
AGENDA MOTION MINUTES
The project is a limited access faci.Zity,
with special locations for ingress and
egress and for enforcement. An 8-inch
yel.Iow painted buffer stripe is utilized
to visua,Zly distinguish this lane from the
adjacent �general purpose lanes, a.Zthough
CalTrans has `decided to experiment with
other types of buffer devices such as py.Zons,
other paint color and reflectorized pavement
markers. At the request of the CA Highway
Patrol °for enforcement purposes, the commuter
� Ianes are reserved for carpool use 24-hours
a day, seven days a week.
Commuter Lane Usage
. Usage of the commuter lanes has been
monitored through use of .Zoop counters Zocated
on the freeway pavement, as we11 as by
actual manual counts. Average weekly usage
of the lanes based on the first 90-da� study
result is approximately 1,250 vehic.Zes during
the P.M. peak hours northbound, and about
1,100 vehicles during the A.M. peak hour
. southbound.
Change In Overall Freeway Us�.ge By Carpool s
Data also indicate an increase. of about 34%
new carpool u�es on this freeway. However, �
it is unknown as to whether these increases
are due to growth in carpoo3 formation, shift
� in travel to Rt. 55 by carpoolers whc
previously used other facilities, or shifts in
travel time b� carpoolers who previous3�
commuted at other times of the day.
Effect On Paralle.Z Arterials
Traffic counts on parallel arterial stree�s
as we11 as freeways were conducted before.and
after the project implementation.
Overall, there is a reduction in peak hour
t.raffic vol umes on .parall e1 arterial s. -
However, the reduction in traffic volumes
oecur predominat.Zy on para.Zle.Z arteria.Zs
- soutn of Rt. 22 a.nd in the evening northbound
direction when freeway usage is greatest.
CITY TRAFFIC CO?�ISSION
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March .I2, 1986
AGENDA MOTION MINUTES
Effect On Travel Times And Congestion
Patterns �n The Genera.I Use Lanes
Trav�.l times for a11 users of Rt. 55 have been
reduced since the commuter .Zane has been in
operati�n. Shortly after the project
implementation, travel times in the general
� use .Zanes were cut down to half of the pre-
project amount. In subsequent weeks, travel
times in the general use lanes have increased
stead•ily approaching the pre-project
conditions duxing the peak hours, while the �
- travel times remain at free-flow in the `�
commuter lanes. It is believed that the
reduction in travel time saving results from
a -shift in travel demarid from other parallel
. freeways or arterials,. and also a temporal
shift of travel de.mand, as trips previously
took place during the off-peak hours can now
� use this facility during the peak hours.
�'ffect On Freewa-z� Safety And Violations
Based on the past 90-day accident data, there
has not been an increase in accident rate nor
total number of accidents between the pre-
project and post-project accident statistics,
despite the substantial increase in vehicles
and vehicle miles of travel on the freeway.
,
� A breakdawn of accidents by travel lanes
� suggests a similar distribution of accidents
occurred on each travel lane for both the
before and after studies. Improvement to
overall' traffic flow is the primary factor in
� keeping the accident .Zeve1 on this facility
the same as pre-project statistics. _
Violation rates during peak hours range
between 6% and 9%, although this number has
been challenged by opponents of the project.
Of the moving violations issued by the CA
Highway Patrol (748 violations) 55i were for
occupancy, 14% for buffer violations, 14%
. for speeding, and 17i for other violations.
CI�'Y TRAFFIC CO?��1ISSION �
- MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING - � � - - -
March 12, 1956
AGENDA MOTION MINUTES
Public Attitudes and Reactions
The citizen response to the op.eration of the
commuter lanes is a majority favoring the
project, as recorded br� the Orange County
Transit District, Orange County Transportation
Comm�ission and the CA Highway Patrol. �
However, two main citizen groups were
organized; "Drivers for Highway Safe.ty"
opposes the project for reasons of operational
safety and underutilization, and is seeking
to open the commuter Iane to a1.Z tax payers.
Another group sponsored by a motorcycle
magazine favors opening the lane to use by
single-occupant motorcyclists.
In response to the safety issues raised by
the Drivers For' Highway Safety group, CalTrans
wi1.Z be .Zengthening the ingress and egress
location from the current 800 feet to about
1300 feet to accommodate the I.arge speed
differentials between the commuter lane and
' its adjacent generaZ purpose 1ane.
Recommendations
Incorporating the first 90-day study results
and suggestions by the project opponents,
Mayor Beam, Chairman of the Rt. 55 Corridor
Advisory Committee recommended to:
1) Extend the demonstration project for an
additional 9 months.
2) Increase enforcement with regard to vehicle
occupancr.�. , buffer crossings and speed
violations.
- 3) Continue the monitoring program for the
project.
4) Expedite ramp metering project along Rt. 55.
A11 of the above recommendations have been
approved during the March I.O, .Z986, Orange
County Transportation Commission meeting.
RECOMMENDATION: RECEIVE & FILE REPORT
MOTION D. Turner
SECOND D. Smith
AYES Un an i mou s