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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSafety Commission mins 1991/09/12 .. -~~. . . . SAFETY COMMISSION MINUTES Thursday, September 12,1991 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers Public Services Building 1. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Braden, Co-Chair Thomas, Commissioners Chidester, Koester, Matacia, Padilla, Pitts 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MSC (Koester/Chidester) to approve Safety Commi..~ion Minutes of August 8, 1991 as presented. Approved 5-0-0-2 with Chair Braden and Commissioner Pitts abstaining. 3. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY: None. 4. WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE: None. 5. REPORT ON ADDITION OF TWO-WAY LEFT TURN LANE FOR "E" STREET BETWEEN FIRST AND THIRD AVENUES. Chair Braden told the Commission that there were citizens who wanted to respond to staff's recommendation, but who could not attend the meeting. The following was read into the record by Chair Braden. A!!ainst Staff Recommendation Lena Martinez, 142 "E" Street, Chula Vista, CA 91910 Sherry Aguilar, President Mission Gardens Homeowners Association, 100 Block of "E" Street, Chula Vista, CA 91910 In Favor of Staff's recommendation Ralph and Velma Alvine, 171 Twin Oaks Circle, Chula Vista, CA 91910 John Nerz, 145 Twin Oaks Circle, Chula Vista, CA 91910 Mrs. Dickinson, 187 Twin Oaks Circle, Chula Vista, CA 91910 Hal Rosenberg informed Chair Braden that staff received a letter from Mr. Steven Thomas, who is Commissioner Thomas's brother. Commissioner Thomas said that he would abstain from this item due to a possible conflict of interest with his brother. Mr. Rivera reported that "E" Street is 64' wide and is a major east-west street. There are two lanes striped for each direction. Traffic counts are approximately 17,720 vehicles per day. Since parking is allowed on both sides, there is no space for a two- way left turn lane. On a street that does not allow parking, there would normally be a left turn lane. Commissioners viewed the area plat which indicated the proposed new striping which would add a center lane in the middle of the street. The curbside lane is 18' to 19' on the south and 14' on the north side which would have the parking restriction. The plat also indicated the existing striping which has left turn pockets only at First Avenue, Second Avenue, and Third Avenue. This presents problems to SAFETY COMMISSION September 12, 1991 Minutes Page 2 . motorists who live on the side streets such as Twin Oaks Circle, Alpine/Minot, Del Mar, and Church Avenues, where when making their left turn across opposing traffic, cars stack up behind them. There have been a number of rear end accidents on "E" Street. From 1988 to the present, there have been 90 reported accidents and 38%, or 34 accidents, were rear end accidents. This is the type of accident which could be eliminated with the addition of the left turn lane. A left turn lane would allow motorists to pull out of the mainstream flow of traffic. Staff looked at the possibility of striping this street with a continuous left turn lane and maintaining parking on both sides, but it cannot accommodated. This is due to the width of the street. The next alternative was to remove parking on one side. The north side, which is not as heavily used as the south side in parking, was the better choice to make in eliminating the parking. Recently, "E" Street was resurfaced by the Sweetwater Authority who was working on a major water line project. There are temporary markers on the street now instead of the striping. Commissioner Chidester asked if the traffic count was done before or after the opening of State Route 54. Mr. Rivera said that the traffic count was conducted after the opening of SR-54. There were approximately 20,000 - 22,000 vehicles before SR-54 opened and now there are between 17,000 and 21,000 vehicles daily depending on which part of "E" Street one is looking at. Counts have decreased between 10-15%. . Mr. Rosenberg indicated that staff expects the traffic on "E" Street to grow even with the opening of SR-54. There are some development proposals in the Bayfront and Woodlawn areas that will generate additional traffic. In ensuing years, traffic is expected to come back to previous volumes. The estimated traffic is in the range of 25,000 - 30,000 cars per day. The goal of staffs recommendation is to make the road safer and accommodate more cars. An example of this striping plan is on "F" Street between Third and Fourth Avenues where parking is removed on one side. Murphy Stumpf, 114 "E" Street, Chum Vista, CA 91910 Mr. Stumpf said that since SR-54 opened, traffic was down on "E" Street and southbound 1-5 from SR-54 is not even open yet. Mr. Stumpf felt the City was trying to transform "E" Street into another freeway. He said "E" Street was a residential street and suggested the City wait for the southbound 1-5 connector to be completed so people could learn traffic patterns and use the freeways instead of "E" Street. . Laura Grauduslius, 111 "E" Street, Chum Vista, CA 91910 Ms. Grauduslius conducted her own research since she received staffs letter. She gathered data on how many cars parked on the north and south sides. The majority of cars were parked in front of the Mission Garden Apartments and the semi-detached apartments between Second and Third Avenues. She said there is adequate parking in the Mission Garden parking lot to accommodate all the cars that were on the street. She could find no reason why anybody should be parking on the south side of the street outside the Mission Garden Apartments. From First A venue to Second A venue, there were two cars parked in front of residential houses on the south side, and on the north side there were six to eight cars parked in front of residential houses. SAFETY COMMISSION September 12, 1991 Minutes Page 3 . Ms. Graudslius's house has a red curb in front of it because of a bus stop. The duplex next door to her has a red curb for a few feet, so her family, guests, and service people who come to her home park in front of the duplex next to her. Ms. Graudslius felt that there had to be a way in which both residents and motorist could be winners. WiUiam Klinkhamer, Resident Manager of complex at 175 "E" Street, Chula Vista, Ca 91910 Mr. Klinkhamer read a letter of opposition to staffs recommendation from Mr. Steve Thomas, Broker/Owner of SCT properties. See attachment. Frances Guest, 149 Twin Oaks Circle, Chula Vista, CA 91910 When Mrs. Guest first inquired about the striping, she didn't expect First to Second Avenues to be involved. She knew the street was going to be resurfaced and wrote a letter to the Engineering Department regarding adding a left turn lane. Mrs. Guest explained to the Commission the trouble that motorists who live on Twin Oaks Circle have in turning left out on to "E" Street as well as trying to turn left across "E" Street when returning to Twin Oaks Circle. The timing of the lights make it difficult to safely enter traffic. . Commissioner Chidester asked how many parking places are currently on the north side. Staff indicated there are approximately 17 to 19 parking stalls between First and Third Avenues. Since the stalls are not marked, the number varies by the way cars are parked. On the south side, there are approximately 25 to 30 spaces. Chair Braden asked if the parking on the north side was eliminated, was there an alternate place for motorists to park. Mr. Rivera said that they could add approximately six more parking spaces on the south side. Chair Braden asked if the affected residents had their own driveway and Mr. Rivera said that most residents had their own driveways. Commissioner Matacia asked Sgt. Schaefer how many accidents are not reported. Sgt. Schaefer said that was a difficult question to answer. If an accident occurs and the motorists involved do not desire a report and there is minor damage, it is not reported. He feels more accidents have occurred than are reflected in the statistics. Mr. Rivera said that of the reported accidents, 2/3 were injury accidents. Commissioner Matacia said the injury/accident rate indicated that something needed to be done. MSC (Matacia/Koester) to accept staff's recommendation for the addition of a two- way left turn lane on "E" Street between First and Third Avenues. Approved 5-1-0- 1 with Commi,,-~ioner Chidester voting no and Commi"-sioner Thomas abstaining. . Chair Braden informed the audience that this item will go to the City Council and that the Safety Commission's decision can be appealed there, if they wish. The citizens will be notified by staff when this item will be on the Council agenda. Chair Braden granted additional speaking time to the following people. SAFETY COMMISSION . September 12, 1991 Minutes Page 4 Laura Grauduslius, 111 "E" Street, Chuw Vista, CA 91910 Ms. Grauduslius wanted to know where are the accidents occurred. Were they at First Avenue and "E" Street or at Second Avenue and "E" Street? She was not aware of any accidents at First Avenue and "E" Street but only at Second Avenue and "E" Street. She indicated that residents living on Twin Oaks or Del Mar have an alternative route using "F" Street to get to their homes. The residents on "E" Street do not have alternate routes. Mr. Rivera indicated that there have been accidents at every mid-block location and every intersection along the way. There have been six at First Avenue and "E" Street since 1988 where there is a left turn pocket. At Second Avenue and "E" Street there have been 36 accidents and there is a left turn pocket at that intersection also. There have been 48 additional accidents occurring where there is not a left turn lane. Frances Guest, 149 Twin Oaks Circle, Chuw Vista, CA 91910 Mrs. Guest wanted to point out that there were no residents from between Second and Third Avenues on "E" Street to protest. Mrs. Guest felt the Commission should place the left turn lane striping between Second and Third and discuss the rest of "E" Street at a later date. . 6. . Commissioner Pitts requested a breakdown of accident locations. Mr. Rivera reported the following statistics: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) First Avenue & "E" Street - 6 accidents Second Avenue & "E" Street - 36 Between First Avenue & Alpine/Minot Avenue - 4 Between Alpine/Minot Avenue & Minot Avenue - 2 Between Minot Avenue & Second Avenue - 10 Between Second Avenue & Twin Oaks Avenue - 1 Between Twin Oaks Avenue & Del Mar Avenue - 4 Between Del Mar Avenue & Church Avenue - 5 Between Church Avenue & Third Avenue - 5 It was pointed out that the distance between blocks is very short. It is 1,320 ft between major streets and that would average out to approximately 400 between mid block streets. ORALCO~CATIONS Robert Smith, 744 East Naples Court #282, Chuw Vista, CA 91911 Mr. Smith is the neighborhood watch captain for his area and was representing approximately 200 tenants of the Sunbow Villa Apartment Complex. The complex is located on East Naples Court which is a cul-de-sac east of Medical Center Drive. Mr. Smith wanted to address the problem of speeding and traffic control on Medical Center Drive. Children in the area cross Medical Center Drive from the apartment to East Naples Street, where school buses pick them up. Both elementary and high school students are picked up in this area. Traffic study speeds were approximately 41 mph between 2:30 - 3:00 p.m. The speed increased to 44 mph from 3:00 - 3:25 p.m. and also showed a 15 % increase in traffic density. This is the time that children are crossing . . . SAFETYCO~SSION September 12, 1991 Minutes Page 5 from the bus stop back to the complex after school. Because of the winding road and hill, a vision obstacle is created to motorists. From the southeast comer of Medical Center Drive and East Naples Court, a driver can see only approximately 150' due to a trees that lines Medical Center Drive. Coming down from the hospital, they could miss seeing children and hit them. Suggestions to help the situation are increased enforcement, a speed survey, and/or have the posted speed (40 mph) reduced to 35 mph. Mr. Rivera indicated that there are no driveways off Medical Center Drive nor properties that front on it. The only access to Medical Center Drive is at East Naples Street, East Naples Court, and at Medical Center Court. Commissioner Padilla asked Sgt. Schaefer to relate the enforcement history of Medical Center Drive. Sgt. Schaefer indicated that there has been speed enforcement on East Naples Street where the school bus stops. East Naples Street is a residential street and enforcement is appropriate. However, Medical Center Drive has very little pedestrian traffic except at the intersection on East Naples Court. The Chula Vista Police Department has conducted radar enforcement in this area. Mr. Smith said a traffic survey indicated that there is a rate of 3.22 accidents per 1 million miles travelled, which is higher than the average accident rate in the State at 3.15 for a similar roadway. Commissioner Chidester questioned the nature of the accidents. Frank Rivera stated that several of the accidents have been by east-west vehicles and were right angle type accidents. One car was going southbound and went through the median and ended on the east side of the street. Commissioner Chidester asked if the school buses could enter East Naples Court and pick up children there. Frank Rivera stated that would be up to the school district. Staff will investigate this problem and prepare a report with a recommendation and present it at the next Safety Commission Meeting. Staff will notify the citizens in the audience. OTHER BUSINESS STAFF REPORTS: 7. 1991-92 CIP Status Report Hal Rosenberg explained the attachments regarding the traffic signal at 1-805 and Otay Valley Road, which the City Council received while on a tour. The Council also reviewed the traffic signal computer system. Staff offered an overview of the system to the new commissioners. 8. Chula Vista Police Department Traffic Summary for June 1991 No comments. . . . SAFETY COMMISSION September 12, 1991 Minutes Page 6 9. Jay Walking Article, San Die!!o Union, August 19, 1991 For Commissioners' information. 10. Board and Commission Business Cards Staff will be ordering personalized business cards for Commissioners and pay for them through the Safety Commission printing budget. 11. Commissioner Comments Chair Braden, at the suggestion of Commissioner Chidester, felt the Commission should take a "field trip" and view various safety areas around the City. It could be used to look at projects that would soon come up to vote by the Commission. After the tour, the Commission could have a lunch/workshop at a local restaurant. At the next meeting, staff will bring back suggestions and possible date for the trip. Co-Chair Thomas asked about the status of Safety Commission involvement in schools as discussed at the August meeting. Mr. Rivera said that the Safety Patrol from various schools have been invited to attend the October meeting. Mr. Rivera asked Chair Braden about an earlier start time for Commission Meetings. On a trial basis, the start time will be 6:30 p.m. 12. RECESS TO REGULAR MONTHLY WORKSHOP SESSION, Immediately Following (if necessary) N/A 13. ADJOURNMENT (to the Safety Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday. October 10. 1991 MSUC (Koester/Chidester) to adjourn. 8:40 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, ~~ d~hh'-~ Shirley Buxt n, Recordmg Secretary SB:SAFETY/9-12-91.MIN 100191