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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-04-10 SC MINUTESMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHULA VISTA SAFETY COMMISSION April 10, 2003 Council Chambers 6:00 p.m. Public Services Building CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 6:01 p.m. 1. Roll Call: Present: Chair McAlister; Commissioners: Acton, Gove, Lopez, Perrett, White, and Willett Absent: None Also present: Samir Nuhaily, Sr. Civil Engineer; Majed AI-Ghafry, Civil Engineer; Susan Mihalka, Engineering Technician; Dave Byers, Director of Public Works Operations; and Florence Picardal, Recording Secretary 2. Pledge of Allegiance/Silent Prayer 3. Opening Statement Opening statement read by Chair McAlister. 4. Approval of Minutes for February 13. 2003 and March 13. 2003 MSUC (White/Acton) to approve the minutes of February 13, 2003 as submitted. (7-0) Is MSUC (Acton/White) to approve the minutes of March 13, 2003 as submitted. (7-0) MEETING AGENDA 5. Oral Communications None. 6. Report on Request for an All -Way Stop at the Intersection of Crest Drive and Douglas Street On October 14, 2002, the Director of Engineering received an e-mail from Mr. Paul Costa, a resident on Crest Drive. Mr. Costa requested the installation of stop signs on Crest Drive at Douglas Street in order to alleviate the speeding problem caused by southbound vehicles on Crest Drive heading toward Telegraph Canyon Road. Staff has investigated said request and is forwarding this report to the Safety Commission for consideration. Mr. AI-Ghafry presented the report and Powerpoint Presentation. He stated that 7 calls were received, 6 against the all way stop and 1 in favor. He also stated that there was a correction to the report — page 2 should read "4 pedestrians" instead of "9". Staff Recommendation: That the Safety Commission concurs with the following: • To deny the installation of an All -Way Stop control at the intersection of Crest Drive and Douglas Street based on the intersection receiving a total of 41 points out of a possible 100 points, where 45 minimum points are required to justify the installation of all -way stop control. • That the northbound and southbound directions of Crest Drive be posted with 25 mph speed limit signs and pavement legends to better inform drivers of the speed limit in this area. Safety Commission Minutes April 10, 2003 Page 2 Public hearing opened. The following persons spoke in opposition to staffs recommendation: 1. Kelly Costa, 880 Crest Dr., Chula Vista 2. John Talamanez, 605 Douglas St., Chula Vista 3. John McNulty, 611 Douglas St., Chula Vista 4. Marta Rutter, 891 Crest Dr., Chula Vista Public hearing closed. Commission Discussion: Commissioner Acton stated that this item has come before the Commission a number of times and suggested that the item be forwarded to the City Council. Commissioners Perrett, Willett, Gove and Lopez stated they were in favor of installing the all -way stop at the intersection of Crest Drive and Douglas Street. Commissioner White concurred with staff recommendation to deny the all -way stop and that the northbound and southbound directions of Crest Drive be posted with 25 mph speed limit signs. Mr. AI- Ghafry stated that if the City Engineer elects to waive the point system based on the public hearing then the item would not be forwarded to City Council and the all -way stop would be installed within 3 weeks. If the City Engineer does not concur with Safety Commission recommendation then the item would be forwarded to City Council for final determination. MSC (Acton/Gove) to install an all -way stop control at the intersection of Crest Drive and Douglas Street and that the northbound and southbound directions of Crest Drive be posted with 25 mph speed limit signs and pavement legends to better inform drivers of the speed limit in this area. (6-1-0, White voting no) 7. Report on All -Way Stop Study at the Intersection of First Avenue and Palomar Street • At the March 13, 2003 Safety Commission meeting, the question of an All -Way Stop at the intersection of First Ave. and Palomar St. was raised. Staff is returning to the Safety Commission with a report on a study for an All -Way Stop at this intersection, which was last studied in March of 2001. At that time, it received 63 points (out of a possible 100 points) where 45 minimum points are required to justify the installation of an All -Way Stop control. At the April 12, 2001 meeting, where the item was considered, the Safety Commission voted MSC (White/Acton) 5-0-2, (with Lopez and McAlister absent) to not approve the installation of an All -Way Stop at this location. As a result, this intersection currently functions as a two-way stop control only on First Avenue. Mr. AI-Ghafry presented the report and Powerpoint Presentation. He stated that 6 calls were received, 3 in favor of the all way stop and 1 against. He also stated that there was a correction to the report -- page 2 should read "4 pedestrians" instead of "9'. He also wanted to make a clarification to page 3 -- the last paragraph before "Fiscal Impact', last sentence should read, "The intersection has been proposed to be budgeted for the installation of a traffic signal....." He stated this traffic signal has not yet been budgeted and is still a proposal at this stage. Staff Recommendation: That the Safety Commission concur with staffs recommendation to install an All - Way Stop control at the intersection of First Avenue and Palomar Street based on the intersection receiving a total of 60 points out of a possible 100 points, where 45 minimum points are required to justify the installation of all -way stop control, to provide for crosswalks at all approaches to the intersection, and to provide for 30' of red curb on Palomar Street at the northwest corner of the intersection for fire hydrant clearance. Public hearing opened. The following person spoke in opposition to staffs recommendation: • 1. Richard Butler, 97 Bishop St., Chula Vista Safety Commission Minutes April 10, 2003 Page 3 The following persons spoke in favor of staffs recommendation: 1. Georgia Gertin, 171 Palomar St., Chula Vista, representing The Palomar Apartments 2. Richard Woods, 114 Palomar St., Chula Vista 3. Sharon de los Rios, 171, #208 Palomar St., Chula Vista 4. Diana Guevara, 82 Palomar St., Chula Vista Public hearing closed. Commission Discussion: Commissioner White stated he was in favor of the installation of the all -way stop, but was also strongly in favor of installing a stop light at this location. Mr. AI-Ghafry stated that a stop light is proposed to be installed in the CIP budget for FY 2003-04. MSUC (Acton/White) to concur with staffs recommendation to install an All -Way Stop control at the intersection of First Avenue and Palomar Street, to provide for crosswalks at all approaches to the intersection, and to provide for 30' of red curb on Palomar Street at the northwest corner of the intersection for fire hydrant clearance. (7-0) 8. Report on decreasing the existing speed limit on Oxford Street between Broadway and Third Avenue `i Based on the provisions of the California Vehicle Code Section 40803, and pursuant to authority under the Chula Vista Municipal Code Section 10.48.020, the City Engineer has determined that based on a Traffic Engineering Study, the speed limit on Oxford Street between Broadway and Third Avenue be decreased from the existing 35 mph to 30mph. Mr. AI-Ghafry presented the report and Powerpoint Presentation. He stated that no calls were received. • Staff Recommendation: That the Safety Commission concur with staffs recommendation to decrease the existing speed limit on Oxford Street between Broadway and Third Avenue to 30mph, and that Schedule X of the register maintained in the office of the City Engineer be revised to include this speed reduction. Public hearing opened. The following persons spoke in favor of staffs recommendation: Miguel Flores, 550 Oxford St., #105, Chula Vista Public hearing closed. MSUC (White/Acton) to concur with staffs recommendation to decrease the existing speed limit on Oxford Street between Broadway and Third Avenue to 30mph, and that Schedule X of the register maintained in the office of the City Engineer be revised to include this speed reduction. (7-0) 9. Proposed 2 -Hour Time Limited Parking at Chula Vista Community Park The Director of Public Works Operations has requested that the 23 regular parking spaces in the parking lot for the Chula Vista Community Park be restricted to 2 -hour time limited parking to improve parking space availability for park patrons. The handicapped parking spaces in the parking lot would not be subject to the 2 - hour parking restriction. Mr. AI-Ghafry presented the report and Powerpoint Presentation. He stated that no calls were received. He also stated that the Assistant Principal of Eastlake High School was notified. As a side note, staff is allowing . Eastlake High School to utilize Clubhouse Drive on both sides for temporary parking until Eastlake Parkway is completely constructed. Commissioner Gove asked why the City does not allow for adequate parking at parks (with the exception of Eucalyptus and Discovery). Dave Byers, Director of Public Works Operations responded that at the Major Projects Technical Committee meeting this afternoon, four parks plans were Safety Commission Minutes April 10, 2003 Page 4 reviewed and one of the issues that came up was the conflict between programming in the park and sufficient parking spaces. Staff is trying to balance those issues. When plans were review for the Chula Vista Community Park site, there was a perception that the high school parking lot would be available for overflow and the high number of students at Eastlake High was unforeseen. Commissioner Willett stated that while he was on the Planning Commission a decision was made that, if at all possible, when new parks were added, if the park was adjacent to a high school, the two parking lots were combined. Also, a formula was used to calculate parking. When the number of students per class changed and the population increased, the parking calculations were not sufficient. Director Byers stated that in the new Park Master Plan and discussions with both school districts, it is no longer recommended to put parks and high schools adjacent to each other due to insufficient parking and problems in field play and deterioration. It is now recommended that parks be adjacent to middle and elementary schools. Vice Chair Acton asked if there would be enough parking enforcement. Director Byers stated there is sufficient Parks staff to issue citations, so as not to burden the Police Department. Staff Recommendation: That a 2 -hour time limited parking restriction be installed for the parking lot at Chula Vista Community Park and this restriction be added to the register maintained by the Office of the City Engineer under Schedule XV as authorized by Section 10.52.480 of the Chula Vista Municipal Code. Public hearing opened. The following persons spoke in favor of staffs recommendation: 1. Sandra Pelkey, 1413 South Creekside Dr., Chula Vista 2. Linda Angelo, 2631 Moonlight Trail Ln., Chula Vista 3. Julia Schafer, 148 Hayfork Place, Chula Vista Public hearing closed. Commission Discussion: Commissioners White, Gove, Perrett, and McAlister stated they all supported staffs recommendation, with Commissioner White suggesting "Park Use Only" signs be installed and Commissioner Gove stating that more needs to be done to alleviate the parking problems. Mr. AI-Ghafry stated that City is working with the high school and the school district on this problem. One of the options is to use the adjacent leased lot for overflow parking and exploration of using the church parking lot (across the street) for overflow parking. MSUC (White/Acton) to concur with staff recommendation that a 2 -hour time limited parking restriction be installed for the parking lot at Chula Vista Community Park and this restriction be added to the register maintained by the Office of the City Engineer under Schedule XV as authorized by Section 10.52.480 of the Chula Vista Municipal Code. (7-0) 10. Traffic Accident Summary - February 2003 None. 11. Action Summary Update/Staff Comments Mr. AI-Ghafry stated that the City Engineer concurred with the Safety Commission recommendation on the all - way stop at Otay Valley Road/Palm Avenue and the all -way stop will be installed within the next couple of weeks. He also stated the all -way stop at Nacion and E. Millan Court item was heard by the City Council on March 25, 2003 and City Council concurred with staff recommendation to NOT install the all -way stop at the present time and that more police enforcement take place. i Safety Commission Minutes April 10, 2003 Page 5 • 12. Staff Comments Mr. Nuhaily stated that the Commission voted against staffs recommendation on the stop sign at Otay Valley Road/Palm Avenue item, but after staff re-evaluated the item, staff concurred with the Safety Commission. He encouraged the Commission to be as independent as possible in making decisions and not necessarily stick to the point system, especially if there are compelling issues (schools, parks, children, etc.) Mr. AI-Ghafry stated that there is a SANTEC/ITE traffic seminar for elected public officials and Safety Commissioners are encouraged to attend. Mr. AI-Ghafry also stated that the City Council and GMOC will be having a joint workshop meeting in the Council Chambers on June 12 and the Safety Commission may have to be rescheduled for another meeting place (Conference Rooms 2 & 3). Chair McAlister requested that this item be placed on the May 8th agenda for discussion. 13. Commissioner Comments Chair McAlister commented that he attended the March 25th Council meeting and stated that it appears that the Councilmembers are adhering to the guidelines of the All -Way Stop Policy. There is consensus in the community that there is a proliferation of stop signs. If the Safety Commission does not have compelling information to recommend against staff, Council will typically support staffs recommendation. Chair McAlister asked that the Commissioners keep this in mind for future items. Commissioner White stated he may not be attending the June 12, 2003 meeting. ADJOURNMENT AT 7:28 P.M. to the next regularly scheduled meeting of May 8, 2003. J'1Eng1neer\SAFET11041003_MIN doc Is Respectfully submitted, Florence Picardal, Recording Secretary