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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-01-13 SC MINUTESMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHULA VISTA SAFETY COMMISSION iJanuary 13, 2005 Council Chambers 6:00 p.m. Public Services Building CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 6:00 p.m. 1. Roll Call: Present: Chair White; Commissioners AI-Ghafry, Gove, Lopez, Perrett, and Willett Absent: Commissioner Rosario. Also present: Samir Nuhaily, Sr. Civil Engineer; Police Sgt. Munch; and Florence Picardal, Recording Secretary 2. Pledge of Allegiance/Silent Prayer 3. Opening Statement Opening statement read by Chair White. 4. Approval of Minutes for September 9, 2004 MSC (Willett/Lopez) to approve the minutes of September 9, 2004 as submitted. (6-0-1, Rosario absent) 0 MEETING AGENDA Item 11 taken out of order. 11. Presentation to Former Commissioner Acton A presentation was made by Chair White to former Commissioner Acton. He thanked Commissioner Acton for her service on the Safety Commission from 1995-2004 and her presence would be missed. Commissioner Acton expressed her appreciation to City staff, the Police Department, and the Safety Commission. 5. Oral Communications None. 6. All-Wav Stop at the Intersection of Monserate Avenue and Inkopah Street City staff received a request from a citizen for the installation of an all -way stop at the intersection of Monserate Avenue and Inkopah Street due to speeding on Monserate Avenue. Senior Civil Engineer Nuhaily gave a short Powerpoint presentation. Staff Recommendation: That the Safety Commission concur with staffs recommendation to deny the installation of an all -way stop control at the intersection of Monserate Avenue and Inkopah Street and refer the speeding issue to the Police Department for enforcement. Public hearing opened. The following person spoke in favor of staffs recommendation: 1. Phil Widenir, 271 Jamul Avenue, Chula Vista Safety Commission Minutes January 13, 2005 Page 2 • The following persons spoke in opposition to staffs recommendation: 1. Jerry Ohm, 157 Inkopah Street, Chula Vista. 2. Mr. Huber, 982 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista 3. Keith Cappello, 1054 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista 4. Eve Cappello, 1054 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista 5. Kathryn Hartman, 1015 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista 6. Eduardo Ochoa, 1003 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista 7. David Balk, 978 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista 8. Janet Parrish, 999 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista 9. Fred D. Gompf, 999 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista 10. Marina E. Barck, 945 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista (photos submitted) 11. Kacie Cappello, 1054 Monserate Avenue, Chula Vista Public hearing closed. Commission Discussion: Chair White commented that since he has become the Chair, this was the largest number of residents speaking for an item. Commissioner Willett suggested that the traffic studies be done at peak times. He has brought this up a number of times. He commented there may be a City Code referring to the height of hedges for sight distance. During his recent visit to the site, he observed the buses on Monserate and questioned if the road was wide enough for a bus route. He also observed the children from the school were not paying attention to the traffic. Lastly, he believed there was a speeding problem on Monserate. He concurred with some of the comments made by residents and thought that a stop sign would help alleviate some of the problems. Commissioner Perrett suggested that the item be re -studied and more information be brought back to the • Commission. Commissioner Gove stated she is very familiar with this street and was concerned about the buses on this street because there are no bus stops. She was also concerned about the children and accidents. She stated that she is in favor of the stop sign. Commissioner Al-Ghafry stated that staff performs the traffic studies subjectively based on a point system which oftentimes is not a popular decision with the public. He made the following observations: 1) the 85th percentile is 39 mph, the posted speed limit is 25 mph, which is 14 mph over the speed limit; 2) Police will not be available to monitor this segment at all times; 3) stop signs are not to be used to reduce speeds, however do work as a traffic control device; 4) staff also studied Jamul and looking at the point system, the Jamul special conditions received 21 points. This would qualify this intersection for an all -way stop, but it would make more sense to install the stop at Inkopah and Monserate to give equal distance to control this intersection. He stated he was in favor of the installation, reiterating that the decision takes into consideration staffs report, the Safety Commission's opinion, and public input. He also thought that the intersection could be red curbed and the bus route verified with Chula Vista Transit. Commissioner Lopez agreed with Commissioner AI-Ghafry. He had concerns about the fence and the sight visibility. He concurred with the recommendation to install an all -way stop. Commissioner White thanked the residents for speaking tonight. He stated that staff provides strictly analytical information with their recommendation. The public provides the human aspect. He was very appreciative of the photos that were submitted by a speaker. He noted that the 85th percentile is 60% over the speed limit. He asked if it would be possible to have a sign alerting drivers there is a "blind person" residing on that street. He was also concerned about the buses and maybe this street was being used as a shortcut. Normally, he agrees with staff recommendation, however, because of the strong public support was in favor of installing an all -way stop. MOTION - To not concur with staff recommendation and install an all -way stop control at Monserate Avenue and Inkopah Street; verify the bus route with Chula Vista Transit, and install red curb. Safety Commission Minutes January 13, 2005 Page 3 AMENDED MOTION - MSC (White/Willett)) to not concur with staff recommendation and install an all -way . stop control at Monserate Avenue and Inkopah Street, verify the bus route with Chula Vista Transit; install red curb; and if possible, install a sign alerting drivers there is a "blind person" residing on Monserate Avenue. (6-0-1, Rosario absent) Commissioner AI-Ghafry clarified that since the Safety Commission voted to not concur with staff recommendation, the final matter will go to the City Engineer and the City Engineer will elect whether to accept the Safety Commission's recommendation or take the item before City Council for a final hearing and decision. If the item goes to Council, all residents would be notified Senior Civil Engineer Nuhaily echoed Commissioner AI-Ghafry's comments. He stated that he will meet with the City Engineer tomorrow and go over tonight's decision. Based on tonight's hearing, it was his opinion this item would not go to Council and the City Engineer would concur with tonight's recommendation. Sgt. Munch stated that the distance between the two controlled intersections is just over 2,600 feet. This makes it problematic for traffic enforcement since it constitutes a "speed trap". The police cannot enforce the speed limit without the stop sign. 7. Decrease the Speed Limit on "J" Street from Bay Blvd. to Broadway Based on provisions of the California Vehicle Code and pursuant to authority under the Chula Vista Municipal Code, the City Engineer has determined that, based on Traffic Engineering Studies, the existing speed limit on "J" Street should be decreased from 35 mph to 30 mph between Bay Blvd. and Broadway. Senior Civil Engineer Nuhaily gave a short presentation. Staff Recommendation: That the Safety Commission concur with staffs recommendation to decrease the speed limit on "J" Street from 35 mph to 30 mph between Bay Blvd. and Broadway. Is Public hearing opened. The following person spoke in favor of staffs recommendation: 1. Jorge Osorio Amparo, 636 J Street, Chula Vista Public hearing closed. Commissioner Discussion: Commissioner Lopez stated he concurred with staff recommendation and expressed his thanks to the school crossing guard at that very busy location. Commissioner Willett also concurred with staff recommendation, Chair White noticed there is a flashing light to warn motorists of the approaching stop sign at this location and stated that a flashing warning light is still needed approaching "E" Street/Corte Maria. MSC (Willett/AI-Ghafry) to concur with staff recommendation. (6-0-1, Rosario absent) 8. Establish a 25 mph speed limit on Saint Claire Drive from Marquette Road to Otav Lakes Road Based on provisions of the California Vehicle Code and pursuant to authority under the Chula Vista Municipal Code, the City Engineer has determined that a 25 mph speed limit be established on Saint Claire Drive from Marquette Road to Otay Lakes Road. Senior Civil Engineer Nuhaily gave a short presentation. Staff Recommendation: That the Safety Commission concur with staffs recommendation to establish this speed limit of 25 mph on Saint Claire Drive from Marquette Road to Otay Lakes Road. 9 There were no public comments. MSC (AI-Ghafry/Willett) to concur with staff recommendation. (6-0-1, Rosario absent) Safety Commission Minutes January 13, 2005 Page 4 8. Traffic Accident Summary - August and September 2004 Commissioner Lopez stated that due to the heavy rains this season, there should be significant number of accidents. Commissioner AI-Ghafry stated that the Police Dept. has done an outstanding job in traffic enforcement with traffic citations up from last year. Commissioner Willett stated that while the statistics are true, the number of automobiles has gone up and therefore, the citations are actually going down as well as the accidents. He would like to see the total number of operators versus the total number of accidents. Sgt. Munch stated that the information would have to be extrapolated from the DMV. The DMV has a very archaic computer system as far as taking out data specific to certain fields. The Police Dept. is currently attempting to get specific data concerning Chula Vista and because the system is so archaic, it is extremely difficult to get this information. 10. Action Summary Update/Staff Comments No comments. 12. Staff Comments Senior Civil Engineer Nuhaily stated that the City Engineer has directed staff to prepare a Traffic Safety Study modeled after the City of Portland's Study. He stated that staff would like to get input from the Safety Commission to be included in this study. He suggested that the Commissioners review the City of Portland's website regarding traffic safety. Chair White suggested if there were no items scheduled for a meeting, that a workshop could be scheduled to discuss preparation of this Traffic Safety Study. Senior Civil Engineer Nuhaily cited another study recently completed that concluded 8% of the vehicles do not slow down at all for stop signs. He wanted to reiterate that stop signs cannot be used as a speed control measure, but they are traffic control devices. Staff is very concerned there may be a false sense of security to residents when they see a stop sign. He would like to forward a copy of this study to the Commissioners for their review. 13. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Lopez distributed some literature on driver feedback signs that were shown at a local safety convention. Senior Civil Engineer Nuhaily stated that he saw that same sign demonstrated at the ITE Conference in Florida. Commissioner AI-Ghafry stated that the City of Santee has been using this sign for about 1 % years and the City of San Diego has two recent installations. The City of Lemon Grove (Commissioner AI-Ghafry is that City's Director of Public Works/City Engineer) will have four installations within the next two months. He extended an invitation to City staff and the Safety Commission to check out the City of Lemon Grove installations. b. Chair White welcomed Sgt. Munch to the Safety Commission. Sgt. Munch stated that Scott Arsenault was promoted to Lieutenant. He added that the Traffic Section currently has a DUI grant which will have an officer and agent working specifically on DUI enforcement and education. This will be in place in 3-4 weeks. c. Chair White again thanked Commissioner Acton on her nine years of service to this Commission. He also welcomed everyone back from the holidays. ADJOURNMENT AT 7:40 P.M. to the next regularly scheduled meeting of February 10, 2005. Respectfully submitted, Florence Picardal, Recording Secretary 0 MAEngineeASAFEM011305 MIN doc