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Home My WebLink About2006-04-13 SC MINUTESMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHULA VISTA SAFETY COMMISSION April 13, 2006 Community Room 6:00 p.m. Chula Vista Police Department Headquarters CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 6:00 p.m. 1. Roll Call: Present: Vice -Chair AI-Ghafry; Commissioners Gove, Perrett, Rosario and Willett Absent: Chair White; Commissioner Lopez Also present: Principal Civil Engineer, Frank Rivera Senior Civil Engineer, Lombardo DeTrinidad Associate Engineer, Patrick Moneda Recording Secretary, Lindsey Walters MSC (Willett/Gove) to excuse absences of Chair White and Commissioner Lopez (5-0-2) White, Lopez absent. 2. Pledge of Allegiance/Silent Prayer 3. Opening Statement Opening statement read by Vice -Chair AI-Ghafry. 4. Approval of Minutes for March 9, 2006. Forgone, as there was not a full quorum relevant to approval of the minutes. MEETING AGENDA 5. Oral Communications None. 6. Report on Request for an All -way Stop at the intersection of East Palomar Street and Raven Avenue Brief presentation given by Senior Civil Engineer DeTrinidad. Staff received a written request from Ms. Olivia Juarez residing at 1319 Raven Avenue, requesting an all -way stop at East Palomar Street and Raven Avenue. Ms. Juarez feels that in the northbound direction, it is very difficult to turn westbound or eastbound when entering East Palomar Street from Raven Avenue because oncoming traffic on East Palomar Street cannot be seen until they are really close because vehicles are coming up the hill and driving at high speeds. Staff has conducted a study of the intersection and is forwarding this report to the Safety Commission for consideration. All area residents have been notified of tonight's meeting. Staff Recommendation: That the Safety Commission concurs with staffs recommendation to: • Deny installation of an all -way stop at East Palomar Street and Raven Avenue. • Provide Bike Lane/edge striping • Implement the following intersection enhancements: a. Upgrade the two existing streetlights at the intersection from 100 watts to 250 watts. b. Install intersection advisory signs on both approach legs on East Palomar c. Install additional 30 mph speed limit signs on East Palomar Street. Safety Commission Minutes April 13, 2006 Page 2 Public hearing opened. , The following persons spoke in opposition to staff's recommendation: 1) Ed Dulude, 1336 Raven Avenue 2) Harvey Currey, 1325 Raven Avenue The following persons also oppose staff's recommendation, voiced support via phone call 1) Jane Ogino, 1304 Oriole Place 2) Dennis Mascar, 1305 Oriole Place 3) Ron Garcia, 1349 Raven Avenue (SDPD) 4) Delayna Castillo, 1354 Raven Avenue 5) Gif Justice, 1343 Raven Avenue 6) Todd Parsons, 431 Sparrow Street 7) Francisco Bravo, 1360 Raven Avenue Public hearing closed. Commission Discussion: Commissioner Perrett was on this commission when this item was addressed, and Vice -Chair AI-Ghafry was on the City Staff at that time. It's a tough decision, and the Vice -Chair feels its staff has a made a good decision. He fears that we are known for having too many all -way stops. It wouldn't be a concern if it were used as a speed reduction device, however, when people make up the lost time at these locations, they end up speeding somewhere else. Commissioner Gove stated that she felt the street was poorly designed, and Vice -Chair AI-Ghafry concurred. Felt that staff could re-examine the standards, look at bike lanes, look at four lanes versus two lanes, increase wattage, move stop bars further into intersection, etc. At this stage he was not in favor of an all -way stop. There was talk of making a motion regarding each recommendation, and then after much discussion, and considering the missing commissioners, it was decided that item would be continued until next month's meeting. The Vice -Chair asked City staff to look at going from 4 to 2 lanes, and bring that information back to next month's meeting. 7. Report on Parking Prohibition on Bay Boulevard from "E" Street to "F" Street Staff presented a report proposing a prohibition of on street parking along the easterly curb line of Bay Boulevard from "E" Street to "F" Street. The purpose of this proposal is to: 1) allow bike lanes to be striped in accordance with the recently adopted Chula Vista Bikeway Master Plan, and 2) enhance safety of vehicles exiting adjacent parking lots by providing improved visibility of oncoming traffic on Bay Boulevard. Parking is already prohibited along the westerly curb line of the street. Staff has sent letters notifying all owners on Bay Boulevard of the proposed action for tonight's Safety Commission Meeting. Staff Recommendation: That the Safety Commission concur with staff to recommend that City Council to prohibit on -street parking along the easterly curb of the 200 block of Bay Boulevard from "E" Street to "F" Street. Public hearing opened. The following persons spoke in favor of staffs recommendation: 1) Gordy Shields, 1955 Willis Drive (SANDAG Bayshore Bikeway) 2) Kathy Keehan, P.O. Box 34544, San Diego, CA. 92163 (San Diego County Bicycle Coalition) 3) Principal Civil Engineer Rivera on behalf of Stephan Vance, 401 "B" Street, Suite 800 (SANDAG) Public hearing closed. Commission Discussion: Commissioners Willett and Rosario's first comments were that they were in support of recommendation, and Commissioner Rosario is in fact a frequent bicyclist. Commissioner Gove asked how a bicyclist deals with bike lane near Anthony's, when cars are coming out, and getting fairly close to bikers. Commissioner Gove felt there should be signage, and Commissioner Rosario said you have to be very vigilant. There was some talk about cars actually hitting bicyclists, and it's considered assault according to Mr. Shields, and in such a case, the police should be contacted. Safety Commission Minutes April 13 2006 Page 3 MSC (Rosario/Willett) to concur with staffs recommendation. (5-0-2) White, Lopez absent. 8. Traffic Engineering CIP Proiect Update—March 2006 See attachment. 9. Traffic Accident Summary—January 2006, February 2006 Fatal accidents have changed, one in January and one in February. 10. Action Summary Update/Staff Comments January 12, 2006 ■ Speed Establishment at Stone Gate Street– Commission concurred with staffs recommended 35mph speed establishment. Council also approved item, and staff will be preparing a work order to install signage. March 9. 2006 ■ All -Way Stop at East J Street and Paseo Del Cerro – Commission concurred with staffs recommended installation of all -way stop and red curb, and work was completed in early April 2006. ■ Left & U -Turn Restriction @ East J Street & Carla Avenue – Commission concurred with staffs recommended prohibition of U-tums and left turns during peak school hours. No further status is available at this time. 11. Potential Safety Commission Agenda Item ■ Elections for FY06-07 will take place in the coming months. ■ All -Way Stop on Raven Avenue. ■ All -Way Stop at Elm and Del Mar. OTHER BUSINESS 12. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Rosario commented that he works in the City of San Diego, and its unfortunate that sometimes kids have to die before a fence is put up. This is not the case in the City of Chula Vista, and he voiced his appreciation for that. Principal Civil Engineer Rivera informed the Commission that Lombardo DeTrinidad will be retiring from the City of Chula Vista effective May 1 st. Senior Civil Engineer DeTrinidad stated how difficult it was to be leaving the City of Chula Vista, as it is the only place he has worked since he came to this country. Thanked the Commission for all the lessons and support, and how much he has learned, and what a great experience it has been. Vice -Chair Al-Ghafry came into work for the City of Chula Vista in 1990, and stated that Lombardo is one of the nicest individuals he's ever worked with. Appreciated his kindness to him as a staff member, and as a Commissioner, he appreciated his ethics, his mentoring, and he certainly set a top-notch example for all of the Engineering Department. The City of Chula Vista will miss him. ADJOURNMENT AT 7:10 P.M. to the next regularly scheduled meeting of May 11, 2006. Res ectfully submitted, % ake'. Lindsey Walters, Recording Secretary J:\Engineer\SAFETY\030906–MIN.doc