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HomeMy WebLinkAbouttecm_111495TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE UKIAH CIVIC CENTER Conference Room 5 300 Seminary Avenue Ukiah, California 95482 November 14, 1995 3:00 p.m. MINUTES MEMBERS PRESENT DEWEY, Chris FERNANDEZ, William (arrived late) HARRIS,Mike LOONEY, Jim TURNER, Steve WOODS, Larry (For Rick Kennedy) MEMBERS ABSENT FORD, Steve, Chairman KENNEDY, Rick OTHERS PRESENT Robert Hall, MTA Phyllis Henne William Henne Charles W. Webster STAFF PRESENT Marge Giuntoli Recording Secretary ON A MOTION by Member Harris, seconded by Member Dewey, it was carried by an all AYE vote to appoint Member Turner as Acting Chairman until either the Chairman or Vice- Chairman should arrive. The Traffic Engineering Committee was called to order by Acting Chairman Steve Turner at 3:07 p.m. Roll was taken with the results listed above. ON A MOTION by Member Harris, seconded by Member Looney, it was carried by an all AYE vote to approve the Minutes of September 12, 1995 with the following correction: Page 5, Paragraph 12, amend the sentence to read: Chairman Ford asked how many on-site parking spaces Worldwide Travel had. AUDIENCE COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS None. MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE November 14, 1995 Page 1 DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS NEW BUSINESS The order of Agenda Items IV.b and IV.c was rearranged to accommodate the audience present. a. Request for Eastbound and Westbound Bus Stops on Washington Street West of State Street -Robert Hall. MTA Robert Hall, MTA Bus Stop Coordinator, referencing his memo, advised that effective December 3, 1995, MTA will be servicing the Community Clinic on Laws Avenue and is requesting bus stops at four site locations on or around Washington Avenue. He submitted photographs of the locations. They are as follows: Site #1 On South State Street near the northwest corner of Washington Street. This location would serve customers going to Wal-Mart and other businesses on South State Street. It is also wheelchair accessible. Site #2 On Washington Street in front of the "Liquor and Food" convenience store. The passengers mentioned in Site #1 would wait here for their return north. Site #3 On Washington Street near the northeast corner of South Dora Street. This location would service the General Hospital, the Medical Center at 1165 South Dora Street, Nokomis School, and the surrounding residential area. Permission is being sought from Brookside Retirement Residence for their permission to install a small cement landing and bench. Site #4 On Washington Street near the southeast corner of South Dora Street. The passengers mentioned above in Site #3, traveling north, would be accommodated by this bus stop. Member Harris, citing his concern regarding the traffic between Washington and Talmage, asked if there were any other bus stops on State Street at that location. Mr. Hall responded the location specified is an unmarked curb area. Their busses do frequent that area when they drop off customers at Washington Avenue since it is unregulated. Not only is it long enough to approach and land, but there is also a significant distance for the bus to safely enter into traffic before approaching the corner. MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE November 14, 1995 Page 2 Member Harris confirmed the route would be turning right (west) onto Washington from State Street. Member Turner stated the drawing showed 57 feet from the telephone pole to the proposed bus stop, and asked for the distance between the telephone pole and the intersection. Mr. Hall commented the distance from the telephone pole to the intersection is in the order of approximately another 100 to 120 feet. He also works full time as a bus driver, and has driven this bus stop many times. There is ample room to wait for traffic. If it was closer to the intersection itself it would be more difficult, but this is a significant distance back from the intersection. The closest bus stop back from that location is in front of the Super 8 Motel. Member Dewey expressed his concern regarding taking away the customer pazking in front of the Ford dealership. Mr. Ha-1 replied that the people at Ford have not been contacted. The unmarked curb is open to parking at any time, and Ford has on-site parking as well, which is represented by the driveway at the entrance to their facility. Member Harris asked if Ford's driveway was actually used for access or if they usually parked cars in front of it. Mr. Hall indicated there were two driveways shown on the site map. One driveway is the entrance to the dealership. The second driveway is their access to their lots for their parked cars. Member Harris asked if there had been any thought about putting the stop on Washington, across the street from the Circle K. Mr. Hall responded the potential area would be past the Circle K and farther away from the Wal-Mart area. People who wished to frequent that area would still signal the bus driver to stop at Talmage, and he would automatically pull over to a safe area or marked bus stop. So, it is more than likely they would be stopping at that location anyway. Mr. Harris asked if they still stopped at unmarked bus stops. Mr. Ha-1 replied current MTA policy is that a safe, unmarked curb that is large enough to get into, drop passengers at the sidewalk, and allow for a safe exit and return to the traffic flow is acceptable. A person can still "flag" a bus if he is standing in a legal parking area. He further advised another reason MTA intended to stay on State Street was because the Ford dealership frequently uses Washington Avenue, at the site MTA considered as an alternate, to unload cars. The car carriers use those spaces, and they had considered the potential problem MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE November 14, 1995 Page 3 of having two large vehicles stopped at the same location rather than just being able to approach, maneuver around, and continue on with the flow of traffic. Member Harris asked if there would be some bus stops eliminated because of the change of route. Mr. Hall responded the stops south of Washington will remain in existence since there are other lines that service them. This change effects the local in-town bus line. Member Woods inquired relative to the frequency of the bus. Mr. Hall responded it is a 30 minute bus route, beginning at 7:00 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. Member Dewey inquired relative to painting the curbs at the stops. Mr. Hall replied it is up to the City as to whether they paint the curb red. Member Turner stated the curb may be painted red, shared with yellow zones, or remain unpainted. Member Looney commented he understood this is not intended to be a place designated specifically for a bus stop. Other people will still be allowed to park there. Member Turner replied there is no specific request for a red curb. He advised this route deviation to the Community Clinic will not effect every local line trip, so there will be busses still going by the State Street stops at the airport and Washington and State. ON A MOTION by Member Dewey, seconded by Member Hams, it was carried by the following roll call vote, to grant the request for eastbound and westbound bus stops on Washington Street west of State Street. AYES: Members Dewey, Harris, Looney, and Woods NOES: None ABSTAIN: Member Turner ABSENT: Members Fernandez and Ford c. Request for Short-Term Parking Spaces (Green Curb) in Front of Henne's Candy and Ice Cream Store at 582 North State Street Mr. William Henne advised there has been a sign posted in front of his building with a 2 hour parking time limit. In the last 1 to 1 1/2 years there has been a parking conflict with the restaurant next door, whose customers often park for longer than the two hours. The Hennes' customers traditionally have parked in front of the store; now their customers have notified them MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE November 14, 1995 Page 4 that at times there is no parking available and as a result, did not stop to make a purchase. There has been a meter maid on State Street as far as Norton. She never comes further north even though there are 2 hour parking signs quite a bit farther north than Norton. The pazking violators aze aware there is no enforcement; some cars even park all day. Member Turner asked if the limit of the downtown parking district and therefore the limit of the enforcement is Norton Street. Member Harris stated he believes that to be correct. The District boundaries are at Norton Street. Parking signs are posted outside the boundaries, but the authority to cite does not pass beyond that boundary. Charles Webster indicated he had talked to the mayor who had assured him he would talk to the people involved about the parking signs and meters. There are parking limit signs varying from 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. In the past few weeks, meter maid has driven by the store only one time that he has noticed. He left his truck parked in front of the store for several hours and was not ticketed. He expressed concern the signs were not enforced. He concurred with Mr. Henne's arguments. Member Turner asked if he thought the parking was a problem now because of the success of the restaurant. Mr. Henne replied that was a possibility. Four spaces aze set aside at the restaurant, but the owners or their employees park in those spaces. His desire is for a reduced time period for the street parking. Member Harris commented the Police Department needs to enforce the parking regulations, even if the parking is limited to 30 minutes. Member Turner stated there would be a response if complaints were received relative to the violations. Member Harris asked Member Woods whether he had talked to Assistant Redevelopment Director Larry DeKnoblough regarding the extension of downtown parking further to the north, and the impacts of such. Member Woods replied no, although he had received copies of the parking district boundazies. Member Fernandez arrived at 3:30 p.m. and assumed the chairmanship of the meeting. Member Turner asked Mr. Henne if he would be more inclined to call in if the violation exceeded a shorter, rather than the longer 2 hour time period, since that would seem to be the only time he would get enforcement. MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE November 14, 1995 Page 5 Mr. Henne replied he didn't know, since they could possibly be more busy on the phone reporting violators. Member Looney asked if the officers can only enforce within the boundaries, or if that could be extended for certain situations. Member Harris replied he was unaware of the legal ramifications of such an action. Mr. Webster commented a green zone would psychologically impact people to not park there. Discussion followed regarding the green parking zones, and whether to mark individual stalls and set time limits. ON A MOTION by Member Turner, seconded by Member Harris, it was carried by an all AYE vote to grant the request for as many as possible short-term parking spaces (green curb) in front of Henne's Candy and Ice Cream Store at 582 North State Street, with the appropriate signs for 24 minutes, 24 hours a day in the 68 feet of parking specified between the crosswalk and the driveway. ON A MOTION by Member Dewey, seconded by Member Turner, it was carried by an all AYE vote to direct staff to review how enforcement in this azea could be accommodated. b. Request for Uniform Time Restriction on Limited On-Street Parking within Downtown District -Public Works Member Looney, referencing his memo, advised there is a variation of enforcement time on the limited pazking areas. He is requesting that the time limits be enforced uniformly throughout the pazking areas, from 8 a.m to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. ON A MOTION by Member Harris, seconded by Member Turner, it was carried by an all AYE vote to refer the matter to Assistant Redevelopment Director Larry DeKnoblough and the new parking plan, with a report to be submitted back to the December meeting for action by the City Council. OLD BUSINESS a. Status Report on Beacon Lane Resident Survey Member Woods advised letters have been sent out giving the residents the opportunity to respond to the options. MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE November 14, 1995 Page 6 b. Status Report on Downtown Parking Improvement Program Member Harris advised the City Council adopted the Resolution approving the Downtown Parking Improvement Program on October 18, 1995. (See printed report.) c. Status Report on the Request for a Stop Sign on Mendocino Drive at Gardens Avenue Member Woods advised this item was forwarded to the City Council. A stop sign has been installed as per resolution. d. Status Report Regarding the Re nest for Stop Sign Control at Arlington and Elm. Burlington Drive and Elm, and Carlton and Elm Member Woods, referencing his memo, advised he did a further review of accidents in the Arlington area. There has only been one accident at Elm and Burlington and one at Elm and Arlington that could have had anything to do with stop signs. The information for warrants on the stop signs at a "T" intersection is attached. Warrant Nos. 1, 5, and 7 are the only ones that could apply. The accidents do not warrant a stop sign for these locations. Discussion followed relative to intersections. ON A MOTION by Member Turner, seconded by Member Harris, it was carried by an all AYE vote to deny the request for stop sign control at Arlington and Elm, Burlington Drive and Elm, and Carlton and Elm. Research by the Public Works Department indicates stop signs do not appear to be warranted in relation to the standards in the traffic manual, and no clear benefit will be derived. e. Status Report Regarding Request for Limited Parking on South Main Street from Mill Street to Gobbi Street Member Woods advised staff has not researched the implications of downtown parking, and adjacent property owners have not been notified of the potential of making a two hour limit from Gobbi to Mill Streets. This item shall be continued to the next regularly scheduled committee meeting. COMMITTEE MEMBER REPORTS Member Woods advised there had been some discussion regarding whether there will be a Traffic Engineering meeting in December or January. It was noted that in City Engineer Rick Kennedy's letter to the Beacon Lane residents, it was mentioned the next regularly scheduled meeting will be held December 12, 1995. MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE November 14, 1995 Page 7 MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS None AD.TOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:02 p.m. Steve Turner, Acting Chairman ;~ ~ i .~~~ ~~° M~fige Gi6ntoli, Recording Secretary b:M111495 MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING COMMITTEE November 14, 1995 Page 8