{"body": "LibraryBoard", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 1, "text": "CITY\nof\nof\nMINUTES OF THE\nALAMEDA FREE LIBRARY BOARD MEETING\nWEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015\nThe regular meeting of the Alameda Free Library Board was called to order at 6:03 p.m.\nROLL CALL\nPresent:\nCatherine Atkin, President\nKathleen Kearney, Board Member\nNancy Lewis, Board Member\nSuzanne Whyte, Vice President\nGertrude Woods, Board Member\nAbsent:\nNone\nStaff:\nJane Chisaki, Library Director\nLori Amaya, Recording Secretary\nEach Library Board member gave a brief introduction for the two new board members.\nORAL COMMUNICATIONS, AGENDA (Public Comment)\nNone.\nCONSENT CALENDAR\nAn asterisk indicates items so enacted or approved on the Consent Calendar\n*A.\nReport from the Library Director Highlighting Activities for the Months of September and October\n2015.\n*B.\nDraft Minutes of the Regular Library Board Meeting of July 8, 2015.\n*C.\nLibrary Services Report for the Months of June, July, August, and September 2015.\n*D.\nFinancial Report Reflecting FY15 Expenditures by Fund for July, August, September, and October\n2015.\n*E.\nBills for Ratification for the Month of July, August, September, and October 2015.", "path": "LibraryBoard/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "LibraryBoard", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 2, "text": "Page 2 of 4\nMinutes of the\nAlameda Free Library Board\nNovember1 18, 2015 Meeting\nDirector Chisaki reported that a City Council member had received an official complaint regarding the out\nof service computers at the library. A short power blip had caused one of the two servers dedicated to the\npublic computers to fail. The Library had a third party provider switch to a virtualization system, but the\nresults were unsatisfactory. It was discovered that if some machines were shut down, it allowed the other\nmachines to run more efficiently. Since the computer lab machines are on a different network, the library\nkept the computer lab open to allow patrons more access. The patron mentioned that the Berkeley Library\nhad just installed 1 GB internet access. Director Chisaki will respond that the library is implementing a\ndesktop solution and is moving away from the virtualization system. The card catalog was down for two\nhours while the library was migrating to the new 1GB fiber network. The new desktop computers should\nbe implemented within the next few weeks. Director Chisaki noted that each location will have 1GB of\nspeed. This will create opportunities to have programs with authors out of state.\nThe Shakespeare Hamlet program was well attended. There were approximately 78 attendees, compared\nto 10 attendees the first year of the program.\nThe draft Request for Proposals for the Integrated Library System was sent to the City Attorney's office.\nIt will be presented to the City Council for release on December 15, 2015. Proposals will be due back\nat\nthe end of January. Installation should be done by the end of June 2016.\nAlameda Reads is doing great work with little funding. They have been able to find volunteers to assist in\nmany areas to keep the program running.\nThe Library's Annual Report presentation was included in the Board packet. There will now be a\npresentation every September.\nThe Services Report shows circulation numbers have slightly increased at the branches. Director Chisaki\nsaid that booksellers are noting an increase in purchases of hard copy books. The electrical for the door\ncounter at the back door of the Main library has been installed, but the counter itself still needs to be\ninstalled. Door count numbers are beginning to increase.\nVice President Whyte moved to approve the Consent Calendar. Board Member Lewis seconded the\nmotion, which passed with a 5-0 vote.\nUNFINISHED BUSINESS\nA.\nNone.", "path": "LibraryBoard/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "LibraryBoard", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 3, "text": "Page 3 of 4\nMinutes of the\nAlameda Free Library Board\nNovember 18, 2015 Meeting\nNEW BUSINESS\nA.\nCity Email Accounts for Board and Commission Members (J. Chisaki)\nManagement in the City want to move toward all Boards and Commissions having city email accounts,\nwhich would assist gathering information for Public Records Act requests. There will be some training on\nhow it the system works and will be implemented in different stages. Director Chisaki suspects the\nLibrary will be at a later stage.\nB.\nCirculation Trends (J. Chisaki)\nDirector Chisaki explained the various charts and graphs of the circulation trends report. Director Chisaki\nis pleased with the direction of the trends as numbers are either staying the same or increasing.\nC.\nAlameda Free Library Foundation (J. Chisaki)\nThe Friends and Foundation had a joint meeting and are moving toward the merge. Both groups are\nlooking for members to be on the Executive Board. The merge committee has been meeting with an\nattorney for help on the new bylaws. They have started the process to dissolve the 501(c) status for the\nFoundation and moving the funds into the Friends accounts. The Executive Board will set the meeting\ncalendar which determines how often they will meet. The Foundation's last concert of the season is on\nNovember 21 at the Rhythmix Cultural Works, and is sold out.\nD.\nFriends of the Alameda Free Library (J. Chisaki)\nThe Friends had their book sale and netted approximately $20,000. Director Chisaki noted that the\nFriends need help on the Sunday of the book sale to clean up and box up left over books. The Friends\nvoted on and approved the staff request for program funding in the amount of approximately $41,000.\nE.\nPatron Suggestions/Comments (Speak-Outs) and Library Director's Response\nA patron requested more books by Margaret Frazer. The response informed the patron that we currently\nown six titles and the latest book was published in 2012. Since the series is so old, the Library will not be\npurchasing more to complete the series. Two options include checking out from the San Francisco\nLibrary or purchasing from Amazon Kindle.\nA patron requested more Playaway books and headphones to go along with them. The response was that\nthe library is looking for more titles, but unfortunately are very expensive and are not always available.", "path": "LibraryBoard/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "LibraryBoard", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 4, "text": "Page 4 of 4\nMinutes of the\nAlameda Free Library Board\nNovember1 18, 2015 Meeting\nLIBRARY BOARD COMMUNICATIONS\nNone.\nDIRECTOR'S COMMENTS\nDirector Chisaki informed the Board that staff members have been harassed by a phone caller that calls\nbetween 20 - 30 times a day and asks for information on Section 8 housing, that is normally updated once\na week. The Housing Authority suggested referring him to them. It became an issue when he began using\nbad language and calling them names. The police have been involved and instructed staff to be courteous\nand try to help him, but if he becomes difficult, they can hang up and call the non-emergency number at\nthe Police Department.\nDirector Chisaki distributed copies of the Alameda Reads book, \"I Believe,\" and CLA Summer Reading\nshirts.\nORAL COMMUNICATIONS, NON-AGENDA GENERAL\nNone.\nADJOURNMENT\nThe meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m.\nRespectfully submitted,\nJane Chisaki, Library Director and\nSecretary to the Alameda Free Library Board", "path": "LibraryBoard/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 1, "text": "Transportation Commission Special Meeting Minutes\nWednesday November 18, 2015\nCommissioner Michele Bellows called the Transportation Commission to order at 7:00 p.m.\n1.\nRoll Call\nRoll was called and the following was recorded:\nMembers Present:\nMichele Bellows (Chair)\nEric Schatmeier (Vice Chair)\nJesus Vargas\nChristopher Miley\nMichael Hans\nGregory Morgado\nMembers Absent:\nThomas G. Bertken\nStaff Present:\nStaff Patel, Transportation Engineer\nStaff Payne, Transportation Coordinator\n2.\nAgenda Changes\nNone.\n3.\nAnnouncements / Public Comments\n3.A. Transportation Commission Meeting: Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at 7 pm\nCommissioner Schatmeier stated that AC Transit has been actively compiling a service\nenhancement plan that impacts the City. Commissioner Schatmeier provided a memo\nsummarizing the items that were discussed. He explained three priorities came about from the\ndiscussion: 1. funding should stay local; 2. maintain existing AC Transit Line O on Santa Clara\nAvenue and if they shorten the route as originally proposed by AC Transit then savings should\nstay local; and 3. in the absence of transfers, AC Transit should maintain direct service to\nFruitvale BART Station on the current lines despite the additional cost of doing SO. He\nrecommended that the topic be agendized for the January 2016 meeting so the Commission can\ndiscuss the priorities.\nStaff Payne stated that the City has been working with AC Transit and the City supports their\nexpansion plan. She further explained that the biggest priority is the restoration of the Line 19,\nPage 1 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 2, "text": "which is in the northern waterfront area and a new development will be built in the area. She said\nlast week she went to an AC Transit hearing and summarized the need for restoration of the Line\n19.\n4.\nConsent Calendar\n4.A. Transportation Commission Minutes - Approve Meeting Minutes - May 27, 2015\nCommissioner Schatmeier stated he had a change to Item 5b discussion of the Central Avenue\nComplete Streets proposal. He said that the minutes state Webster Street and Central Avenue\neastbound traffic on Central Avenue has a large amount of vehicles turning right onto Webster\nStreet. He explained that he meant to say was westbound traffic on Central Avenue has a large\nnumber of vehicles turning right onto Webster Street and he was concerned about how that\nwould be treated.\n4.B. Transportation Commission Minutes - Approve Meeting Minutes - July 22, 2015\nCommissioner Miley moved to approve the minutes of May 27, 2015 with the corrections\nprovided by Commissioner Schatmeier and approve the minutes of July 22, 2015. Commissioner\nSchatmeier seconded the motion. The motion was approved 6-0.\n5.\nNew Business\n5.A. Review Quarterly Report on Activities Related to Transportation Policies and Plans\nStaff Patel presented the quarterly report and introduced Rochelle Wheeler, Alameda Public\nWorks, to present an update on the Cross Alameda Trail.\n5.B. Recommend City Council Approval of the Central Avenue Concept Including Safety and\nOther Street Improvements\nJennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer for Alameda Point, presented the report and introduced\nStaff Payne to discuss the public outreach, staff recommendations and next steps. Jennifer Ott\nalso presented Jean Finney, Deputy District Director of Caltrans District 4, who spoke at the end\nof the presentation.\nCommissioner Vargas said having worked with Caltrans there are design manuals and guidelines\nand there are design exceptions for similar facilities that Caltrans has granted with lane widths of\n10.5 feet.\nJean Finney replied yes and the standard width for this type of roadway is 11 feet, so there will\nbe a design exception for the 10.5 feet lane widths. She also reiterated the fact that traffic\nengineers looked at the conceptual plans and gave conceptual approval for the 10.5 feet width.\nSean McPhetridge, Superintendent of Alameda Unified School District (AUSD), stated that he\nwas glad that the City and staff worked with the District. He explained that school leaders\nPage 2 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 3, "text": "support a walk and roll event every year to show and emphasize the need to be healthy and safe.\nHe also said the City of Alameda has worked hard to partner with them on numerous fronts and\nhe along with his colleagues support the plan.\nCommissioner Schatmeier stated that he thought staff did a good job on outreach and the\npresentation was conducted well. He said Jennifer Ott talked about safety improvements and the\ndisproportionate number of collisions the corridor is responsible for and he felt that was an\ninteresting case. He wanted to know if there will be a report on the before and after statistics as a\nresult of the project.\nStaff Payne replied she would like to report back about the impacts after construction.\nCommissioner Schatmeier stated that the presentation commented on the delays in traffic in the\nyear 2035 and he wondered how much of the delays and growth attribute to traffic growth that\nwould take place if the City did nothing. He wondered if that would be a similar level of delay\nand growth. He also wanted to know if staff attributes the delay growth to the project or the fact\nthat the City will get bigger and there will be more traffic in the year 2035.\nStaff Payne replied the numbers for the year 2035 do assume that all the planned development is\nwithin the estimate including no mode shift and the project is built.\nCommissioner Schatmeier replied the data reflects the assumption that the project is built, but\ndoes the data also assume growth delays in the corridor if the project was not built so there\nwould be no net impact on delays.\nLaurence Lewis, Associate Planner Kittelson and Associates, said the comparison that Staff\nPayne mentioned was in addition to the growth that would happen from upcoming development.\nHe explained there was a comparison with the same level of traffic in the year 2035 meaning\nexisting conditions and with what was proposed without mode shifts.\nCommissioner Schatmeier said the benefits listed included the improvements to bus access and\nhe wanted more detail regarding this.\nStaff Payne replied the west end of the island where there is the two-way bikeway on the west\nside of the street would have bus islands on the west end of the street to accommodate the\nexisting bus stop and staff would move the island a little bit north to the far side of that\nintersection. She also mentioned that on 8th Street there would be a bus bulb-out for the\nwestbound bus stop with benches and shelters and that type of improvement along the corridor.\nCommissioner Miley stated that looking at the Encinal High School side, he was happy to see\nstaff partnering with the school. He confirmed with staff that the reconfiguration of the school's\nparking lot, which is the staff parking lot, will have no loss to parking spaces.\nStaff Payne replied there is no parking loss.\nCommissioner Miley replied since the parking lot is the staff's parking lot, where would the rest\nof the encroachment of the existing school's facilities take place.\nPage 3 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 4, "text": "Staff Payne replied that would be the lawn space and they would be moving to the two kiosks\nfurther south out of the path of the bikeway.\nCommissioner Miley asked about the Webster and 8th Street intersection. He explained the\nintersection is where the highest pedestrian incidents were observed. He wondered if there were\nany treatments or improvements made within the 10 years.\nStaff Payne replied there were four pedestrian injuries at Webster Street and Central Avenue over\nthe past 10 years and since that time staff has improved that intersection. She said staff created a\nnew marked crosswalk on the east side and they felt that would improve the intersection moving\nforward. She went on to say that half of the injuries occurred before the intersection\nimprovement and half occurred afterwards, but she felt that did not occur on the eastern side.\nCommissioner Miley inquired about Washington Park from Page Street to 8th Street, where the\nbike lane would discontinue. He wondered if staff looked at going into the park to accommodate\na lane there.\nStaff Payne replied staff reviewed the option and decided not to pursue that because park space is\nvery limited and they weighed that as a higher concern.\nCommissioner Bellows opened the floor to public comments.\nKyle Long, Alameda west end student and east end resident, said he took a bicycle safety class\nand obeys all traffic laws. He said he feels unsafe when bicycling and feels safer when there is a\ndedicated bike lane.\nJay Katter, Alameda Community Learning Center (ACLC) student, said his friend who also\nbicycles was hit by a car when riding to school. He felt having bike lanes on Encinal Avenue\nwould be very nice.\nJay Lucy stated that he does not support the project. He felt the elimination of the parking spots\nand road access at the intersection of Central Avenue and Webster Street will be a business\nnegative and poor use of City funds. He asked for a loading and unloading study to be conducted\nand he said West Alameda Business Association (WABA) does not support this project. He\npointed out that at the public meeting when the new cross walks were installed at the intersection\nof Central Avenue and Webster Street staff stated that over 20,000 vehicles were crossing daily\nand now the numbers have mysteriously dropped due to a different agenda even with the growth\npattern being 2.9 percent from 2009. He said with population density growing, limiting a major\narterial makes no sense when a back path exists on Santa Clara Avenue. He requested that an\nEnvironmental Impact Report (EIR) be considered on such a significant proposal. He also\nrequested that a Shore Line Drive usage survey be considered to see how the people living along\nShore Line Drive feel about the change. Having been to every meeting on this topic, he felt\ndisappointed by the changes that were made since the last meeting. He heard that the schools are\ndrawing from outside the area like the city of Oakland. He asked that the bulb-outs not be used\nbecause they are a hazard and are not maintained.\nPage 4 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 5, "text": "Kathy Neilson, Central Avenue resident and parent to an Encinal High School student, said she\nwas surprised by the low collision incidents reported at the corner of Encinal Avenue and St.\nCharles Street because she felt there are more collisions that took place than was actually\nreported. She was happy to hear about the inclusion of curb extensions and crosswalks because\nthey will be effective. She felt that the loss of one parking spot in front of her home makes up for\nincreasing community safety. She was also happy to see the Sycamore trees would stay and\nbeautify the street. She wondered if the plan includes redirecting activity to go from Santa Clara\nto Central Avenue. She also wondered if the school district considered changing the school\nhours. She thought potentially staggering school start hours would reduce the traffic.\nColin Wainmain, Academy of Alameda student, said he rides his bike to school 3.5 miles each\nway. He said he likes to ride in the bike lanes because they do not honk at him and the bike lanes\nallow him to focus on riding safely and follow the laws. He explained that after school, he often\nrides down to Webster Street to get a snack and then rides over to soccer practice at Alameda\nPoint. He said he would ride along Shore Line Drive after soccer practice, but his coach would\nnot let him ride in the dark because it is too dangerous.\nJim Strehlow, Alameda resident, stated that plans have changed from initial presentation from\nworkshop to workshop to tonight. He said what was shown tonight was new material not\npreviously shown to the public so #1, 2, 3 and 4 became 1, 2a, 2b and 3 from sections A-K. He\nfelt there should be more meetings on the project now that there are new revisions and the\ncommunity should review and have the opportunity to present questions and receive answers. He\nasked staff how many citizens along sections A-F have stated that they want a cycle track in\nfront of their house or business, especially since it will be more difficult for them to enter and\nexit their home or business. He also said, the parking widths on sections F, G, H, I, and K are 7\nfeet wide, not 8 feet wide and he wondered if staff would move the disabled off the street. He\nnoted that Section J, slide 48 on the presentation packet is something the community has not seen\nbefore and public input was not received. He believed that was a bait and switch. He asked the\nCommission about Commissioner Schatmeier's ideas and why they were not included in the plan\nother than 8th Street. He said he bikes along 19th Avenue near Stern Grove in San Francisco and\nSan Francisco would never suggest taking away one traffic lane because that would make it\ndifficult for vehicles and emergency access vehicles to maneuver. Overall, he said some portions\nof the plan he agreed with, but he did not approve this vastly changed project.\nTodd Waimain, Central Avenue resident on the east end, said he and his children bicycle to the\nwest side of the island. He felt the City needs to have a safe way to get across the island and his\nchildren have told him about unsafe drivers and how they are following the rules of the road. He\nwent on to say that he lives on a portion of Central Avenue that contains sharrows and the drivers\ndo not understand exactly what they are. He asked that staff construct dedicated bike lanes\nbecause most drivers understand what that is and it is safer for cyclists. He explained that he\nwould cycle more frequently to the west end to Alameda Point for soccer games and Spirits\nAlley if there were safer options to do SO. He noted that when coming out of Crab Cove cyclists\nare spit out on a sidewalk and there is signage saying \"Do not bike on the sidewalk.\" He also\npointed out that the plan has no loss of parking, so he does not understand why this plan cannot\nbe approved as it stands because the presentation was quite thorough.\nPage 5 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 6, "text": "Susan Sperry, Alameda resident, asked the Commission to reconsider the plan and carefully look\nat the issues of the street. She came before the Commission because she was devastated to see\nwhat happened to Shore Line Drive. She carefully gathered newspaper editorials about Shore\nLine Drive and she is a property owner on Shore Line Drive as well. She said in the past she was\nable to see the ocean from her window and now there is parking lot.\nBruce Kibbe, Santa Clara Avenue resident, felt the plan is excellent and to go ahead with it\nbecause this plan is looking towards the future. He said every bicycle equals one less car and one\nless parking space that needs to be provided by merchants.\nCommissioner Miley said it was great to see so many young kids out tonight to speak and attend\nthe meeting and he said they were brave to bike to school.\nCommissioner Bellows replied it was great to see the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD)\nproduce such articulate children.\nMatt Winn, Central Avenue resident, said one of his kids attends Franklin Elementary School and\nhe does not see the school on the study. He went on to say that there is a whole subset of parents\nwho live on the north side and have kids who attend Franklin Elementary School. He stated that\nthere are four traffic lanes and when crossing the intersection you have to wait 30 seconds or so\nuntil one of the lanes notice and stop. However, by that time motorists start getting impatient\nbecause there are three other lanes that need to stop and you must wait for all four lanes to stop\nin order to go. He explained that he uses Central Avenue to get across the City as a motorist and\nhe would gladly give up a lane to see this plan go through, so he recommended the plan.\nScott Mace, Central Avenue resident between Webster Street and 8th Street, said he bicycles a lot\nthroughout the island. He felt bikes belong on the street because they are traffic too and motorists\nneed to respect that and most motorists do. He explained that some of the proposed bike lanes are\ntoo narrow on Santa Clara Avenue because there is a 7 foot parking lane and a 6 foot bike lane\nand this gives cyclists a foot or more to avoid the door zone. He pointed out that on Central\nAvenue staff proposed a 7 foot parking lane and a 5 foot bike lane and that is a legal engineering\nminimum. However, the bike lane is a door zone bike lane. He requested that staff either widen\nthe bike lane or revert to sharrows. He noted that some statistics are lacking in this presentation\nsuch as staff say conflicts occur at intersections, but separated facilities do not make it safer. He\nstated that they do not know what the cyclists were doing when they were injured. He felt road\ndiets are good for pedestrians, but signage must state that cyclists are not mandatory, and then\nperhaps sharrows could be painted next to the separated bike lanes. He wanted to see new\nresources devoted to pedestrian, cyclist and driver education. Ultimately, he was not in favor of\nthe plan as currently proposed because of door zone issue.\nGerald Bryan, Alameda resident, stated that the concerns are at the intersection of 6th Street and\nCentral Avenue because it is a choke point across the entire island. He said if you have an\naccident at the intersection, you will stop traffic going in each direction and that was proven last\nweek at the busiest time of the day. He felt if you cut off that line 6th Street does not go around\nthe corner except for Palace Court and that does not go anywhere. He said realistically staff\nshould look at the area a little differently such as reviewing the crosswalks on the corner and the\nlack of proper driving and poor riding on the part of cyclists. He recommended erecting\nPage 6 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 7, "text": "stoplights especially by the school to regulate traffic. He said currently, there are two poles with\nbright orange flags and that is the only way to get across the street safely. He exclaimed that\nsafety is the most important thing.\nCommissioner Bellows asked that the speakers with children line up so she can pull their speaker\nslips in light of the current time.\nCosma Hatragi, Maya Lin School student, said he bikes to school every day. He said he\nsometimes ride his bike after school to Franklin Park Pool to his sister's swim lessons. He\nexplained during his ride there are many fast moving cars and he rides on the sidewalk, which is\nnot safe for pedestrians. He thinks there should be bike lanes on Central Avenue.\nDeena Hatragin, mother, cyclist and Alameda resident, said she moved to Alameda because it is\na bike able town and she uses her bicycle for everyday transportation. She felt very strongly to\nhave her children ride bicycles as well and she hopes that more people will get out of their cars\nand onto bicycles. She heard over and over again that the City needs to make the island safe\nenough for everyone to ride, SO she approved the plan.\nMarissa Wood, Alameda Community Learning Center student, said she regularly shops at the\nfarmer's market and Webster Street businesses. She explained when coming from the west end\nand approaching onto Webster Street she attempts to bike onto Santa Clara Avenue, but the part\nof Santa Clara Avenue west of Webster Street has many stop signs and the road is hard to share\nwith cars. So, she stated that when she does not bike down Santa Clara Avenue, she will bike\ndown Central Avenue which is very dangerous. She felt the project would help all members of\nthe community because there will be parking spaces for motorists and the plan will reduce speed\nlimits benefitting pedestrians.\nJerry Cevente, 5th Street resident, thanked the Commission and staff for embarking on the study.\nHe said he and his wife have been to all of the public workshops and he has lived on 5th Street\nfor 25 years. He went on to say that he drives, walks, and bicycles on Central Avenue and it is\nharder to walk across and along Central Avenue. He said he likes seeing the amount of cyclists\nincreasing, but on Central Avenue the cyclists end up on the sidewalk. He noticed the vehicle\nspeeds along Central Avenue are a lot faster than the speed limit sign. He believed the bulb-outs\nand the flashing beacons at the crosswalks will create an advantage for pedestrians and make\ntraffic flow better. He noted that the traffic signal installed at 3rd street is good, but that will\nbend the end of Taylor Avenue and eliminate the right turn lane with the ability to turn right onto\n3rd Street. He explained that the report stated that a traffic signal on 5th Street may be erected\nand he felt it would be advantageous to have the signal sooner than later and possibly not run it\nas a true traffic signal all day, but during peak hours and then have it as a flashing red the rest of\nthe day. He brought up the fact that Webster Street and the way that you see the traffic signals\nwork on Central Avenue one light is available and then there is a turn coming up Webster Street\ngoing south has its own signal and coming up Webster north it has its own signal. Thus, each\ndirection should have its own signal. He requested that the City work with the merchants on the\nnorthwest corner of Webster Street and Central Avenue about the impact to deliveries in the\nmorning. Overall, he felt the plan is a real benefit because of the bicycle lane and narrow streets\nto have complete streets.\nPage 7 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 8, "text": "impacts on traffic going into the tube even with the development of the adjacent housing project.\nHe wondered how the planners figured there would not be a problem going into the tube. He\nrecommended that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be conducted in order to look at the\nnumber of items that have not been pushed here. He also said that a study of the changes to\nShore Line Drive has not been published.\nJerry Harrison, Alameda resident, stated that he supports the proposal. He also explained that he\nhas cycled from coast to coast and the one place that makes him uncomfortable is riding on\nCentral Avenue between Sherman and Webster Streets.\nDiane Brock, west end resident, said she is concerned about recommending the plan without the\nresearch data. She explained that staff at the last public workshop said the Planning Department\nwould conduct a traffic study on what is happening at Southshore. She asked that the study be\ndone before moving forward with this plan because the public does not need vague statistics. She\nalso felt a project of this size should have an EIS and she needed data before any\nrecommendation should be considered.\nDave Maxi, Bay Street resident, said he is not against cyclists, but he is wary of the narrow\ntraffic lanes and the behavior of cyclists. He went on to say that cyclists would arrive at the\nChestnut Street and Central Avenue stop sign and not stop. The cyclists would then go off to the\nsidewalk or crosswalk and then back onto the bicycle lane. He questioned whether the narrow\nlanes would create congestion for truck, delivery and vehicular traffic because many delivery\ntrucks double park. He also stated that it is illegal to enter the center lane to pass cars and the\nextra street trees will take up the car space and create more maintenance issues.\nDan Wood, Alameda resident, said he is in favor of the project and he heard a lot of people who\nare in support of the project. He also heard the community speak about issues which are relevant\nas well. However, he felt that the City should start with what they have proposed and they can\ntweak it to make it even better.\nGriff Neal, Alameda resident, stated that 450 homeowners who live on the south side of Central\nAvenue between Burbank and Sherman Streets are fiercely opposed to the plan. He said he does\nnot drive much, but he has to leave the island for work and family obligations. He went on to say\nthat during rush hour it will be difficult to get onto Central Avenue and the plan does not\nconsider the south side residents. He brought up the fact that there is little support from people\nattending Franklin Elementary and Saint Joseph Elementary Schools; many of whom ride their\nbicycles on San Antonio Avenue and go over to Grand Street.\nKlose Slidernagers, Shore Line Drive resident, stated that tonight's meeting addressed similar\nissues made during the Shore Line Drive proposal. He stated that the Shore Line Drive project\nwas a godsend for people bicycling or walking to the beach. He explained that before the project\nwas implemented pedestrians had to cross four traffic lanes and now speeds are much lower and\ncars are not overtaking an already stopped car. He said the outcome of the project created a huge\nimpact on bicycle and pedestrian safety. However, he was surprised by the number of cyclists\nPage 8 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 9, "text": "riding on Fernside Boulevard after including the cycle track there and he felt Central Avenue\nwill have the same outcome.\nBernie Matthews, west end resident, gave a shout out to Jennifer Ott because she's a true\nprofessional. However, he felt there are many similar issues to Shore Line Drive where parts of\nthe community, especially renters, feel the plan is ugly and inefficient. He felt Appazatto Way is\na freight train coming down the track and the project is like my way or the highway. He said he\nhas been a resident of the west end for 18 years and cycles often. He encouraged the Commission\nand staff to take a look at the traffic on Central Avenue because he does not trust the data. He\nalso pointed out that the bike group must have partnered with this project, which felt like a\nconflict of interest.\nKelly Jackson, Central Avenue and 8th Street resident, stated that she generally supports the\nproject, but she has a problem with the plan along the Central Avenue and 8th Street segment.\nLast year, she wrote the City about the intersection and she was surprised with the relatively low\nnumber of reported accidents. She felt it was a step backward for this intersection and people\nwill speed to jockey past each other to get ahead because there is a quick merge ahead of the\nintersection. She also felt this is an effort to compromise, but this is putting everyone at risk\nincluding residents and visitors.\nJulie Connor, Bay Street resident, said she understood the variety of interests and circumstances\nthat come into play. Were it not for the road diet proposed at 4th and Sherman Streets, she would\nbe in support and she felt the Commission should have more information about this intersection.\nShe referred to slide 7 of the presentation and noted there were three injuries on Sherman Street\nwithin a 10 year span and one accident within the 10 year span. She said only Lincoln and\nCentral are thoroughfares and to cross Central Avenue is already difficult. She brought up the\nsurvey data and noted that 25 percent of 4th and Sherman residents were not in favor. Also, she\nstated that the streets along San Antonio Avenue and Sherman Street will have unintended\nconsequences of extra traffic.\nBonnie Waimain, bike safety instructor, thanked staff for their work and explained that the\nbenefits of bike riding connects to better health and reduces the need for parking spaces. She\nexplained that more people would bike if they felt safe. She said the separated bike lane creates\nvisibility and predictability for cyclists and motorists. Overall, she supported the plan.\nScott Milston, Bay and San Antonio resident, said he is pro bike, pedestrian and kids on bikes,\nbut he opposed the plan because he needs good data. When he read the literature he was\ndisheartened by what he saw was one minute increases to traffic time and that memo did not\nsupport the statistic at all. He also explained that the memo readily admitted that no study was\ndone on the spillover affects to the side streets. He pointed out that the majority of tonight's\nmeeting was very pro and at the November meeting there were plenty of dissenters in the crowd.\nHe felt it was the responsibility of the Commission and staff to think of the macro effects of the\npro-growth initiative occurring within the island. Yet, the City is restricting one of the main\narteries on the island.\nRein Clostenter, Bay Street and Central resident, said he rides his bicycle to work daily to go to\nwork and supports the road diet. He explained that his mother-in-law lives on Shore Line Drive\nPage 9 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 10, "text": "and he can now ride his bicycle with his family. He stated that his children will start Franklin\nElementary and crossing Central Avenue is a barrier to get to the school. He also explained that\nhe would patronize the businesses on Webster Street more, but he does not want to take the car.\nOverall, he supported the plan.\nKaren Ratto, Caroline Street near Central Avenue resident, said she rides her bike around and\nfelt the grant money could cover the EIS. She also feared that San Antonio Avenue will take on\nmore traffic and she didn't hear much about the viability of using Santa Clara Avenue as a\nbicycle route.\nDave Kimball, Advocacy Director for Bike East Bay, said safety is a huge reason to support this\nproject and the community receives a net gain of parking which is a first. He explained if the\nCity received an endorsement from Caltrans then that says something, so they need more\npartnerships like that including working with the schools. He said his organization conducted\nshopper intercept surveys to see how modes of travel relate to consumer spending when\nconsumers walk, bike or take public transit. There were two studies conducted locally in\ndowntown Berkeley and Oakland's Temescal neighborhood in order to have local shopper data\nwhich support projects like this.\nJeffrey Berneford stated that two lanes in both directions offer a lot of flexibility for garbage and\ndelivery trucks to move around vehicles. He felt once the project is in place, a 1.6 minute delay\nwill produce a domino effect because there are three 20-second traffic signal cycles. He\nsuspected that the plan will be very unusable and he did not support the plan.\nBenty Peterson, Burbank Street resident, said she has two children and she enjoys living in\nAlameda because they can bicycle. Therefore, she supported the plan, but she had concerns with\nthe gap.\nCarol Gottstein, disabled Alameda resident, said she was struck by staff's lack of outreach\ntowards the disabled community. She explained that the disabled rely heavily on vehicles and\nshe had concerns about the 7 foot wide parking strips. She wondered what the City would do if a\ndisabled resident requests a blue curb in front of their residence. She explained the City would\nhave to construct a bulb-out of their parking space into the bicycle lane because that is what the\nresident is legally entitled to have. She also agreed with the other speakers who said the data and\nreference to the data were vague.\nMichele Elson, Bike Walk Alameda Board Member and south side of Central Avenue resident,\nsaid she is the parent of Franklin Elementary and Academy of Alameda students. She said she\nsupports the plan and felt staff did the work to show the plan is needed. She felt the plan should\nbe focused on safety because where Central Avenue comes into Sherman Street she observed\nmotorists flying through the traffic signal as soon as the light turns green. She stated if motorists\ncould slow down and drive the speed limit that may be easier to get off Bay Street or St. Charles\nand get on to Central Avenue or Sherman Street. Also, the plan will help young and older\npedestrians cross the street easier. Additionally, she said having dedicated bike lanes will provide\na continuous route on an arterial that is best equipped to handle it. Overall, she supported the\nplan.\nPage 10 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 11, "text": "Lisa Foster stated that she does not live far from tonight's meeting location and she bikes with\nher 1 and 5 year olds frequently. She said she regularly goes west towards Washington Park, the\nlibrary and other establishments. However, when she hits Sherman Street they have to go over to\nSanta Clara Avenue, a busy street with buses, so she would love to stay on Central Avenue. She\nalso said when going past Webster Street and staying on Central Avenue she is okay with that,\nbut the cars that are stuck behind her are probably not okay because they have to negotiate\naround her. Overall, she felt the proposal is a step in the right direction.\nJohn Spangler, Alameda resident and a League of American Cycling Instructor, stated that he\nrides his bicycle, drives, walks and takes public transit. He explained that he lived on San\nAntonio and Encinal Avenues so he understood the different perspectives. He said Monday\nthrough Friday from 6-7 am and 6:53 pm he has been stuck in the tube going to the Capital\nCorridor Station in Oakland. He said the intersection of 8th Street and Central Avenue is the\nchokepoint, but if they can save 16 people from being killed or injured over the next few years,\nthen 96 seconds is not a big price to pay. He was disheartened to hear former chief of police\nBernie Matthews say that traffic was more important to him because he was sure his heart bled\nevery time someone was in a collision or victim of a crime. He felt there are too many\npreventable collisions and injuries and he supported the project. Yet, if the plan had to be revised\nand there are no bikes lanes created the safest thing is to take the curb side lane, which is the\nsame thing as having a bike lane.\nLucy Gigli, Director of Advocacy for Bike Walk Alameda, stated that Central Avenue is not\nAlameda's main highway it is a neighborhood because the corridor contains housing, schools,\nparks and businesses. She said currently it is a four lane roadway with an average of seven\ncollisions per year. Staff has done an incredible job composing a detailed packet addressing the\ndiverse community and their needs. She felt it was an iterative process with many people\ninvolved. She pointed out that the result and package seen before the Commission does not\nmatch Shore Line Drive, but instead matches Atlantic Avenue, Broadway and Fernside\nBoulevard. As the report showed, the middle turn lane will make it easier for people to turn onto\nCentral Avenue from San Antonio Avenue and Bay Street. She explained that the Commission\nreceived over 200 letters and postcards of support and 72 people came that night from Franklin\nElementary and other schools, so let's support this project.\nJohn Knox White stated that a previous resident spoke about how the flags were put up on the\ncorner of Central Avenue and if that intersection is broken and not working than there it is. He\nexclaimed the question that should be asked is how many people are acceptable to hit on this\nstreet because if the answer is greater than 0 feel free to shoot it down. He said the City must\ncreate a safe environment and this is a best compromise plan. He went on to say that the City has\na 20-year experiment happening, which is Broadway. The corridor carries more vehicular traffic\nand has neighborhood streets that cross into it including driveways that enter on to the street. He\nsaid they don't have to wait for Shore Line Drive to be evaluated when they know there have not\nbeen major accidents or backups. He brought up the fact that this will be the first bike lanes west\nof Webster Street and if that is not a call for equity on the west end then that is it. He asked the\nCommission to please move forward with the project.\nBrian McGuire stated that there was a well-publicized article within the last couple of weeks\nabout two kids walking in the San Francisco Marina District with an almost identical road setup\nPage 11 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 12, "text": "(four lanes of traffic and uncontrolled crosswalks) as the area around Maya Lin School. He said\nkids think it is safe to go and someone driving 35 mph can take them out. He felt two lanes with\na center turn lane is a big difference than a two lane road. He explained that he use to live south\nof Central Avenue and motorists only have to go across one lane to get into the center lane and\nmerge. He went on to say if Caltrans approved a project it is not a takeover of the bicycle groups.\nUltimately, he supported the project.\nKaren Bay, 5th Street and Taylor Avenue resident, said she is a 15-year ferry rider. She explained\nthat she attended a transportation meeting on November 16 and was told that the ferry\nexperienced a 30 percent increase in the last two years and she has seen it. She has also seen a lot\nof people riding their bikes to the ferry and a lot of children riding their bikes to school. She said\nthe problem with Santa Clara Avenue is that it is not safe infrastructure for cyclists. So, she\napproved the project because it is important for students and commuters going to the ferry and\nfor Alameda Point as whole.\nPeter Baron stated that he organized the first bicycle symposium in Cambridge Massachusetts in\nthe 1970s and he spent his career doing waterfront redevelopment and restoration. He said he has\nnever seen a town with more bikeway and pedestrian potential unrealized than Alameda. He felt\nthe potential for the Alameda Point circumference trail is extraordinary and people will be\ncoming across the island and around the state to go there.\nLee Huo, Bay Trail Project Planner, said he supports completing the trail along Central Avenue.\nHe explained that the idea of the trail is to get along the shoreline on a Class I separated trail as\noften as possible. He pointed out that you do see alignments such as Central Avenue where the\nproject essentially completes the trail between Pacific Avenue and Crown Drive. He thanked\nCity staff and the consultants who worked diligently with the concept. Furthermore, he said the\ntrail is a regional recreation trail and significant commute alignment adopted in the Metropolitan\nTransportation Commission (MTC) regional bicycle plan and Alameda County Transportation\nCommission (ACTC) bicycle and pedestrian plan.\nJohn McKeenan stated that the Commission studiously paid attention to all the speakers and he\ndoes not see that often. He said Indianapolis, Indiana known for motor cars and racing has put\ntogether a tremendous complete street program in the last five years and has gone from\ncompletely no infrastructure to trend setting infrastructure. He cited cities such as Copenhagen in\nDenmark having 55 percent of its commuters bicycling and the rest commuting by public transit\nor private vehicles. He felt bicycling and public transit is the way the community can survive on\nthis planet. He ultimately supported the project.\nCommissioner Miley stated that he would like staff to respond to a few statements made by the\nspeakers. He explained that the last speaker hit the nail on the head about the fact that\nmultimodal communities are the future. He said he heard the concerns about loading zones\nwithin the business district and the loss of travel lanes on Central Avenue. He understood that\npeople may double park on Webster Street more often when loading, SO he asked staff to address\nand explain the plan moving forward.\nStaff Payne replied the area of concern is along Webster and Page Streets and the northwest\ncorner, which was mentioned. She referred to page 4, cross-section I, which is right next to the\nPage 12 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 13, "text": "establishment that needs the loading zone or has a lot of loading. She explained that the merchant\nis not interested in having a loading zone because that would restrict parking. So, she said double\nparking occurs and that can still happen with this cross-section. She went on to say that\nloading/unloading would occur in the bike lane in the painted buffer and motorists could go\naround. She understood that this configuration is not ideal, but it happens all the time and staff\nfelt having the bike lane blocked every now and then to load and unload was the tradeoff for\nhaving a bike lane. She also mentioned that this is a corner establishment so they could still have\nloading and unloading occur southbound on Webster Street.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff if the bulb-outs at the corner of Webster Street and Central\nAvenue will impact delivery vehicles from being able to turn whether they are going north or\nsouth on Central Avenue from Webster Street.\nStaff Payne replied staff does not believe SO and the plan was designed to accommodate trucks.\nCommissioner Miley recommended that staff work with the business district in order for the\nstreetscape to be designed appropriately for that intersection.\nStaff Payne replied staff can do that, but they are not at that level of design. Additionally, from\nwhat she has heard the area was designed a little tight so it is hard to get in and out when trying\nto park on Webster Street.\nCommissioner Miley said people shop online a lot and as a result FedEx and UPS double park\nand take the travel lane. He asked Alameda Police Department if a car double parked is in the\ntravel lane is it against the law to go around using the center lane.\nCommissioner Bellows repeated the police officer's answer and said a vehicle cannot drive into\nthe center lane just to pass a double parked vehicle, the vehicle must wait.\nCommissioner Miley asked Staff Payne what is the cost of conducting an EIR for the project. He\nalso explained that this plan is talking about paint and curb extensions. So, he wondered if an\nEIR was required and has an EIR been done for other projects similar to this plan.\nFarima Brown, Alameda Attorney's office, stated that there will not be an EIR for this project\nbecause after a lot of due diligence by staff including City Planner Andrew Thomas and herself\nthe plan is the poster child for a CEQA exempt bicycle project. She explained there are several\ngrounds for its exemption outlined in the staff report, but the strongest one is public resources\ncode 21080.20.5, which was specifically designed for this type of project in urbanized areas. She\nwent on to say the plan is statutorily exempt, which is a contrast to projects that are categorically\nexempt. Furthermore, the project is also exempt from a variety of categorical exemptions, which\nare outlined in page 15 of the staff report under Environmental Review, 15301C and section\n15304H.\nCommissioner Miley stated that other speakers compared Central Avenue to other roads such as\nShore Line Drive and Broadway. However, he felt this project is similar to Fernside Boulevard\nand Broadway, which he drives on every day. He asked staff to talk about the door zone within\nthe bicycle lanes and how they reviewed that and came up with the width.\nPage 13 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 14, "text": "Staff Payne replied they are under constrained situations and curb to curb it is 56 feet in width for\nmost of the corridor. She explained that was the best they could do and this is not a best practice\nbike way due to the door zone. Therefore, staff will have to implement public education around\nthis issue. Additionally, she felt having a separate bike space is much better than what is\navailable today.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff about the 7 foot parking spaces and the Americans with\nDisabilities Act (ADA) concern raised by Carol Gottstein. He said when he viewed the map he\nsaw some blocks with 7 foot and 8 foot spaces and he understood that some portions along\nCentral Avenue are constrained. He wondered if there will be ADA parking spaces added to the\nplan.\nStaff Payne replied there would be six ADA parking spaces added and staff has looked at the\ncorridor and they believe six would be most appropriate. The parking spaces would be located\nwest to east in front of Encinal High School, Patton Elementary, two parking spaces near the\nWebster Business District, one parking space by Washington Park and one by the Weber\nCommercial District.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff how many ADA parking spaces are currently present within the\ncorridor.\nStaff Payne replied none.\nCommissioner Miley replied so this is an addition and they would be 8 feet.\nStaff Payne replied when the area is 7 feet they would encroach into the landscape strip.\nCommissioner Miley replied so staff would not encroach into the bike lane or into traffic it would\nbe into the landscaping.\nStaff Payne said she met with WABA and they liked the two ADA parking spaces at the foot of\nWebster Street on the east and west sides. She explained that would be accommodated without\nany change and staff has not produced an exact placement, but that is the direction and their\nhighest priority is to place the spaces at the foot of Webster Street.\nCommissioner Bellows made a motion to continue the meeting since the time was now 10 pm.\nCommissioner Schatmeier seconded the motion. The motion was approved 6-0.\nCommissioner Schatmeier asked staff if the disabled parking space issue was done in\nconsultation with disabled advocacy groups.\nStaff Payne replied no.\nCommissioner Vargas stated that the comments raised by Jean Finney (Deputy District Director\nof Caltrans District 4) as part of her comments explained the need for additional traffic analysis\nthat was also brought up by a few community members. He asked staff if it is possible to find out\nPage 14 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 15, "text": "what studies are needed and he wanted to hear from Staff Patel about his perspective on some of\nthe technical issues that are involved.\nJennifer Ott replied that they hired Kittelson and Associates who performed the traffic analysis.\nSo, Staff Patel could talk about what Caltrans might inquire about, but she would like Kittelson\nand Associates to talk about what analysis was performed.\nCommissioner Vargas stated that Caltrans was looking for additional traffic studies in order to\ngrant the City design exceptions. He explained they only cover the part between Webster and\nSherman Streets, which is a state route, and the rest does not need approval but falls on the City.\nHowever, for continuity sake he asked staff to talk about the studies Caltrans is inquiring about\nand the studies that have been done so far, including what are the challenges this project has\nfrom an engineer's perspective.\nStaff Patel replied since this project is only a study they have not done detailed traffic operation\nanalysis. However, from Caltrans' or the City's standpoint staff is conducting analysis on each\nand every traffic signal along the route and the proposed signals along the route. Yet, that level\nof detail Kittelson and Associates may have done as an overview. He explained that design\nexceptions usually go to the headquarters, which is why staff ended up having this route under\nthe City because they were asking for a standard shoulder width and the City did not have the\nstandard width.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff if the traffic and operational analysis include a review of shifts\nin vehicle traffic or only show the Central Avenue traffic or also movements to other streets.\nStaff Patel replied that staff would look into the shifts in vehicle traffic.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff when the plan would go over to engineering for detail design.\nStaff Patel replied staff reviewed the conceptual plan and made comments, but the plan is turned\nover to engineering for detail design when the final plan is approved by the Transportation\nCommission and City Council.\nCommissioner Bellows said what was happening tonight was reviewing and making a motion for\nthe conceptual plan and that was all that was funded. She said until additional funding is\nidentified they are not going forward with the design.\nJennifer Ott stated that staff has reviewed the conceptual plan with City and Coastal engineers,\nStantec Engineering, Staff Patel, Kittelson and Associates and Caltrans engineers. She also said\nthere will be additional analysis and engineering when they get into the design phase.\nLaurence Lewis, Kittelson and Associates, stated that an overview of the analysis looked at seven\nkey intersections on Central Avenue and one limitation that would be addressed is looking at the\nminor intersections as well. He said they looked at locations that have traffic signals with the\nhighest traffic volumes going west to east and during the design phase all the side streets would\nbe analyzed. Additionally, they looked at AM and PM peak hours to understand the existing\ntraffic volumes level of service and existing conditions to understand the impact. Overall, they\nPage 15 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 16, "text": "discovered there was a 1.2 minute increase in travel time going 25 mph from one end of the\ncorridor to the other stopping at all the traffic signals and experiencing delays there. He pointed\nout that the limitations did not account for people shifting to cycling or walking or account for\npeople diverting to other routes. He heard several comments about the 8th and Webster Street\nintersection and some of the compromises made for the bike lanes were for vehicular operations\nand level of service. When he met with the Commission earlier in the year there was a level of\nservice identified at the location. He said they reviewed the intersection in consultation with the\ncommunity and the City and revised the concept so the intersection could operate at the level of\nservice.\nCommissioner Schatmeier stated that several intersections were called out as needing attention.\nHe wondered how staff analyzed those intersections, specifically whether traffic signals or new\ntreatments were necessary. He said one speaker stated there should be a light at 6th Street and\nCentral Avenue another speaker stated a traffic signal is needed at 5th Street and yet another", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2015-11-18", "page": 17, "text": "Commissioner Miley said to follow up on Commissioner Schatmeier's comments about 8th Street\nand Central Avenue the intersection is tricky and he lived on 8th Street growing up. Overall, he\nfelt the project improves safety throughout the corridor, but staff could look to do more. He\nwondered if staff could look at having the bike lane encroach into the park because it is\nconcerning what driver behavior would be like at the intersection, especially making that right or\nleft turn onto 8th Street going northwest.\nStaff Payne replied staff looked at this option. She said the advantage is a more protected space,\nbut the disadvantages are conflicts with bicyclists getting into the park because there is a park\nfacility with a preschool and after care with a lot of parking activity at that intersection.\nCommissioner Bellows replied staff could move the right turn lane over further and keep the\norientation the way it is and that could provide more room for the westbound traffic to not\nmerge.\nStaff Payne replied there is also a concern when you get to the 8th Street intersection as a cyclist\nhow would you get across since you would not be orientated to go eastbound again.\nCommissioner Miley said the lineup would not be ideal.\nCommissioner Miley made a motion to accept staff recommendations with additional requests\nand move the plan to City Council for review. He requested that staff conduct additional analysis\nat the 8th Street intersection and to further review the short merge or if there is any way to extend\nthat. He also requested that staff provide the City Council with some analysis that shows what\nencroaching into the park would look like, so they have some options in front of them.\nAdditionally, he asked that when the project is eventually implemented staff would present an\nannual review to the Commission. Commissioner Schatmeier seconded the motion.\nCommissioner Vargas made an amendment to the motion that included having the engineering\ndepartment review the concept as it evolves, so they are officially in the loop. The motion was\napproved 6-0.\n6.\nStaff Communications\n6.A. Potential Future Meeting Agenda Items\n-\nCross Alameda Trail - Atlantic Segment\n-\nMain Street Ferry Terminal Improvements\n7.\nAnnouncements/Public Comments\nNone.\n8.\nAdjournment\n10:21 pm\nPage 17 of 17", "path": "TransportationCommission/2015-11-18.pdf"}