{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 1, "text": "MINUTES OF THE CONTINUED FEBRUARY 24, 2016\nSPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING\nMONDAY - -FEBRUARY 29, 2016--7:00 P.M.\nMayor Spencer reconvened the meeting at 7:02 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance.\nROLL CALL -\nPresent:\nCouncilmembers Daysog, Ezzy Ashcraft, Matarrese,\nOddie and Mayor Spencer - 5.\nAbsent:\nNone.\nCONTINUED REGULAR AGENDA ITEM\n(16-085) Recommendation to Approve the Central Avenue Complete Streets Concept\nIncluding Safety and Other Street Improvements.\nIN FAVOR:\nStated City staff worked with staff at Alameda schools to refine the plan; school staff\nsupports an annual walk and roll to school event each year; the School District wants\nkids and their families to be healthy; expressed support for the plan: Dr. Sean\nMcPhetridge, Alameda Unified School District.\nNOT IN FAVOR:\nStated traffic is already limited and the plan will limit it more: Mike Ratto, Alameda.\nStated that she owns a home on Central Avenue between 8th Street and Burbank\nStreet; she agrees with many aspects of the proposal; removing parking on her street\nwill impact the people in her neighborhood, several of whom are disabled: Rachel\nCampos de Ivanov, Alameda.\nStated the current bicycle lane on Santa Clara Avenue is safer than the proposed plan;\nhe cannot support the plan because of the dangers to bicyclists: Jan Sutter, Alameda,\ngave a Power Point presentation.\nStated that she supports a bike lane, but not the one proposed; suggested a bike light at\nthe intersection of Central Avenue and Webster Street; proposed alterations to the\nproposal: Rosalinda Fortuna, Alameda.\nCouncilmember Daysog inquired where the bike light in Emeryville is located, to which\nVice Mayor Matarrese responded Christie Street.\nStated there will be more development and cars in a few years; he lives on 6th Street\nand Central Avenue; urged putting up a stop light at said corner to protect children and\npedestrians: Gerald Bryant, 6th Street Block Association.", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 2, "text": "IN FAVOR:\nStated Council has the decision to build a safer neighborhood; the number of people\ninjured at the intersection of Webster Street and Central Avenue is too many; everything\nin the proposal is a step forward; the current project is a significant compromise to\nplease the business owners; the Council can rely on the professional recommendation\nof Planning Staff and traffic engineers or side with business owners who are not\nconcerned with safety; the vote is a political one; not doing anything will result in more\nchaos on the streets; safe streets and safe neighborhoods should be a priority: John\nKnox White, Alameda.\nStated a few seconds of car delay should not be more important than safety;\ninfrastructure should be provided for people to travel safely: Brian McGuire, Alameda.\nRead Assembly Bill 1358 regarding cities protecting all people on the roads; urged\nenforcement of the 25 mph speed limit; stated the proposal will help the issue: David\nMaletsky.\nStated the wide four lanes on Central Avenue encourage speeders; the City needs\nmore bike friendly streets; urged approval of the proposal: Aaron Bialick, Alameda.\nStated the bike lane will be great for the business community and home values; the\nproposal will encourage travel at the posted speed limit; urged City staff to change the\nname of the street in honor of the young boy who was killed riding to school: Randy\nRentschler, Alameda.\nStated the mission of Bike Walk Alameda is safer, protected bike lanes for Alameda;\nother cities that have implemented bike lanes agree it is better; urged Council to\napprove the proposal: Lucy Gigli, Bike Walk Alameda.\nUrged Council to approve the proposal; stated the plan has been changed due to\nrequests from business owners; safety should be a priority: Dan Wood, Alameda.\nStated there should be a safe, dedicated place to ride from the east to the west side of\nthe island; he would feel safe from distracted drivers with protected bike lanes on\nCentral Avenue: Kyle Long, Alameda.\nStated that she has dealt with angry drivers harassing her as she bikes to school; urged\napproval of the protected bike lane so that she feels safe: Sabina Leal, Academy of\nAlameda (AOA).\nUrged approval of the bike lane; stated bikers and youth need to be protected from\nmotorists; safety should be the number one concern: Andrea Leal, AOA.\nNEUTRAL:\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 3, "text": "Showed a Power Point presentation; stated the staff proposal needs some changes;\nmade some recommendations; education and enforcement are important for bicyclists:\nEugenie Thomson, Alameda.\nStated that he lives on Central Avenue; he welcomes change but does not completely\nagree with the proposal; he would like to make sure he has a parking space for his\nvehicles: Ernie Alviar, Alameda.\nIN FAVOR:\nRead Michelle Ellson's comments, which stated that she would like a safe plan for\neveryone on the roads; urged approval of the proposal; stated bike lanes would not hurt\nthe business district; the safety of the community is the number one issue; the proposal\nis about making a strategic decision to calm the streets; urged approval of the bike\nlanes for the safety and welfare of the children in Alameda: Heather Little, Alameda.\nStated that she drives on Central Avenue all the time and people speed by her; she is\nconcerned about distracted drivers being a danger to bicyclists and pedestrians; urged\napproval of the proposal: Lauren Daley, Alameda.\nStated that she lives on the corner of Sherman Street and Santa Clara Avenue; she has\nwitnessed a number of accidents; there is something compelling about protecting\nchildren as they walk to school; stated she was hit by a driver going over 20 miles over\nthe speed limit; narrowing the roads will make drivers more cognizant; drivers do not\nobey the 25 mph speed limit; there should not be a fatality before the City does\nsomething about it: Malia Vella, Alameda.\nStated that he is thrilled to see the project recommended by the staff and the\ncommunity; every nationwide study on the economic impact of bike lanes and greater\npedestrian access has shown an increase in business and revenue: Jon Spangler,\nLeague of American Bicyclists.\nStated that he bikes all over Alameda; there is never a backup on Central Avenue and\nthere is no need for four lanes; police are not enforcing the 25 mph speed limit; City\nvehicles also do not obey the speed limits; he strongly supports the proposal to make\nthe streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists: Aaron Thies, Alameda.\nUrged Council to approve the proposal to make Alameda safe for bicyclists; stated\nAlameda is the exception in change and development of bike friendly cities; bike paths\nalleviate traffic congestion: John Zenner, Alameda.\nStated the proposal will revitalize the West End and will increase safety; if it is not\nimplemented, there will continue to be injuries and deaths; urged approval of the\nproposal: Armando Pastron Jr., Alameda.\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 4, "text": "Stated that he lives on 9th Street and Central Avenue and he is in full support of the\nproposal; doing nothing will force bicyclists to ride on the sidewalk; infrastructure\nchange is necessary because people are not obeying the 25 mph speed limit: Mike\nMerit, Alameda.\nUrged Council approval of the bike lane proposal; stated motorists do not drive 25 mph;\nif the bicyclists and motorists are separated, there will be less accidents: Gordon\nWilliams, Alameda.\nStated that he is an avid bicyclists; the existing situation is not safe for children or bike\nriders; studies show that improvements in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure improve\nthe business atmosphere and help alleviate traffic issues; urged Council approve the\nproject to make the streets safer for everyone: John McKean, Alameda.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft outlined how the City of Davis became a bike friendly\ncity; stated the main concern is the westbound traffic turning left from Central Avenue to\nWebster Street; bike lanes help with childhood obesity; the City needs to make the road\nsafe for everyone; she strongly supports the project.\nVice Mayor Matarrese stated the plan to make the bike lanes on Central Avenue is City\npolicy and is in the Master Plan; he would like to see improvements made on Page\nStreet and Central Avenue and a crossing at McKay Avenue and Central Avenue;\nclarified the plan is only a concept, not the actual design plan; he would like to see the\nplan go forward with the area between Page Street and McKay Avenue being better\nengineered for safety; when the City goes from concept to design, there needs to be an\nexception process to test the risks against the State standards; the project is subject to\nfunding; if the City does not get $9,000,000, the priority should be to put bike lanes in\nfront of the schools; staff needs to consider future development.\nCouncilmember Daysog stated the project is part of the Citywide transit strategy and will\nencourage alternative modes of transit; the City has to begin to implement changes,\nwhich will enhance safety for the children that travel across the Island; urged the\nconcept plan move forward; stated one issue raised is extending the length of the\napproach to 8th Street and Central Avenue; changes to the intersection of Webster\nStreet and Central Avenue must ensure that the Alameda kids are safe; the concept will\nslow down traffic; the safety of the kids trumps any other issue.\nCouncilmember Oddie acknowledged staff for their hard work; stated there is not a\nconsensus with the business district; the matter is a policy decision; questioned whether\nthe City values parking or delay, over safety; stated one casualty or serious injury is too\nmany; the proposal is just a concept, not the detailed plan; Council has a responsibility\nto make the journey to school safe for children; narrowing the lanes from 4 to 2 will\nresult in less occurrences of a car speeding by when one car stops; he would like to see\nthe design further engineered to be the safest solution; educating bicyclists and drivers\non safety, and increase signage; he supports the concept plan.\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 5, "text": "Mayor Spencer stated that she is concerned the Central Avenue and Webster Street\nintersection changes are not safe; she is disappointed that the designs were changed\nwhen they went from WABA to the Transportation Commission without circling back;\neveryone needs to have the opportunity to resolve issues; requested clarification on\nwhere children are supposed to go to proceed through the intersection.\nThe Transportation Coordinator responded the children traveling westbound going to\nEncinal High School would need to abide by the rules of the road and get into the\nthrough lane.\nMayor Spencer inquired whether they have to cut across the dedicated right turn lane.\nThe Transportation Coordinator responded that there would be a solid line and that is\nthe cue for motorists and bicyclists to get over; stated staff would look for a safer\nsolution for the intersection.\nMayor Spencer inquired if the matter would come back to Council or if it would go to the\nTransportation Commission.\nThe Transportation Coordinator responded that it would go to the Transportation\nCommission; stated the Council could request that the 30% design return to Council.\nMayor Spencer inquired whether there is a way to connect Shoreline Drive through\nupper Washington Park and McKay Avenue; inquired whether staff could make the area\na part of the project or review the route separately for bikers who do not want to go\ndown Central Avenue.\nThe Transportation Coordinator responded the area is not a part of the study because\nbikers already go down Central Avenue; stated staff is trying to improve the safety of the\ncorridor that is currently being used by bicyclists.\nMayor Spencer stated bicyclists are concerned riding in the door zone; inquired how\nmuch of the project has bicyclists riding in the door zone.\nThe Transportation Coordinator responded the East End section has dedicated space to\nride a bike; stated bicyclists are currently in the door zone.\nMayor Spencer inquired whether the current plan leaves bicyclists in the door zone, to\nwhich the Transportation Coordinator responded in the affirmative.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated unless there is a cycle track, the door zone cannot\nbe avoided; road users need to pay attention to their safety.\nMayor Spencer inquired whether there is a connection to get to Paden Elementary\nSchool; stated there is a sidewalk by Paden Elementary, inquired if it is legal to ride on\nthe sidewalk.\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 6, "text": "The Transportation Coordinator responded that it is not legal for bicyclists to ride on the\nsidewalk in commercial areas; stated that is not best practices.\nMayor Spencer inquired where the best practices are located.\nThe Transportation Coordinator responded the East End section is not best practices;\nstated best practices begin at Paden Elementary School to Alameda Point.\nMayor Spencer inquired whether staff is considering all the comments from the\nspeakers, to which the Transportation Coordinator responded in the affirmative.\nMayor Spencer stated when she looks at the plan, she does not feel comfortable having\nchildren ride across town; the section that is best practices is good; the rest of the plan\nneeds more work; to have children go into the through lane with trucks and traffic is not\nsafe; everyone needs to be safe; the concept does not make everyone safe.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated that she supports moving forward with the\nconcept; suggested looking into best practices.\nMayor Spencer inquired whether staff will reconsider the parts that are not best\npractices.\nThe Base Reuse Director responded it is a concept plan; stated staff and engineers\nhave spent a lot of time on the plan; engineers can come back after reviewing\nalternatives that are the safest solutions; a 30% design will come back.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft inquired what 30% means.\nThe Base Reuse Director responded 30% means staff is not at the detailed level of the\ndesign stage; engineers have not configured every corner or detail of the design; 100%\nmeans the project is done and ready for construction; staff is still willing to explore\npotential options.\nThe Interim City Manager stated the original plan included best practices; the plan\nchanged because of compromises.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft urged moving forward with incorporating the\nsuggestions.\nMayor Spencer stated bulb outs make it more dangerous for bicyclists; certain aspects\nneed to be reviewed; the highest priority is around the schools and best practices; focus\nshould be on signals making it safe to cross the street.\nThe Base Reuse Director stated the project would occur over time in phases; the\nsections would be prioritized based on funding.\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 7, "text": "Councilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated the funding would be phased; suggested leaving\nthe order in which the funding occurs to staff at Council's direction; stated separated\ncycle tracks are currently in front of the schools; urged moving forward without focusing\non the little details; it is a solid concept with the suggestions Council raised.\nVice Mayor Matarrese concurred that the City needs to move forward with the project;\nstated that he does not consider Webster Street and Central Avenue a little detail; staff\nhas to consider future development; there needs to be more engineering on Webster\nStreet and Central Avenue.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated that she would like to give staff and the engineers\nan opportunity to come up with other alternatives for Webster Street and Central\nAvenue.\nCouncilmember Oddie stated that he would support moving forward with the staff report\nserving as the baseline with other alternatives for the safest plan.\nMayor Spencer inquired whether the original plan is the plan presented to WABA before\nchanges.\nThe Base Reuse Director stated a lot of alternatives were studied for the Webster Street\nand Central Avenue corner; staff will review best practices to ensure safety issues are\nimplemented.\nCouncilmember Daysog urged moving forward with the best bicycle oriented, safety\noriented solution for the intersection of Webster Street and Central Avenue; stated that\nhe is open to reviewing alternatives to the bike box.\nThe Base Reuse Director requested clarification on the Council direction: stated the\nstaff recommendation is 4 lanes on the Central Avenue westbound approach; another\noption is to have bike lanes with loss of parking and significant increase in the delay at\nthe intersection.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated that she would like to see all three options\nanalyzed and considered.\nMayor Spencer stated the consensus is looking at all three options; staff's design is one\nlane going westbound and two lanes going east; the commute is opposite of that in the\nmorning.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated all the options can be reviewed.\nCouncilmember Oddie requested clarification on the baseline.\nCouncilmember Daysog stated the basline should be something that the staff and the\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 8, "text": "engineers consider the safest possible option.\nVice Mayor Matarrese inquired whether the plan is a concept and has not yet been\nengineered.\nThe Base Reuse Director responded engineers are reviewing the plan and doing\nanalysis, but design has not reached the design engineer level.\nVice Mayor Matarrese inquired whether anyone has actually measured the turning\nradius for the large busses, to which the Base Reuse Director stated it is only a concept.\nVice Mayor Matarrese stated Council likes the concept subject to finer engineering; the\nengineering can include a number of alternatives that have been discussed; the public\nexpectation is what the picture in the presentation shows.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft moved approval of the Central Avenue Complete Streets\nConcept; requested staff return to Council with the 30% drawings addressing the areas\nof concern.\nThe Base Reuse Director stated staff will come back with alternatives and request\ndirection.\nVice Mayor Matarrese requested the motion be amended to specify the concern\nregarding the intersection of Central Avenue and Webster Street; and that additional\nreviews will take into account three main points: there are other modes of transportation\nthat complicate the intersection, it is a major arterial to exiting and entering the Island\nduring commute hours and that the area will be increasing in commercial activity.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated that staff and engineers should consider a number\nof factors, including but not limited to those three alternatives.\nCouncilmember Daysog expressed concerns about the intersection of Central Avenue\nand 8th Street.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated there are other intersections would be reviewed.\nCouncilmember Oddie inquired if the baseline is the staff report, with the alternatives\nand considerations discussed.\nCouncilmember Daysog seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote - 5.\n***\nMayor Spencer called a recess at 10:04 p.m. and reconvened the hearing at 10:07 p.m.\n***\nCITY MANAGER COMMUNICATIONS\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 9, "text": "(16-086) The Interim City Manager made an announcement regarding March 3rd\nmediation training being given for the Rent Review Advisory Committee.\nThe Interim Assistant City Manager made an announcement regarding the March 2nd\nCity Council/East Bay Regional Park District Subcommittee meeting.\nORAL COMMUNICATIONS, NON-AGENDA\n(16-087) Sandip Jariwala, thanked the Council for their commitment to the West End;\nstated the Fa\u00e7ade Grant Program is a great program to revitalize the West End; urged\nCouncil to reinitiate the program so that the businesses can make their establishments\nmore inviting and improve the business district.\nCOUNCIL REFERRALS\n(16-084 Continued) Consider Endorsing the San Francisco Bay Clean Water, Pollution\nPrevention, and Habitat Restoration Program Measure, which will be on the June 7,\n2016 Ballot. (Councilmember Oddie)\nCouncilmember Oddie stated the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority is placing a\nspecial parcel tax on the June 7th ballot in all 9 Bay Area counties; the parcel tax will\nfund urban runoff from polluting the Bay, preserve critical habitat for fish and wildlife,\nenhance public access to public space and protect homes and infrastructure from\nflooding; requested support for the initiative.\nMayor Spencer inquired what percentage is needed for the measure to pass.\nCouncilmember Oddie responded that it needs a 2/3 vote to pass.\nVice Mayor Matarrese inquired if the Council can endorse the initiative.\nMayor Spencer inquired if sufficient notice has been given to the public that the Council\nwould be taking action on the merits.\nThe Assistant City Attorney responded in the affirmative.\nMayor Spencer stated the notice to the public is that it would be put it on the agenda in\nthe future for the discussion on the merits.\nCouncilmember Oddie stated that he anticipated that Council would endorse the\ninitiative.\nThe Assistant City Attorney stated if there are members of the public that wanted to\nspeak publicly on the item they might feel they were not given fair notice.\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2016-02-29", "page": 10, "text": "The Interim City Manager stated the item could come back on March 15th\nVice Mayor Matarrese moved that Council direct staff to provide a staff report and\nagendize the item for March 15th.\nThe Interim City Manager stated the matter will be placed on Consent.\nCouncilmember Oddie seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote - 5.\nCouncilmember Ezzy Ashcraft requested staff provide the Council with the text of the\nballot measure.\nCOUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS\nNone.\nADJOURNMENT\n(16-088) Mayor Spencer adjourned the meeting at 10:15 p.m.\nRespectfully submitted,\nLara Weisiger\nCity Clerk\nThe agenda for this meeting was posted in accordance with the Sunshine Ordinance.\nContinued February 24, 2016 Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nFebruary 29, 2016", "path": "CityCouncil/2016-02-29.pdf"}