{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2018-12-03", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED MINUTES\nSPECIAL MEETING OF THE\nCITY OF ALAMEDA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION\nMONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2018\nChair Miley convened the meeting at 7:00pm.\n1. ROLL CALL\nPresent: Chair Miley, Commissioners Hans, Johnson, Palmer, Nachtigall, Soules.\nAbsent: Commissioner Nearn\n2. AGENDA CHANGES\nStaff Member Wikstrom asked to pull Item 5-B for the time being.\n3. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PUBLIC COMMENT\nStaff Member Payne read the announcements listed in the agenda.\nhttps://alameda.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx\nJim Strehlow said that he was recently travelling westbound on Buena Vista near Wood\nMiddle School when an unattended seven year old darted in front of him and caused him\nto fall off his bicycle. He advocated for more education programs to prevent this\nbehavior. He said there is not a good reason for the meeting to be held tonight instead of\nits traditional 4th Wednesday time slot.\nChair Miley said he was glad Mr. Strehlow and the seven year old were not hurt. He said\nscheduling conflicts led to the meeting date.\nCommissioner Nachtigall reported on her participation in the recent Transportation\nAwareness Campaign Advisory committee. She said the meeting was well attended by\nstakeholders. She said their goal went beyond awareness and the goal is behavioral\nchange. She said they figured out a scope, budget estimate, and work schedule.\n4. CONSENT CALENDAR\n4-A 2018-6219\nDraft Meeting Minutes - September 26, 2018\nCommissioner Soules made a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner\nPalmer seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0-1 (Johnson abstained.)\n5. NEW BUSINESS\n5-A 2018-6271\nRecommendation to Approve Interim Main Street Striping Plan\nStaff Member Wikstrom gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be\nfound at:\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 1 of 8\nDecember 3, 2018\nTransportation Commission", "path": "TransportationCommission/2018-12-03.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2018-12-03", "page": 2, "text": " https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3760863&GUID=29DE963A-\n62EC-4E90-B019-0B7972B1A813&FullText=1\nCommissioner Nachtigall asked how the changes would look at the Bay Ship entrance\nduring shift change.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said that if there was a queue of cars entering the Bay Ship\nproperty it could cause a small backup on the westbound lane.\nCommissioner Soules asked how long the project would take to complete once started.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said it would take less than two weeks to complete. He added\nthat the project will cost less than $100,000 and can be completed with already allocated\nfunds.\nCommissioner Soules asked for more details about potential traffic impacts and analysis.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said the level of service analysis showed that the change would\nbe acceptable. He said the cars currently waiting behind left turning vehicles are already\ndelayed. He said the highest 15 minute volumes are about 100 cars. He said the\nmaximum traffic is about 300 cars per hour. He said a single lane intersection can\nhandle 500 cars per hour without problem. He said the number of users of the Main St.\nterminal will likely decrease when the Seaplane Lagoon terminal opens.\nCommissioner Soules asked that in the future the staff reports include details on where\nthe problems get pushed to.\nChair Miley asked if lowering the 35 mile per hour speed limit was considered.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said they did not plan to do that at this time. He said they may\nhave more of a basis to reduce the speed limit after the changes are implemented.\nChair Miley asked what percentage of the collisions involved bikes or pedestrians.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said that most of the data he looked at were vehicle to vehicle.\nCommissioner Hans asked how this would impact the overflow parking near the nursery.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said there would be no change to the parking conditions.\nCommissioner Palmer said we are using 2017 data here and it seems like ridership is up\nwith the larger boats. She asked what was meant by a \"calming effect.\"\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 2 of 8\nDecember 3, 2018\nTransportation Commission", "path": "TransportationCommission/2018-12-03.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2018-12-03", "page": 3, "text": "Staff Member Wikstrom said he thinks of it as cars being in more defined spaces, more\norganized, with fewer lane changes. He said it also means slowing vehicles because\nthey would not be passing each other.\nCommissioner Palmer asked if upgrading path was looked at. She said she did not want\nto detract from anyone taking the ferry.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said they have looked at that. He said there are ped/bike\nconflicts on the pathway. He said relying on a two way path would also make\nintersections much more complicated and costly.\nCommissioner Palmer said that she is concerned that we are cutting 50% of the capacity\nfor 82% of ferry riders.\nStaff Member Wikstrom explained that because of friction from turning movements, the\nchange in capacity is nowhere near 50% in a four to three road diet.\nCommissioner Nachtigall reminded staff to consider the vehicles coming and going from\nBay Ship when evaluating the traffic impacts, not just ferry riders. She said many of\nthose vehicles turn left at Stargell.\nChair Miley opened the public hearing.\nPat Potter, Bike Walk Alameda and Community Action for Sustainable Alameda. She\nsaid she is a timid rider and would not currently ride to the ferry. She said once you\nprovide a straight shot for bicyclists you will see more of them riding to the ferry and\nencourage the commission to support the plan.\nDuane Bellinger said he bikes his daughter to preschoool everyday and then takes a bus\nto San Francisco where he bikes three miles to work. He said it is too dangerous for him\nto bike to the Alameda Ferry. He said prioritizing cars for a century has failed. He asked\nhow two lanes help people get to a parking lot with only one turn lane.\nJim Devlin said his seven year old son is entering the cycling world and many of the\nstreets in Alameda are unsafe. He encouraged removing all the free right turns in the\ncorridor.\nBrian McGuire, Bike Walk Alameda, thanked staff for a sensible, economical plan. He\nsaid it is consistent with already adopted policies. He said it provides great return on\ninvestment. He said this plan will make it safer for vehicles leaving Bay Ship. He asked\nthat the Commission give direction to staff to proceed with closing the free right turn at\nW. Midway if a traffic engineer signs off. He said the choice is obvious.\nChair Miley closed the public hearing.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 3 of 8\nDecember 3, 2018\nTransportation Commission", "path": "TransportationCommission/2018-12-03.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2018-12-03", "page": 4, "text": "Chair Miley asked if a further detailed design could be brought back to their next\nmeeting.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said the detailed design would not change the response to the\nquestions regarding the traffic analysis. He said he would just represent the EIR and\nalready approved policies.\nChair Miley said he thinks addressing potholes along with the striping project.\nCommissioner Palmer asked when Seaplane Lagoon terminal would open.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said it is targeted for February 2020.\nCommissioner Soules said she would be looking for a supplemental staff report more\nthan a more detailed design. She said she did not want to reopen the master plan, but\nthat the information helps the traveling public understand where things fit in the pipeline.\nShe said there is no tangible data showing that people would make the mode shift. She\nasked for more information on the potential impacts of queueing. She said people do not\nunderstand what \"level of service being adequate\" means and that it could mean a\nmissed ferry for people who were not engaged. She suggested a public awareness effort\nfor the captive audience on the ferry.\nCommissioner Nachtigall suggested reaching out to the ferry riders to inform them. She\nsaid there is value in the safety aspects of the project but most ferry riders were unaware\nof the potential changes.\nCommissioner Palmer said the fact that there is an existing path is amazing and it\nseems like a win win if we value safety to invest in the pathway.\nStaff Member Wheeler said the western path on Main St. was pretty deficient. She said\nshe is looking into grant funding to bring the path up to standards in the Master\nInfrastructure Plan. She said the cost would be several million dollars over the same\ncorridor. She said that the grant process will be a multiple year process.\nCommissioner Johnson said this is an interim change and does not preclude action in\nthe future.\nChair Miley said he is supportive of this project. He said the west end needs more bike\nfacilities. He said he could use more info to understand potential unintended\nconsequences.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 4 of 8\nDecember 3, 2018\nTransportation Commission", "path": "TransportationCommission/2018-12-03.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2018-12-03", "page": 5, "text": "Commissioner Soules said it was more of a transparency issue in gathering and\ndistributing documents of the planning work that has already been done, not asking for\nadditional staff time to do new analysis.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said our traffic engineer has been on medical leave, which has\nhampered ability to put some of the requested information together. He said he would\nnot be looking to do new analysis, and would gather information from the analysis done\nwith the previously completed EIR. He said that work and decision making about making\nthe road a three lane road has already been vetted and completed, which is part of why\nhe did not include it in the presentation.\nCommissioner Palmer said she would be willing to make a motion to bring the item back\nafter getting more information on level of service impacts, outreach to ferry riders, and\ndetails on potential mode shift expectations. She said that given the short term nature of\nthe project, and that it is the rainy season she said it might not have much impact to\ndelay. She said she did not want to have a bunch of ferry riders miss their boat one day\nbecause nobody was aware of the changes.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said they can and will provide information at WETA and to ferry\nriders before construction occurs. He said they could also add changeable message\nsigns.\nChair Miley asked how quickly they would move to implementation if they approved the\nproject tonight.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said they would add it to their on call striping contract and look\nto complete it within three months.\nCommissioner Johnson made a motion to approve the project with the addition to\nprovide outreach to the ferry riders ahead of the work and adding pothole repair to\nthe corridor in conjunction with the striping plan. Commissioner Hans seconded\nthe motion. Commissioner Nachtigall asked that the motion include outreach to\nthe Bay Ship staff. Commissioner Johnson accepted the amendment.\nCommissioner Palmer asked what advanced notice all of the public had. She asked if\nthe community has been properly notified about what was planned.\nCommissioner Soules said the project is good and feasible, and her problem was just\nwith the process. She said she thinks the safety concerns warrant moving the project\nforward.\nChair Miley asked to amend the motion to add direction to staff to evaluate the\nfree right turns and bring that back to the commission when appropriate.\nCommissioner Johnson accepted the amendment. The motion passed 6-0.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 5 of 8\nDecember 3, 2018\nTransportation Commission", "path": "TransportationCommission/2018-12-03.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2018-12-03", "page": 6, "text": "5-B 2018-6272\nRecommendation to Adopt Minor Revisions to the Street Sections in\nAlameda Point Master Infrastructure Plan and the Main Street\nNeighborhood Specific Plan\nChair Miley reminded everyone that the item has been postponed. He said he would call\nthe public speaker who wished to speak on that item and opened the public hearing.\nJim Strehlow referred to Orion Street at Oriskany where Williams Sonoma is. He said he\ndoes not understand how the sidewalk with street trees would fit in with the loading work\nthey do there. He said there are other businesses along Orion that park perpendicularly\nand would lose parking under the proposed designs.\nChair Miley closed the public hearing.\n5-C 2018-6273\nRecommendation to Accept an Update on the April 2, 2018 and May 1,\n2018 Referrals from Council Member Matarrese to Consider Banning\nMotorized Vehicles, Including Robotic Commercial Vehicles, from\nSidewalks and Commercial Drone Aircraft Used for Deliveries; and\nElectric Scooters. (Public Works 310)\nStaff Member Wikstrom gave a presentation on robotic commercial vehicles and\ncommercial drones used for deliveries. The staff report and attachment can be found at:\n https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3760637&GUID=F59C01F8-\nAD77-4431-A792-90C2A8FD47AO&FullText=1\nChair Miley asked if there had been any operation of sidewalk robotic delivery vehicles\nyet in Alameda.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said there was one report which helped lead to the referral but\nnothing widespread.\nCommissioner Soules asked if a ban was the only way to establish the requirement of a\npermit.\nStaff Member Wikstrom said the challenge would be trying to establish a permit for\nsomething you do not yet understand. He continued his presentation.\nStaff Member Wheeler gave a presentation on electric scooters.\nChair Miley asked if pilot programs in other cities require the companies to fund\neducation for teen riders.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 6 of 8\nDecember 3, 2018\nTransportation Commission", "path": "TransportationCommission/2018-12-03.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2018-12-03", "page": 7, "text": "Staff Member Wheeler said she is unsure of that specific. She said in Oakland they were\nsure to charge fees that the city could use to address concerns.\nCommissioner Palmer asked where scooters are supposed to operate.\nStaff Member Wheeler said they are to operate in the road like bicycles.\nCommissioner Hans asked if electric bicycles had been deployed in the city.\nStaff Member Wheeler said they have not been deployed. She said staff are looking at\nthat also.\nChair Miley opened the public hearing.\nMarty Fatool, Bird, said they would like to work with the city on an interim operating\nagreement and not wait a year for a pilot program to be developed. He shared some\nemails from residents that were sent to the City Council. He said that adding scooters in\nAlameda would be extremely beneficial and looks forward to continuing to be a partner\nwith Alameda.\nBrian McGuire, Bike Walk Alameda, said we need to try new things because what we\nhave been doing has not worked. He said everyone is looking for options and these take\nup no space compared to cars and are efficient.\nChair Miley closed the public hearing.\nCommissioner Palmer asked if we have other cities that we can learn from for our pilot.\nStaff Member Wheeler said that we would look to our neighbors for examples of what\nworks best.\nCommissioner Soules asked why these items were grouped together.\nStaff Member Wheeler said that this is how the City Council referral was delivered to\nstaff.\nChair Miley said scooters are a last mile solution. He said waiting a year for something is\na long time. He said he does not support a ban on scooters. He said he supported the\nstaff recommendation to take a wait and see approach on the drone questions.\nCommissioner Johnson agreed that a year is a long time to wait. He said he mostly\nhears complaints about them being parked on the sidewalk and suggested finding ways\nto mitigate that problem.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 7 of 8\nDecember 3, 2018\nTransportation Commission", "path": "TransportationCommission/2018-12-03.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2018-12-03", "page": 8, "text": "Chair Miley made a motion to approve the staff recommendation on robotic\ndelivery vehicles and drone aircraft. He moved that the recommendation on\nscooters be amended with direction to accelerate the permitting program in the\nnext four months.\nCommissioner Soules suggested adding the curb management tools available for\nfinding places to park the scooters.\nChair Miley added Commissioner Soules' direction to his motion. Commissioner\nSoules seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.\n6. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS\n6-A Quarterly Report on Activities Related to Transportation Policies and Plans\nStaff Member Payne said this item would be folded into the January meeting item on the\nannual report. She said there may be a need to add a special meeting in February to\nhandle some of the needed items.\n6-B Potential Future Meeting Agenda Items\n1. Transportation Choices Plan and Housing Element Update and Next\nSteps\n2. Transportation Management Association Annual Reports\n3. Alameda County Transportation Commission Capital Improvement\nProgram Grant Submittals\n4. West End Ferry Terminal Service and Access\n7. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PUBLIC COMMENT\nJim Strehlow said he did not see the previous meeting's minutes scheduled for approval.\nHe said the minutes did not include his comments regarding the need to register his\nbike, the fact that Lime bikes do not have permits, and that the fire department is\ncharging $5 for permits when the municipal code states permits cost $2. He reiterated\nhis objection to the meeting not being held on the 4th Wednesday as scheduled. He said\nit is wrong to hold the meeting at other times.\n8. ADJOURNMENT\nChair Miley adjourned the meeting at 8:07pm.\nApproved Meeting Minutes\nPage 8 of 8\nDecember 3, 2018\nTransportation Commission", "path": "TransportationCommission/2018-12-03.pdf"}