pages: TransportationCommission/2015-03-25.pdf, 7
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TransportationCommission | 2015-03-25 | 7 | Transportation Commission May 27, 2015 Item #4A Page 7 of 13 5C. Approve the Clement Avenue Complete Street Concept Proposal and the Active Transportation Program Grant Submittal Staff Payne presented the report. Commissioner Schatmeier referred to the PowerPoint slide showing the existing section and proposed section. He asked staff if the location of the railroad tracks would be unacceptable to motorists. Staff Payne replied motorists tend to travel away from the railroad tracks and veer off into the bike space. She also said the street would need resurfacing to make the road smoother. Furthermore, she stated that the removal of the railroad tracks was ranked highest on the goals for the community. Commissioner Vargas asked staff about the Navy and businesses' views of the proposal. He referenced the city documents and NACTO guidelines relative to challenges of putting a cycle track in an industrial designated street. He also expressed concern over the quality of the technical document supporting the recommendations. Staff Payne said the Navy restricted parking in front of their facility, so staff planned to work with them to reduce the restriction because it was right near Thompson Field. Regarding the businesses, she stated that staff had several meetings and some businesses were in favor and others were opposed. Businesses on the north side had the most significant comments. She explained that the businesses at Alameda Marina were opposed to the bikeway on the north side. The owner of the property, Shawn Murphy, supported the project because he was working with the Planning Department to redevelop the property as a multi-use development in the future. Commissioner Bellows opened the floor to public comments. Shawn Throwe, business owner at the Alameda Marina, said he received a lot of boats on trucks and some of the boats are over 15 feet wide. He found the proposal misplaced because the area was zoned industrial and the cycle track should be moved to Buena Vista Avenue. He felt the City was attempting to drive out the boat industry from the island. Jim Strehlow said Clement Avenue was his secret highway as a child. He stated that he was against the protected bikeway proposal because it was not designed the right way and the bikeway should be placed on the south side not the north side. He told the Commission to ignore the community consensus survey because anyone could have stuffed the comment box. He urged Commission to look at the safety issues and how the businesses use the street. Sean Svendsen, owner of Svendsen's Boat Works, said he was opposed to the plan because Alameda used the corridor as a viable truck route going east to west. He explained to the Commission that his business off loads a couple of hundred boats per year and the boats range from 40-50 feet in length and weigh 20-30 tons. He also said that sometimes the trucks that haul the boats have a wide load escort. He felt it made no sense to create a blind spot for truckers, RVs and trailer boats coming in and out of the marina. He believed it was a good idea to remove the | TransportationCommission/2015-03-25.pdf |