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TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,1 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 1 | Transportation Commission Minutes: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 Commissioner Jesus Vargas called the Transportation Commission to order at 7:00 p.m. 1. Roll Call Roll was called and the following was recorded: Members Present: Jesus Vargas (Chair) Thomas G. Bertken Christopher Miley (Vice Chair) Eric Schatmeier Members Absent: Michele Bellows Gregory Morgado Staff Present: Liam Garland, Deputy Public Works Director Virendra Patel, Public Works Transportation Engineer Gail Payne, Transportation Coordinator Sergeant Ron Simmons, Police Department 2. Agenda Changes None. 3. Announcements / Public Comments Commissioner Vargas said he spoke with Will Kempton, Executive Director of Transportation California, and he may not go forward with this year's ballot measure to raise funds for transportation. The consequence of it will now put pressure on cities, counties and transportation agencies. He explained that this issue will be addressed through the Alameda County Transportation Commission seeking more funding through Measure B reauthorization. Nevertheless, there are projects that are funded from existing Measure B and prior Measure B monies. | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,2 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 2 | Page 2 of 12 4. Consent Calendar A quorum was not met to approve the minutes. So, the minutes will be carried over to the next Transportation Commission meeting. 4A. Meeting Minutes - Wednesday, December 11, 2013 4B. Meeting Minutes - Wednesday, January 22, 2014 5. New Business 5A. Update on I-880/23rd Avenue/29th Avenue Interchange Project (Alameda County Transportation Commission) Staff Patel gave an update on the project and introduced the speakers. Stefan Garcia, Alameda County Transportation Commission, presented the report. Garrett Gritz, Design Manager and Consultant for Environmental Planning and Final Engineering Phase, presented the existing conditions and the intended changes. Val Ignacio, Caltrans Project Manager, presented Scott McCrank, Caltrans Senior Project Corridor Manager and RocQuel Johnson, Caltrans Public Information Officer, to explain more about the project. Commissioner Vargas asked if the information on the website included the rerouting of traffic. RocQuel Johnson replied yes. Scott McCrank presented the stages of the project and projected reroutes. Commissioner Miley asked if any of the stages would overlap. Stefan Garcia said this project is designed linearly, but because of the area's uniqueness of traffic and demand, the stages would be followed very clearly. There are phases within each stage, but there should not be much overlap. Commissioner Bertken said when staff spoke of the stages, he assumed they were talking about traffic stages and there could be construction stages that overlap. Stefan Garcia stated that there are only minor portions that will have overlapping. Commissioner Vargas opened the floor to public comments. Jim Strehlow, Alameda resident, explained that the city of Alameda would suffer for five years, Alameda businesses would suffer for the next 20 years and the project was based on the city of Page 2 of 12 | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,3 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 3 | Page 3 of 12 Oakland's needs. Additionally, he stated that the bridges for San Leandro would become wider and Ford Street at 29th Street would become a major choke point. Moreover, he felt that there was not a mitigation plan for Alameda. Fruitvale Avenue and High Street should contain extra lanes. Overall, he felt Alameda has been totally neglected in this plan. Commissioner Miley said his comments echoed Jim Strehlow's and felt that the Fruitvale and High Street traffic counts are not as high as Park Street. Moreover, he felt Fruitvale Avenue has enough traffic capacity that is not being used. He also believed the light at Elm Avenue is a hindrance and he would like to see something done about the light cycle. He also recommended that there should be a second northbound to I-880 lane at High Street and if there will be a lot of detours he would like staff to look at how to improve traffic flow on Fruitvale Avenue and High Street bridges. He was concerned about the amount of outreach conducted for the project and the fact that mailers were only sent to residents around the corridor rather than throughout the island. However, he commended staff that a committee was put together and the initial outreach was made. Moreover, he wanted to know if signage would be erected to alert commuters about the traffic conditions. Scott McCrank replied that the overhead signage on the freeway would display the changes, but for local traffic changes, they would have changeable message signage such as "This Bridge closed use 23rd Avenue". Commissioner Miley replied that traffic was light on the Fruitvale Avenue bridge. At Elm Street, they should restripe to allow two lanes going northbound to improve capacity. Scott McCrank replied that they would have to work with both cities to see if changes could be made. Commissioner Bertken replied that having a seven-day period to see what happens is a very reactive approach and he wanted to know what staff was doing to locate the traffic patterns now to know what will occur. Garrett Gritz … | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,4 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 4 | Page 4 of 12 The responsibility would be directed to the city's maintenance department depending on the jurisdiction. Commissioner Vargas asked if the TMP document could be made available to the Commission. Stefan Garcia replied that the document has been circulating since 2012 and the addendum has been circulating since last year. Commissioner Vargas requested that staff send the documents to the Commission. Commissioner Vargas asked if more money were made available for the project would there be more enhancements that could benefit Alameda. Stefan Garcia replied that the project is coming from a state bond specifically from the infrastructure corridors fund. So, they are limited in construction from that funding source and the project was under tight scrutiny from the state-bonding program. Garrett Gritz explained that they looked at a number of alternatives and they were told by the Alameda business community that they tell their customers to use High Street. Thus, this project will allow customers to exit off of 29th Avenue and arrive at the Park Street triangle. He communicated this project to the business community and they felt that it was a positive change. Additionally, he explained that some of the components that were not implemented were for AC Transit bus queue jumps within the corridor. He said that it was talked about in the early planning stages but these transit components were not part of the funding source. Commissioner Schatmeier asked staff if there was a post project evaluation that would take place to see if they had accomplished what they set out to do because the High Street project made the queues longer and the signal timing is worse. Stefan Garcia explained that the concern was concentrated on the movements on the local streets and street light timing. There will be scrutiny during and after the construction by the two cities. Commissioner Miley seconded Commissioner Schatmeier's comments and asked about the metering lights, which he felt was an Alameda County Transportation Commissio… | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,5 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 5 | Page 5 of 12 Commissioner Miley stated that the project's website address is hard to remember and suggested the URL be shortened. RocQuel Johnson explained that the website www.dot.ca.gov was a state website and brought the public to all the projects listed within District 4. It was not feasible to shorten the website address. She also suggested that people can enter "I-880 overcrossing" into Google and the project would pop up. Commissioner Bertken replied that Caltrans' project reports should not only identify what is under construction, but report the public benefits so the project could be monitored after completion. Stefan Garcia said that there are detailed summaries and reviews by the operations staff to meet the end goal. Staff Patel stated Caltrans would present their report to the City Council, but the date has not been set. 5B. Park Street Pedestrian Safety Project Staff Patel explained that they conducted a series of community meetings with the business district and residents around the location between Lincoln Avenue and Buena Vista Avenue. He also introduced the project consultants Joy Bhattacharya from Stantec Consultants and David Mahama from DKS Associates to present. Joy Bhattacharya, Stantec Consultants, presented. Commissioner Schatmeier asked how the bulb-outs proposed compare to the existing bulb-outs on Park Street near Santa Clara Avenue. Joy Bhattacharya replied that the protrusion of the bulb-out remains the same. Commissioner Miley asked staff if they needed approval from the Commission to move the project forward. Staff Patel replied that they are in the conceptual design stage, but they would like the Commission to approve the concept so they can move to the construction phase. Commissioner Vargas opened the floor to public comments. Robb Ratto, Park Street Business Association Executive Director, thanked staff and the consultants for conducting a raucous public meeting at the library on October 2013. He explained that he was in support of the project and appreciated that parking spot… | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,6 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 6 | Page 6 of 12 David Burton of the Planning Board spoke before the Commission as a local resident and architect. He thanked staff for the public process, but was not completely happy with the design. The Buena Vista Avenue intersection is an improvement and created pedestrian access. The biggest concern is at the Lincoln Avenue and Tilden Way intersection. Although it is a modest improvement, the design does not go far enough to create a pedestrian friendly environment. The Planning Board rezoned the area north of Lincoln Avenue with the intent to revitalize the area and make it a pedestrian friendly environment. The intersection was crucial to making a successful bridge with the southern stretch of Park Street and the northern stretch. The alternatives studied were much more favorable because they narrowed the intersections and slowed traffic. Moreover, he referred to the General Plan, which states that biking and transit have priority over vehicles and this design ignores the directive. He encouraged the Commission to approve a plan that is consistent with the General Plan and that this intersection needs further development. Commissioner Vargas asked David Burton which area he wanted to narrow. David Burton replied all four sides of the intersection specifically travelling along the Park Street direction because it is not a comfortable environment for pedestrians. Lucy Gigli, President of BikeWalk Alameda, thanked staff for working diligently on the project and organizing the outreach meetings. The proposal indicated that it would be the final part of the Park Street Streetscape Plan, which confused her because she thought they would continue to improve the streetscape north of Lincoln Boulevard. The changes at Buena Vista Avenue and Pacific Avenue are good because the intersection reduced the crossing distances. She is disappointed with the north end of Lincoln Avenue because of the lack of improvements. She also explained that the Walgreens and the Marketplace area will have a new parking lot and that parking … | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,7 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 7 | Page 7 of 12 Commissioner Miley asked staff if the funds have to be allocated or spent at a certain date. Staff Patel replied within 2-3 years. Commissioner Schatmeier referred to the Lincoln Avenue and Tilden Way interchange and the five alternatives that were considered. He wondered if any of the alternatives addressed the north side of the intersection in terms of bulb-outs and modifications. Staff Patel replied that staff reviewed the north side of the intersection and construction of the Walgreens store was underway. He said the store planned to improve the light standards and the poles, which are getting hit by trucks making right-hand turns. He said the area would be safer with the changes, but there are challenges with the area because it was not laid out on a true 90- degree angle. Commissioner Schatmeier said staff made several safety improvements, but nothing similar to the north side and based on staff's response that was due to the Walgreens project. He wanted to know if they could look at the north side. He felt a review was important because the area encouraged vehicles to make fast turns from Park Street onto Lincoln Avenue. Staff Patel said staff would review the area. Commissioner Bertken said he looked at the diagram (westbound) and he is familiar with the intersection going up Tilden Way crossing Park Street. He explained that motorists have to merge in and they effectively lose a lane when crossing over, but the diagram showed the following three lanes: a straight lane, a turn lane and an unknown lane near the curb. Joy Bhattacharya replied that the unknown lane is a continuous bike lane. He said staff reviewed the options for bulb-outs on the north side, but the lanes on Lincoln Avenue and Tilden Way, plus the left turn movements prohibit staff from creating a bulb-out at that location. He explained that Park Street on the north and south sides do not have a left turn lane, so that allows staff more space to work. Commissioner Miley referred to Lincoln Avenue and asked staff if the two lanes… | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,8 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 8 | Page 8 of 12 Commission Bertken said they talked about the markings on the pavement for pedestrian crossings for example near Lum Elementary School. Yet, he wanted to know how well motorists understood the markings and actually stopped for pedestrians. Sergeant Simmons said drivers do adhere to the limit lines or markings and they have crossing guards to make sure motorists yield to pedestrians at Lum School. Commissioner Berkten would like to see more public information on traffic control devices presented to the public. Sergeant Simmons said that as they become more apparent within the City, then community outreach will increase. Joy Bhattacharya replied staff reviewed data at the intersections of Buena Vista Avenue and Park Street as well as Lincoln Avenue and Park Street over the last five years. They concluded that four injuries involving pedestrian collisions occurred and along Tilden Way, five accidents occurred. Commissioner Miley asked what cross time improvements were made at Lincoln Avenue at Park Street, specifically where the bulb-out is implemented on the west side. Joy Bhattacharya replied that there is a 5.6 feet reduction, so pedestrians walking at 3 feet per second or an elderly person walking at 2.5 feet per second would gain 2-3 seconds. He also stated that the opposite direction would be 12-feet with a 4 second reduction. Moreover, the signal light would include longer countdown times. Commissioner Schatmeier referred to the north side on Tilden Way and found conflicting responses from staff. First staff said they would look at the area once the Walgreens project was complete and then staff said the area was impractical for aggressive enhancements. So, he felt there are two conflicting answers to his question. Also, he did not hear staff address the same issue on the north west side, where the automobile lanes are merging into one. Ultimately, he wanted to know if staff was still looking at the area to make further enhancements to pedestrian safety. David Mahama replied staff conducted a temp… | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,9 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 9 | Page 9 of 12 Staff Patel said that staff would come back to the Commission and report their findings. Commissioner Bertken made a motion to approve the intersections presented, with the exception of the Tilden Way and Lincoln Avenue intersection, which would be reviewed later. Commissioner Miley seconded the motion. The motion was approved 4-0. 5C. Informational Report on Parking Meter Study Liam Garland, City of Alameda Deputy Public Works Director, presented the report. Commissioner Vargas opened the floor to public comments. Robb Ratto said Liam Garland presented at their board meeting and felt the extra signage to drive people to the parking lot was a great idea. However, he stated that the metered equipment ties into the rates and Liam Garland said the rate of $1.50 was too high for Park Street. Yet, he felt the biggest complaints that come to him were the inconvenience of carrying so much change to park. He believed that smart meters using credit cards are needed, especially within the 1400- 1600 block of Park Street and the side streets. He also stated that he would meet with Sergeant Simmons to request for more aggressive enforcement because many motorists stay at one meter and feed it throughout the day. Commissioner Miley asked what is the cost differential between the smart meters and kiosks. Liam Garland replied that the smart meters are less costly than the kiosks. However, staff must conduct an analysis on how many meters per kiosk are needed and then establish the fee structure. He pointed out that one company dominates the smart meter market and they are offering a competitive per credit card meter rate. Commissioner Miley asked staff since one company dominates the market would they be locked down into a contract where the rates could possibly change. Liam Garland said staff was concerned about this issue. The company is working with a number of cities such as Berkeley, Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Additionally, the company can provide this competitive cost because they come from the telecommuni… | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,10 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 10 | Page 10 of 12 Commissioner Schatmeier stated that when he reviewed the study he wondered if staff looked at a demand-based parking strategy and referred to city of San Rafael's success at implementing such a strategy. He stated that if the parking spaces are filled then the City needs to charge more for them. Liam Garland explained that the City of San Francisco has implemented a demand-based parking strategy (SFPark) and many parts of the city have different rates and the rates vary based on the time period. Regular meters require a lot of labor to change the rates, but the kiosks and smart meters could be easily changed. Commissioner Bertken asked staff if they have reviewed whether people would avoid the meters if the parking rates increased. Liam Garland said that he has some data from the cities of Berkeley and San Francisco suggesting that it took a year or two for the price signal to sink in so the City will not see people's behavior change until that time. Commissioner Bertken asked staff if they reviewed whether people would shift their shopping behavior due to the parking increase to South Shore Center where parking is free. Liam Garland said staff was concerned about the potential loss of business from Park Street to the South Shore shopping center because they have free parking. Yet, staff had evidence from the City's sales tax receipts that both locations have done well year after year and each location was vastly different. Commissioner Schatmeier stated that if you raised rates too high then people would go away, but the key is to price it to have available parking and keep the demand there. Commissioner Vargas wanted to know if there is a maintenance component to the smart meters versus the kiosks. Liam Garland said the City would have to contract out to troubleshoot and repair the kiosks, but the City's maintenance team could be trained to switch out the top of the smart meters. Commissioner Vargas asked about the implementation. Liam Garland explained that staff is waiting for data from the park… | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,11 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 11 | Page 11 of 12 Staff Payne replied both and she asked the Commission to approve the design. Also, the next steps were to put together the specifications and bring the plan before City Council in order for the project to go out to bid for construction. Once staff selects the contractor, they would go back to the City Council and then begin construction. She estimated that the project would be completed by December of this year. Commissioner Bertken questioned the purpose of the bulb-out on the west side as opposed to the two bulb-outs on the east side. Staff Payne replied that the purpose was to constrain vehicle movements because motorists are passing other motorists in the bike lane. Commissioner Vargas called for a motion. Commissioner Bertken made a motion to approve the item. Commissioner Miley seconded the motion. The motion was approved 4-0. 6. Staff Communications 6A. Potential Future Meeting Agenda Items - Special Transportation Commission meeting will be held Wednesday, April 23rd - Draft Transportation Demand Management for Alameda Point - Transportation Grant Applications - Regional Transit Access Study / Federal Transit Administration Project Next Steps Commissioner Schatmeier stated that he would like a representative from Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) to present to the Commission and speak about the increase in demand on Harbor Bay and Oakland/Alameda ferries. Commissioner Miley replied that he would like the topic to be included in the May Transportation Commission meeting's agenda. Staff Payne replied that staff would bring back the meeting minutes for approval and the parking study would be brought back in May. She also will contact WETA staff requesting a presentation at the May meeting. 7. Announcements/ Public Comments Staff Payne made an announcement about two events taking place in April. The citywide Earth Day event will take place on Saturday, April 26 at Washington Park and the next day on Sunday, April 27, will be the Alameda Bike Festival from 12:30-4:00 pm at Henry Hai… | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf,12 | TransportationCommission | 2014-03-26 | 12 | Page 12 of 12 9:29 pm Page 12 of 12 | TransportationCommission/2014-03-26.pdf |
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