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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-09 City Council Agendas (5) City of Palo Alto (ID # 11603) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 11/9/2020 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Council Priority: Transportation and Traffic Summary Title: Traffic Calming Pilot Project in the Crescent Park Neighborhood Title: Approval of a Traffic Calming Pilot Project and Related Improvements in the Crescent Park Neighborhood From: City Manager Lead Department: Transportation Department Recommendation The Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) and staff recommend that the City Council approve the implementation of a one-year traffic calming pilot project in Crescent Park Neighborhood, and authorize the City Manager to extend the pilot program by six (6) months in the event that traffic conditions are not indicative of normal conditions in the first year, and direct staff to proceed with finalizing the project plans for installation of the pilot traffic calming project in the Crescent Park Neighborhood at the following locations: • University Avenue & West Crescent Drive • Southwood Avenue & East Crescent Drive, and • Hamilton Avenue, Center Drive & Southwood Drive Background In January 2018, residents of the Crescent Park neighborhood corresponded with City staff regarding traffic conditions in their area. The residents cited ongoing cut-through traffic, congestion during the peak hours, and speeding in the off-peak hours as recurring issues in this neighborhood. In response to these community concerns, Office of Transportation staff initiated the Crescent Park Traffic Calming Project to study the project area and evaluate the neighborhood for potential placement of traffic calming elements. Staff retained the services of Fehr & Peers Engineers to assist with the project study and traffic calming evaluation for the neighborhood. In May 2018, the Office of Transportation staff met with the neighborhood residents to hear their traffic-related concerns. After meeting with residents, staff, in coordination with community members, reviewed existing traffic data and developed conceptual solutions to City of Palo Alto Page 2 address neighborhood traffic-related concerns. In March 2019, speed and volume data was collected at 11 locations in the neighborhood to further evaluate existing conditions. The data is summarized in Exhibit A. In collaboration with neighborhood residents, the following four locations were identified to implement traffic calming measures. • Location 1: University Avenue / West Crescent Drive • Location 2: University Avenue / East Crescent Drive • Location 3: Southwood Drive / East Crescent Drive • Location 4: Hamilton Avenue / Center Drive / Southwood Drive Discussion Based on input from City staff and comments received from the residents, staff, in coordination with Fehr & Peers, developed conceptual layouts of proposed alternatives to be implemented at various locations in the neighborhood. The proposed measures addressed most of the concerns heard from the residents. These conceptual layouts were prepared considering temporary measures that can be quickly placed using pavement markings, delineators, bolt- down rubber curbs, temporary asphalt concrete dikes, etc. Using these measures, the following alternatives were developed at the four locations listed below. The proposed improvements at these intersections are as follows and are also shown in detail in Exhibit B: Location 1: University Avenue & West Crescent Drive: Installation of a 50’ protected bikeway section downstream of the intersection on University Avenue for eastbound traffic. This would prevent vehicular traffic from using the bike lanes as a merge lane during congestion and peak traffic hours. A relocation of an existing bus stop will be necessary to accommodate these improvements. Location 2: University Avenue & East Crescent Drive: Conversion of Crescent Loop to right- in/right-out access at its eastern intersection with University Avenue. The addition of a median island will prevent southbound left turns from Crescent Drive onto eastbound University Avenue. This was intended to prevent cut-through traffic on Crescent Drive Loop. Location 3: Southwood Drive & East Crescent Drive: Installation of curb extensions in the northwest corner of Southwood Drive and East Crescent Drive to reduce the size of the intersection. Curb extension will help align East Crescent drive perpendicular to the Southwood Drive. The improvements also include three-way stop controls at this intersection. Location 4: Hamilton Avenue, Southwood Drive and Center Drive: Installation of curb extensions, stop signs, and traffic circle or combination of these measures at the five-legged intersection of Hamilton Avenue, Center Drive, and Southwood Drive. Three options were developed for this location. Option A: Curb extension and striping modification to realign the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Center Street with the addition of stop signs. Also, realign Southwood Drive and add a stop sign. City of Palo Alto Page 3 Option B: Curb Extensions with a traffic circle at Hamilton Avenue and Center Street. Adjust stop signs on Center Streets and add stop signs on Hamilton Avenue. Realign Southwood Drive with curb extension and add stop sign on Southwood Drive. Option C: Add an oval-shaped traffic circle with stop signs for all directions. Neighborhood Communication & Support Staff conducted a second community meeting at Palo Alto City Hall on Tuesday, November 19, 2019. These conceptual improvements were shared with the Crescent Park neighborhood residents and they were asked to provide their comments on each alternative. The proposed improvements were widely accepted by the neighborhood residents and most residents were in favor to move forward with pilot project. For Location 4 at Hamilton Avenue, Southwood Drive, and Center Drive, a majority of the residents favored Option C. However, the right-in and right-out restrictions on Location 2 at University Avenue and East Crescent Drive was concerning to a few residents. As a result, staff surveyed affected residents of Crescent loop to solicit their comments. A survey was mailed to all twenty-one residents on Crescent Loop. City received thirteen (13) responses, of these twelve (12) residents were against the right-in and right-out restrictions and only one resident responded in favor of such improvement at this location. The survey results are available for review upon request. Based on the comments received from the community and the survey results, staff recommends installation of the following temporary traffic calming measures: Location 1: University Avenue & West Crescent Drive: Installation of a 50’ protected bikeway section downstream of intersection on University Avenue. Staff will coordinate with SamTrans to accommodate relocation of bus stop before installation of improvements. Location 3: Southwood Drive & East Crescent Drive: Installation of curb extensions in the northwest corner of Southwood Drive and East Crescent Drive to reduce the size of the intersection and three-way stop controls. Location 4: Hamilton Avenue, Southwood Drive, and Center Drive: Option C: Installation of an oval-shaped traffic circle with stop signs for all directions. The project was heard at the Planning and Transportation Commission as a public hearing on September 9, 2020 (Staff Report ID 11517). Here are the draft minutes of the September 9 PTC meeting. The one-year pilot project and the proposed improvements were unanimously approved with voting of five-zero (5-0) to recommend that the City Council proceed with the project and approve installation of such improvements. City of Palo Alto Page 4 Staff recommends implementing these traffic calming measures as a one-year pilot with ongoing monitoring of the project area. The proposed measures are conceptually shown in Exhibit B. Staff recommends that City Council authorizes staff to prepare the final design and layout of proposed pilot improvements based on the concept plans and directs staff to proceed with implementation of such traffic calming improvements. Staff will evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of the proposed improvements in the community after the one-year implementation of the pilot project. After conducting the post-pilot installation review, staff will return to City Council for direction on whether to make the improvements permanent or modify the alternative and perform additional monitoring. Additionally, because of COVID-19, the city is experiencing impacts on traffic flow. Staff believes that the post-pilot project study should be reflective of typical traffic conditions. As a result, the pilot program may need an extension beyond twelve (12) months if traffic flow is not indicative of normal (pre-COVID) traffic conditions. Therefore, staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to extend the pilot program by six (6) months, in the event traffic conditions are not indicative of typical traffic conditions. Normal or near-typical traffic conditions may be represented at a minimum when University, businesses, and school reopen. Policy Implications City of Palo Alto 2030 Comprehensive Plan goals, policies, and programs that support staff’s recommendations include: • Policy T-4.2 Continue to construct traffic calming measures to slow traffic on local and collector residential streets and prioritize traffic calming measures for safety over congestion management Program. • T4.2.1 Periodically evaluate residential areas for traffic impacts and use the results of that evaluation to prioritize traffic calming measures. • Policy T-4.3 Identify specific improvements that can be used to discourage drivers from using local, neighborhood streets to bypass traffic congestion on arterials. • Policy T-4.4 Maintain the following roadways as residential arterials, treated with landscaping, medians and other visual improvements to distinguish them as residential streets, in order to improve safety: o Middlefield Road (between San Francisquito Creek and San Antonio Road) o University Avenue (between San Francisquito Creek and Middlefield Road) o Embarcadero Road (between Alma Street and West Bayshore Road) o East and West Charleston Road/Arastradero Road (between Miranda Avenue and Fabian Way). o Use landscaping and other improvements to establish clear Program T4.4.1 “gateways” at the points where the Oregon Expressway, University Avenue and Embarcadero Road transition from freeways to neighborhoods. City of Palo Alto Page 5 Resource Impact The design and construction of the pilot project improvements for the Crescent Park neighborhood traffic calming pilot project will be performed by the City’s on-call contractors under current in-place contracts using quick build materials. The estimated construction cost of the project is between $70,000 and $90,000. Pricing will be confirmed before work is authorized. Contracts for this project are funded through the Transportation and Parking Improvements Capital Improvement Project (PL-12000) of the FY 2021 Adopted Capital Budget. Project PL-12000 provides funding for the implementation of miscellaneous neighborhood traffic calming improvements. Therefore, the department will contain costs within authorized budget levels for FY 2021 and no additional budget adjustments are anticipated. After the successful implementation of the trial period, the permanent improvements, if desired, may be considered as a separate Capital Improvement Project to replace the temporary measures with permanent (concrete) improvements. Funding for permanent improvements would be discussed following the pilot program review and addressed through the annual budget processes, as necessary. Public Notification, Outreach & Comments Residents in the project area were notified by mail of the City Council meeting and the availability of this staff report. Next Steps Prepare Work Orders to Install Treatments Upon City Council approval of the pilot project and project plans for improvements shown in Exhibit B, staff in coordination with City’s on-call consultant will prepare the final design and layout plans for the proposed improvements. Staff will then seek a proposal from the City’s on- call contractor and issue work orders for the implementation of the recommended alternatives. In the event certain elements such as a bike asphalt concrete curb/curb extension cannot not be performed by the City’s on-call contractor, the work for such improvements will be procured through informal bidding process due to anticipated costs for such elements in compliance with the procurement process of Palo Alto Municipal Code. These improvements will be constructed using quick-build materials during the pilot project implementation period and will be installed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed measures. The work order will not reflect permanent improvements that require the completion of detailed construction plans and specifications for public bidding. As such, the drawings will not account for vertical dimensions or drainage infrastructure requirements. The drawings for the pilot project also will not account for design elements such as curb and gutter, sidewalk, pavement modifications, street lighting, or other green infrastructure. The installation of the pilot traffic calming improvements for Crescent Park neighborhood if approved by the Council is anticipated by Spring of 2021. Collect Data and Draft End-of-Pilot City of Palo Alto Page 6 City will coordinate the collection of data at various locations under normal traffic conditions and evaluate the pre-pilot and end-of-pilot data to determine the efficacy of the pilot project with a particular focus on key issues at these locations. This phase of data collection will be 12 to 18 months after installation and anticipated to be completed by end of 2022. An end-of-pilot a technical report will be presented for the City Council which will include recommendations for how to proceed following the pilot program. The pilot program may be extended beyond a 12- month period if traffic flow is not indicative of normal (pre-COVID) traffic conditions. The Office of Transportation will evaluate the project, collect additional data, and conduct another resident survey prior to the recommendation of the permanent installation of the traffic calming measures. Staff will prepare preliminary cost estimates for the project. Upon funding availability, staff will pursue the design and construction of permanent improvements. Environmental Review The proposed modifications are minor upgrades to an existing residential street right-of-way and would not result in any new impacts on the existing environment. This project is considered as a minor alteration to the existing street system, and therefore categorically exempt (Class 1 Exemption, Section 15301) from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed modification is minor and a trial. Attachments: • Exhibit A & B: Crescent Park Staff Report Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 1 Attachments Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 2 EXHIBIT A Exiting Traffic Data Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 3 Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 4 Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 5 Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 6 Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 7 EXHIBIT B Location 1 University Avenue / West Crescent Drive Bicycle Lane Protection Existing Conditions Proposed Improvements Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 8 Location 2 University Avenue / East Crescent Drive Outbound Right-turn Channelization Existing Conditions Proposed Improvements Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 9 Location 3 Southwood Drive / East Crescent Drive Curb Extension for Intersection Realignment Existing Conditions Proposed Improvements Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 10 Location 4 Hamilton Avenue / Center Drive / Southwood Drive Intersection Realignment Options A/B/C Existing Conditions Option A: Proposed Improvements Attachments - Trial Implementation of Crescent Park NTCP Page 11 Option B: Proposed Improvements Option C: Proposed Improvements