HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 187-07City of Palo Alto
Manager’s Report
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND
COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT
DATE:APRIL 9, 2007 CMR: 187:07
SUBJECT:UPDATE ON SCHEDULE FOR PHASE 2 OF THE
CHARLESTON/ARASTRADERO CORRIDOR PROJECT
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
On December 19, 2005, the Council approved a budget amendment ordinance in the amount of
$1,065,000 to provide funding in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP PL-05003) for the
implementation of the CharlestordArastradero Corridor Trial and Gulm High School
Driveway/Arastradero intersection and roadway modifications in the summer of 2006.
The overall Corridor Project trial consists of restriping Charleston Road and Arastradero Road to
the new 3 or 4-lane configuration, related traffic signal modifications, striped median islands and
new enhanced pedestrian crosswalks. The trial was planned to be in place for two years. In
spring 2006, a decision was made to implement the trial of the corridor restriping in two phases.
The Phase 1 project, restriping of Charleston Road from Fabian to E1 Camino Rea!, was
completed in conjunction with the annual Street Maintenance project in summer 2006. The work
was completed in mid-August and the Jtwo year trial was initiated. Restriping and resurfacing of
Arastradero Road was originally scheduled for summer 2007.
DISCUSSION
Rescheduling of Phase 2 Project on Arastradero Road
Over the course of the last few months, Utilities, Public Works and Planning staff have been
holding monthly interdepartmental coordination meetings to discuss proposed, planned and/or
scheduled construction activities over the next several years. During these discussions, it
became apparent that there were several Utilities projects that were scheduled on Arastradero
Road in the 2007-2012 time frame. These included: a sewer, replacement project, replacement of
targeted materials in the gas system crossing Arastradero Road, and an electric utilities project at
the intersection of E1 Camino Real and Arastradero Road. This presented a number of problems
if the Arastradero Road restriping & resurfacing was to proceed as scheduled: (1) the newly
paved street would be subject to Utilities work and excavation shortly thereafter; (2) the validity
of traffic data gathered during the Arastradero Corridor trial period for the project evaluation
(travel time along the corridor, increase in pedestrian!bicycle usage, intersection level of service
changes, etc.) would be compromised due to construction activities; and (3) the normal commute
patterns and the sense of safety in the corridor would be impacted by the construction activities.
CMR:187:07 Page 1 of 3
Therefore, the Utilities Department agreed to advance all of their planned projects to the 2007/08
fiscal year and Phase 2 of the CharlestordArastradero Corridor project has been deferred until the
summer of 2008. Utilities staff have assured Public Works and Planning staff that all of their
projects will be concluded prior to June 2008, which will enable Public Works to implement the
resurfacing and restriping of Arastradero Road during the summer vacation from July to late
August 2008. Staff has discussed this schedule with the Charleston/Arastradero Corridor
stakeholders group and they support this proposal.
Project Monitoring and Evaluation
Since the beginning of the year, staff has been meeting on a regular basis with the
CharlestordArastradero Corridor stakeholders group to review community input on the trial
project along Charleston Road and discuss next steps. Staff and the city’s traffic engineering
consultant, TJKM Transportation Consultants, are in the process of analyzing several elements of
the project, including: access to the Hoover School and operation of the U-turn lane at Nelson
Drive, implementation of traffic adaptive signal timing along the entire corridor, striping
alternatives for Arastradero Road, and potential pedestrian crossing improvements on
Arastradero Road near Briones Park.
Staff plans to forward back an interim status report on the Phase 1 project to the City Council in
the late spring. The report will include and identify community outreach and an analysis of the
traffic conditions on the corridor as compared to the project evaluation criteria, including
intersection level of service, corridor travel time, prevailing speeds and crash statistics, and
proposed next steps and timeline for presentirlg a recommended striping plan for Arastradero
Road to the City Council.
RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for the Charleston/Arastradero Corridor Project is provided in CIP project #PL-05002.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This report does not represent a change to existing City policies.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The City adopted a mitigated negative declaration (MND) pursuant to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the Charleston/Arastradero Corridor Plan on January
20, 2004 (Resolution 8395).
PREPARED BY:
APPROVED BY:
Director of Planning and Community Environment
CMR:187:07 Page 2 of 3
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
FRANK BENEST
City Manager
CC:Charleston Arastradero Corridor Stake Holder Group
Sheila Likins, Principal, Gunn High School
Carmen Giedt, Principal, Terman Middle School
Susanne Scott, Principal, Hoover Elementm’y School
Gerald Matranga, Associate Superintendent, PAUSD
City / School Traffic Safety Committee
Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commission
Palo Alto Bicycle Advisory Committee
CMR:187:07 Page 3 of 3