The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2017-06-28 Planning & transportation commission Agenda Packet_______________________ 1.Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2.The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3.The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Planning & Transportation Commission Special Meeting Agenda: June 28, 2017 Community Meeting Room 250 Hamilton Avenue 6:00 PM Call to Order / Roll Call Oral Communications The public may speak to any item not on the agenda. Three (3) minutes per speaker.1,2 Agenda Changes, Additions, and Deletions The Chair or Commission majority may modify the agenda order to improve meeting management. City Official Reports 1.Assistant Directors Report, Meeting Schedule and Assignments Study Session Public Comment is Permitted. Five (5) minutes per speaker.1,3 Action Items Public Comment is Permitted. Applicants/Appellant Teams: Fifteen (15) minutes, plus three (3) minutes rebuttal. All others: Five (5) minutes per speaker.1,3 2.Review and Comment on the Survey Results for the Cowper Street/Coleridge Avenue Traffic Safety Pilot Project and Related Traffic Safety Improvements Approval of Minutes Public Comment is Permitted. Five (5) minutes per speaker.1,3 3.May 31, 2017 Draft Planning & Transportation Commission Meeting Minutes Committee Items Commissioner Questions, Comments or Announcements Adjournment May 31, 2017 Draft Meeting Minutes _______________________ 1. Spokespersons that are representing a group of five or more people who are identified as present at the meeting at the time of the spokesperson’s presentation will be allowed up to fifteen (15) minutes at the discretion of the Chair, provided that the non-speaking members agree not to speak individually. 2. The Chair may limit Oral Communications to 30 minutes for all combined speakers. 3. The Chair may reduce the allowed time to speak to three minutes to accommodate a larger number of speakers. Palo Alto Planning & Transportation Commission Commissioner Biographies, Present and Archived Agendas and Reports are available online: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/boards/ptc/default.asp. The PTC Commission members are: Chair Michael Alcheck Vice Chair Asher Waldfogel Commissioner Przemek Gardias Commissioner Ed Lauing Commissioner Susan Monk Commissioner Eric Rosenblum Commissioner Doria Summa Get Informed and Be Engaged! View online: http://midpenmedia.org/category/government/city-of-palo-alto or on Channel 26. Show up and speak. Public comment is encouraged. Please complete a speaker request card located on the table at the entrance to the Council Chambers and deliver it to the Commission Secretary prior to discussion of the item. Write to us. Email the PTC at: Planning.Commission@CityofPaloAlto.org. Letters can be delivered to the Planning & Community Environment Department, 5th floor, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Comments received by 2:00 PM two Tuesdays preceding the meeting date will be included in the agenda packet. Comments received afterward through 2:00 PM the day of the meeting will be presented to the Commission at the dais. Material related to an item on this agenda submitted to the PTC after distribution of the agenda packet is available for public inspection at the address above. Americans with Disability Act (ADA) It is the policy of the City of Palo Alto to offer its public programs, services and meetings in a manner that is readily accessible to all. Persons with disabilities who require materials in an appropriate alternative format or who require auxiliary aids to access City meetings, programs, or services may contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at (650) 329-2550 (voice) or by emailing ada@cityofpaloalto.org. Requests for assistance or accommodations must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, program, or service. Planning & Transportation Commission Staff Report (ID # 7761) Report Type: City Official Reports Meeting Date: 6/28/2017 City of Palo Alto Planning & Community Environment 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 329-2442 Summary Title: City Official Report Title: Assistant Directors Report, Meeting Schedule and Assignments From: Hillary Gitelman Recommendation Staff recommends that the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) review and comment as appropriate. Background This document includes the following items:  PTC Meeting Schedule  PTC Representative to City Council (Rotational Assignments)  Tentative Future Agenda Commissioners are encouraged to contact Yolanda Cervantes (Yolanda.Cervantes@CityofPaloAlto.org) of any planned absences one month in advance, if possible, to ensure availability of a PTC quorum. PTC Representative to City Council is a rotational assignment where the designated commissioner represents the PTC’s affirmative and dissenting perspectives to Council for quasi- judicial and legislative matters. Representatives are encouraged to review the City Council agendas (http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/agendas/council.asp) for the months of their respective assignments to verify if attendance is needed or contact staff. Prior PTC meetings are available online at http://midpenmedia.org/category/government/city-of-palo-alto/boards- and-commissions/planning-and-transportation-commission. The Tentative Future Agenda provides a summary of upcoming projects or discussion items. Attachments:  Attachment A: June 28, 2017 PTC Meeting Schedule & Assignments (DOCX) Planning & Transportation Commission 2017 Meeting Schedule & Assignments 2017 Schedule Meeting Dates Time Location Status Planned Absences 1/11/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 1/25/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular CANCELLED 2/8/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular Waldfogel 2/22/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 3/8/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular Monk, Waldfogel 3/29/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 4/12/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 4/26/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 5/10/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular Rosenblum, Summa, 5/31/2017 6:00PM Council Chambers Regular Alcheck 6/14/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular Monk,Waldfogel 6/28/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular Alcheck 7/12/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular Rosenblum, Waldfogel 7/26/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular Lauing 8/09/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular Rosenblum 8/30/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 9/13/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 9/27/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 10/11/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 10/25/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 11/08/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 11/29/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 12/13/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers Regular 12/27/2017 6:00 PM Council Chambers CANCELLED 2017 Assignments - Council Representation (primary/backup) January February March April May June Michael Alcheck Eric Rosenblum Asher Waldfogel Ed Lauing Przemek Gardias Eric Rosenblum July August September October November December Asher Waldfogel Ed Lauing Doria Summa Przemek Gardias Doria Summa Michael Alcheck Subcommittees Planning & Transportation Commission 2017 Tentative Future Agenda May 15, 2017, 2017 Draft-All Dates and Topics Subject to Change The Following Items are Tentative and Subject to Change: Meeting Dates Topics July 12  Comp Plan Orientation  3001 El Camino Real July 26  Comp Plan: Public Hearing on Land Use & Transportation  Office/R&D Annual Limit Extension Ord. August 9  Comp Plan: Land Use and Transportation August 30  Comp Plan: Public Hearing Land Use & Transportation  Downtown Parking Management Implementation #2  Fry’s Coordinated Area Plan  Downtown Office Cap September 13  Comp Plan: Public Hearing: All Elements including, Natural Environment, Safety, Community Services, Business Economics  City Council on the Final EIR and Plan Update September 27  Comp Plan Update: Putting it Together and Final Update October/November  Code Clean-Up 2017  TMA Discussion  Comp Plan Implementing Ordinance #1 December/January  Middlefield Road North Traffic Safety Project Update Planning & Transportation Commission Staff Report (ID # 8185) Report Type: Action Items Meeting Date: 6/28/2017 City of Palo Alto Planning & Community Environment 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 329-2442 Summary Title: Cowper/Coleridge Traffic Safety Pilot Project Title: Review and Comment on the Survey Results for the Cowper Street/Coleridge Avenue Traffic Safety Pilot Project and Related Traffic Safety Improvements From: Hillary Gitelman Recommendation Staff recommends that the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) review and comment on survey results and installation of the Cowper/Coleridge Traffic Safety Project that includes a permanent traffic circle, yellow high-visibility crosswalks and yield signs (Attachment A). Background The Cowper/Coleridge Traffic Safety Project was initiated in response to community concerns about traffic safety and unsafe motor vehicle speeds on Cowper Street at the Coleridge Avenue intersection. Parents of student commuters in the neighborhood raised concerns that the intersection felt unsafe for children walking and biking to school along Coleridge Avenue. At the time, the intersection was a two-way stop-controlled intersection with stop signs only on Coleridge Avenue. Marked crosswalks were not present for pedestrians crossing Cowper Street. Coleridge Avenue is a designated Walk and Roll school route for Walter Hays Elementary School and Cowper Street is a designated Class III bicycle route south of Coleridge Avenue. Many Palo Alto High School students also bicycle along Coleridge Avenue enroute to and from Churchill Avenue. The first request from parents and other community members was for the installation of an all- way STOP at the intersection. This is one of the more popular types of traffic control requested by the public, as it is generally believed to be effective and low-cost. However, STOP signs are primarily intended to assign right-of-way and or address sight-line and other documented safety issues. According to best practices in transportation engineering, STOP signs should not be used for traffic calming and/or speed reduction. An over-proliferation of STOP signs can lead to an increase in bicyclist and motorist disregard for these and other traffic control devices. The City of Palo Alto Planning & Community Environment Department Page 2 city’s Comprehensive Plan also includes the so-called “Guard and Go” policy, which states that STOP signs should generally be installed only at every other intersection. Cowper Street has existing STOP signs at Churchill Avenue one block to the north and at Lowell Avenue one block to the south. An all-way STOP warrant analysis was conducted by Staff in February 2015, but the Cowper Street at Coleridge Avenue intersection did not meet the traffic volume warrants included in the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices. In January 2016, staff conducted a STOP sign warrant analysis at the Cowper Street at Churchill Avenue intersection to determine whether the STOP signs at that intersection could be flipped to Churchill Avenue, so that the STOP sign spacing on Cowper Street would be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan (if an all-way stop was added at the Cowper Street at Coleridge Avenue intersection). In order to flip the STOP signs at the Cowper Street at Churchill Avenue intersection, the traffic volumes on Churchill Avenue would need to be reduced through the use of diverters, full closures or partial closures. Staff believed that such aggressive treatments would require extensive and time-consuming public engagement and stretch staff resources beyond what was available for this minor traffic safety project. Traffic Safety Project Pilot In April 2016, Staff implemented a six-month traffic safety pilot project at the Cowper Street at the Coleridge Avenue intersection to address community concerns about traffic speeds along Cowper Street. The initial pilot project consisted of retaining the two-way stop on Coleridge Avenue, installing a temporary traffic circle, and adding yellow high-visibility crosswalks and advanced YIELD bars and signs on Cowper Street. At the conclusion of the initial pilot, staff collected feedback through mail and in-person surveys. Safe routes to school champions and parents of the nearby Walter Hays Elementary School generally submitted positive feedback, while nearby residents generally opposed the traffic circle. The formal survey results were close to evenly split, with 68 in favor of making the traffic circle permanent and 69 requesting its removal. In reviewing the comments submitted with the negative survey responses, staff determined that the existing two-way STOP configuration was generating the bulk of the confusion and skepticism around the traffic circle. Many respondents stated that they expect traffic circles and roundabouts to be YIELD controlled not STOP controlled. As a result of the mixed feedback received during the first survey, Staff decided to continue the traffic safety pilot project with a few modifications, including the conversion of the traffic circle to all-way YIELD control. Staff also added about 50 feet of rubber median on both approaches on Cowper Street to discourage wrong-way driving around the traffic circle. Under the all-way YIELD control, bicyclists and motorists on all approaches are required to reduce their speed and give way to bicyclists and motorists that are already within the traffic circle. The modifications to the pilot project were completed in January 2017. In May 2017, Staff again collected community feedback through mail and in-person surveys. The number of mailed surveys was increased and sent to 240 households in a wider area bounded by Middlefield Road, Embarcadero Road, Tennyson Avenue and Bryant Street. Many additional surveys were also City of Palo Alto Planning & Community Environment Department Page 3 handed out to commuters, bicyclists, pedestrians and school children during two weekday mornings and afternoons. Collision History There were two collisions reported at this intersection over the past five years (from May 2012 to May 2017). The first reported collision occurred in May 2013 prior to the initiation of the traffic safety project. At the time, the intersection was a two-way stop-controlled intersection with stop signs only on Coleridge Avenue. This minor injury collision occurred between a motorist travelling southbound on Cowper Street and two bicyclists traveling westbound on Coleridge Avenue. The two bicyclists stated that they slowed down, but did not stop at the STOP sign on Coleridge Avenue at Cowper Street. This collision may have been avoidable with a traffic circle as vehicles are required to reduce travel speeds prior to entering the intersection and yield to vehicles, bicyclists, or pedestrians already within the intersection. The second reported collision occurred in March 2017 during the Cowper/Coleridge Traffic Safety Project pilot, when the intersection was signed as an all-way YIELD and the traffic circle was in place. This collision occurred between a motorist travelling westbound on Coleridge Avenue and a bicyclist travelling northbound on Cowper Street. The motorist failed to yield to the bicyclist, who appeared to be within the intersection first, according to the police report. The bicyclist struck the side of the motor vehicle at a low speed, which is consistent with the typical crash type at a traffic circle or roundabout. Collisions at traffic circles and roundabouts tend to be low-speed low-injury side-swipe crashes. Discussion In May 2017, a total of 169 survey cards were returned (Attachment B). Table 1 summarizes results of the survey. This survey showed that opinions remain divided with regard to retaining or removing the traffic circle. Many respondents (N=84, 50%) expressed an interest in retaining the traffic circle, while fewer (N=74, 44%) preferred removal of traffic circle. It should be noted that, similar to the first survey, feedback from immediate residents tended to lean toward removal of the circle and conversion to either a four-way stop controlled intersection or return to a two-way stop controlled intersection. Based on communications with the abutting property owners, Staff believes that this may be related to the visual impacts of the temporary materials used for the traffic safety pilot project. One recurring theme in the comments from both sets of community surveys is that motorists are traveling too fast through the traffic circle. Due to the geometry of the intersection and the proximity of storm drain inlets, the center island of the circle is smaller in diameter than necessary to properly slow and deflect approaching motorists. When the on-street parking lane on an approach is unoccupied, motorists are able to shift over to the curb before the traffic circle and travel through the intersection faster than is appropriate. This issue can be addressed through the addition of curb extensions and/or the relocation of storm drain inlets. Table 1 – Cowper/Coleridge Resident Survey Results City of Palo Alto Planning & Community Environment Department Page 4 Retain Traffic Circle Remove Traffic Circle No. of Responses (N) Response Percentage No. of Responses (N) Response Percentage With all-way YIELD 50 30% Re-install two-way STOP on Coleridge 35 21% Re-install two-way STOP on Coleridge 29 17% Create all-way STOP 38 22% Unclear 5 3% Unclear 2 1% Total 84 50% 75 44% Source: Department of Planning and Community Environment, June 2017 Based on the simple majority of survey responses and professional judgement, Staff recommends that the all-way YIELD traffic circle be made permanent with the installation of a landscaped center island and curb extensions on the approaches to reduce travel speeds and provide the proper defection when entering the traffic circle. The design will be similar to the traffic circle planned for Bryant Street at Kingsley Avenue, as shown in Attachment C. Policy Implications The Bicycle + Pedestrian Transportation Plan identifies and prioritizes the development of bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The plan objectives that are advanced by the implementation of the Staff recommendation include:  Objective 1: Double the rate of bicycling for both local and total work commutes by 2020 (to 15% and 5%, respectively).  Objective 2: Convert discretionary vehicle trips into walking and bicycling trips in order to reduce City transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 15% by 2020.  Objective 3: Develop a core network of shared paths, bikeways, and traffic-calmed streets that connects business and residential districts, schools, parks, and open spaces to promote healthy, active living.  Objective 4: Plan, construct, and maintain ‘Complete Streets’ that are safe and accessible to all modes and people of all ages and abilities.  Objective 5: Promote efficient, sustainable, and creative use of limited public resources through integrated design and planning. In addition, the Comprehensive Plan goals, policies, and programs that support the Staff recommendation include:  Policy T-14: Improve pedestrian and bicycle access to and between local destination, including public facilities, schools, parks, open space, employments district, shopping City of Palo Alto Planning & Community Environment Department Page 5 centers, and mulit modal transit stations.  Policy T-25: When constructing or modifying roadways, plan for usage of the roadway space by all users, including motor vehicles, transit vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians.  Policy T-33: Keep all neighborhood streets open unless there is a demonstrated safety or overwhelming through-traffic problem and there are no acceptable alternatives, or unless a closure would increase the use of alternative transportation modes.  Policy T-34: Implement traffic calming measures to slow traffic on local and collector residential streets and prioritize these measures over congestion management. Include traffic circles and other traffic calming devices among these measures.  Policy T-38: Continue the current “guard and go” system of having stop signs approximately every other block on local residential streets to discourage through- traffic. Resource Impact There are currently no funds budgeted specifically for the installation of a landscaped center island and curb extensions. However, Staff will use recent construction bids for a similar project to determine estimated costs and work to identify funding within existing capital improvement projects. Environmental Review The proposed modifications are minor upgrades to an existing residential street right-of-way and would not result in any new impacts to 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). Public Notification, Outreach & Comments All of the households in the project area were notified by mail of the PTC meeting and the availability of this staff report. Next Steps As the cost estimate is finalized and funding is identified, Staff will coordinate with the Public Works Department for implementation as part of the ongoing street maintenance program. Alternative Actions In addition to the Staff-recommended action, the PTC may recommend an alternative. City of Palo Alto Planning & Community Environment Department Page 6 Report Author & Contact Information PTC1 Liaison & Contact Information Ruchika Aggarwal, Associate Engineer Jonathan Lait, AICP, Assistant Director (650) 329-2520 (650) 329-2679 Ruchika.Aggarwal@CityofPaloAlto.org jonathan.lait@cityofpaloalto.org Attachments:  Attachment A - Cowper/Coleridge Traffic Safety Project Pilot (PDF)  Attachment B - Cowper/Coleridge Survey Cards (PDF)  Attachment C - Sample Permanent Traffic Circle Design (JPG) 1 Emails may be sent directly to the PTC using the following address: planning.commission@cityofpaloalto.org