HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-04 City Council (16)TO:
City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:POLICE
PLANNING
DATE:
SUBJECT:
AUGUST 4, 2003 CMR: 393:03
IKEA TRAFFIC CONTINGENCY PLAN
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
As part of the ongoing retail commercial growth of East Palo Alto, a new Ikea furniture
store is slated for a six-day grand opening event commencing on Wednesday, August 27,
2003 at 9:00 a.m. at 1700 East Bayshore Road. Based on the significant number of patrons
traditionally attending an Ikea store opening, it is expected that the number of vehicles
coming into the area will far exceed roadway capacities. In an effort to ameliorate as much
of the congestive traffic impact expected on Palo Alto surface streets, staff has been
working closely with East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, California Highway Patrol, California
Department of Transportation and Ikea officials to develop a coordinated regional traffic
strategy. This report provides a summary of that strategy.
DISCUSSION
Grand Opening Plan
Inter Ikea Systems B.V., based in The Netherlands, will open its second Bay Area Ikea
furniture store on August 27, 2003. The 290,000 square foot store and associated 1,561
parking spaces are situated on a ten-acre parcel located at 1700 East Bayshore Road in East
Palo Alto (Attachment 1). The store will carry over 9,000 products, employ approximately
500 employees and bring an estimated $1,000,000 in retail revenue to the City of East Palo
Alto. The Ikea store grand opening event will take place over a six-day period starting on
August 27 and ending on Labor Day, September 1. During this promotional period, the
store will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 27 and Saturday,
August 30; and 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on all other days.
CMR: 393:03 Page 1 of 5
Ikea’s tremendous popularity has resulted in considerable crowds attending any new store
opening across the country. Emeryville residents experienced this phenomenon, and the
resulting snarl-up, when the first Bay Area Ikea store opened in its city in 2000. In
preparation for the East Palo Alto store opening, staff has met with Emeryville officials and
visited its retail site. Emeryville-staff has been exceedingly helpful in sharing its proactive
and reactive measures, in addition to its retrospective advice.
Staff has also met with representatives of East Palo Alto. They will be implementing a
traffic plan (Attachment 2) that will allow vehicles to enter from Donohoe Street and East
Bayshore Road, but will only permit vehicles to exit onto Southbound East Bayshore Road
to access both North and South Highway 101 via Embarcadero Road. East Palo Alto staff
will be posting additional signage throughout the area to inform motorists as to the most
direct ingress and egress routes. Ikea will be engaging in a corresponding public education
campaign through its website, advertisements and flyer handouts to inform customers of the
direct access routes. Additionally, Caltrans will have portable sign tracks available to
warn freeway motorists should excessive congestion occur.
On-site, Ikea will be deploying 30 parking lot attendants to directly guide each vehicle to a
specific available spot. As vehicles leave, they will likewise be required to follow specific
directions to the designated exit route. It is believed this strategy will facilitate the most
expedient and orderly parking of vehicles while preventing the type of parking lot
overcrowding and gridlock that could occur should vehicles be permitted to autonomously
park.
Staff estimates traffic on University Avenue, especially during afternoon commute times,
could extend into the Downtown area as vehicles leaving Palo Alto will be forced to merge
with shoppers coming off of Highway 101. This delay could be markedly increased if
parking queues extend onto University Avenue from Donohoe Street in East Palo Alto. As
has been previously experienced during congestive traffic periods on University Avenue due
to special events, accidents or road closures, motorists endeavor to avoid the backup by
utilizing Willow Road to access Highway 101 or the Dumbarton Bridge. This can lead to
heavy traffic congestion on northbound Middlefield Road, sometimes backing up past
University Avenue, as Willow Road reaches peak capacity.
The ar.ea of Embarcadero Road and East Bayshore Road will also be heavily impacted. As
exiting Ikea shoppers are funneled onto southbound East Bayshore to access Highway 101,
the respective intersections and roadways will become heavily traveled. Moreover, if traffic
queues on northbound Highway 101 extend past Embarcadero Road, it will have an
corresponding affect on East Bayshore Road traffic as those seeking to access northbound
CMR: 393:03 Page 2 of 5
Highway 101 have few options. Northbound East Bayshore Road will also experience
heavy congestion as many patrons familiar with the area will exit Highway 101 at
Embarcadero Road.
During the six-day period, the Palo Alto Police Department will be deploying additional
officers specifically assigned to monitor and direct traffic on University Avenue,
Middlefield Road, Embarcadero Road and East Bayshore Road. Police motorcycle units
will also be proactively patrolling peripheral arteries and neighborhood streets to handle any
unexpected issues. Additionally, Police staff will monitor bordering Palo Alto residential
neighborhoods for any residual parking spillover. One of the primary focuses will be to keep
traffic from using neighborhood streets.
The East Palo Alto Police Department will be staffing officers at each of their critical
intersections to manually control traffic patterns: namely, Capital Avenue and Donohoe
Street, Cooley Avenue and Donohoe Street, Clarke Avenue and East Bayshore Road, Pulgas
Avenue and East Bayshore Road, University Avenue and Donohoe Street, and Euclid
Avenue and East Bayshore Road. Caltrans personnel will also be onsite to monitor freeway,
interconnected traffic signals should they need to be manually adjusted.
To ensure continual communication amongst the many agencies participating in the traffic
plan, East Palo Alto will be establishing a command post where representatives from each
organization will be present. This will enhance regional cooperation and responsiveness to
any unforeseen events and ensure the coordinated deployment of appropriate resources to
address such issues.
Palo Alto Transportation staff has placed traffic counters on University Avenue, Channing
Avenue and Embarcadero Road in an effort to compare and analyze traffic patterns before
and after the Ikea store opening. Such information will be useful in determining if traffic
control devices will necessitate adjustment to better facilitate new demands.
Ikea officials have advised staff that commercial deliveries to its store will occur in the late
evening hours. All deliveries originate from Southern California and will only be accessing
the facility from Highway 101; no Palo Alto surface streets will be used.
Throughout the traffic contingency planning stages, staff has met with representatives from
neighborhood associations to seek input, discuss impact concerns and review the proposed
traffic plan. Attendees have also been provided with copies of East Palo Alto and Ikea
traffic impact plans. Staff has also attended the community meetings sponsored by the City
CMR: 393:03 Page3 of 5
of East Palo Alto and will be posting future meeting dates and relatable information on the
City Transportation web pages.
Staff has been in contact with officials at the U.S. Post Office on East Bayshore Road and
the International School on Laura Lane, as significant traffic congestion will adversely
effect their daily operations. The International School’s first day of classes for its 250
students is Wednesday, September 3. While this is the week after the Ikea grand opening
event, staff is working with school officials to develop a coordinated traffic plan should
Ikea-generated congestion continue to affect the area.
Post Grand Opening
Staff does not know what the long-term traffic implications will be in the weeks and months
following the initial grand opening event. Normal operation hours for Ikea will be Sunday
through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Staff will
closely monitor the traffic patterns and any resulting impact to Palo Alto. Moreover, Police
Department Traffic officers will be regularly monitoring key intersections and residential
neighborhoods during peak times in an effort to proactively identify and address residual
issues. Staff will place an emphasis on monitoring added traffic impacts to school zones,
Stanford University events and residential streets.
RESOURCE IMPACT
Staff estimates 220 hours of police officer overtime, costing approximately $19,000, will be
needed to cover key Palo Alto intersections during the six-day period. East Palo Alto
officials have advised that the City will receive full to partial reimbursement from Ikea for
directly-related public safety costs incurred during the grand opening event. Staff has
submitted its cost estimates and will be following up with actual expenditures after the
grand opening.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This recommendation does not represent any change to existing City policies.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Environmental Impact Report that was completed for this project indicated that there
would be minimal traffic impact on Palo Alto traffic.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1:
Attachment 2:
Map
East Palo Alto City Manager’s Report, Ikea Traffic Management Plan
CMR: 393:03 Page 4 of 5
Attachment 3:Contingency Traffic Management Plan for Ikea Opening, as prepared
by Kimley-Hom and Associates for the City of East Palo Alto
PREPARED BY:MARK VENABLE, Police Lieutenant
CARL STOFFEL, Transportation EnNneer
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
LY-NNE
Police Chief
Director, Planning & Community Environment
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
Assistant City Manager
CMR: 393:03 Page 5 of 5
The City of
Palo Alto
IKEA Store Site
1700 East Bayshore Road
East Palo Alto
This map is a product of the
City of Palo Alto GIS
City of East Palo Alto
Public Works Department
Date:
To:
Via:
From:
Subject:
July 15, 2003
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
Ted Gaebler, Interim City Manager
Charles Bergson, Interim Public Works Director
IKEA Traffic Management Plan
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council review and comment on the draft INEA Traffic
Management Plan.
Back~oround
The IKEA Furniture store is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, August 27 of
this year. Traffic during store grand openings is typically very intense and extraordinary.
As part of this development a traffic management plan for this opening period has been
drafted and is being submitted to Council for review and comment. Subsequent to
Council review and direction, Staff will further refine and enhance this plan and return
with a finished Traffic Management Plan.
The primary purpose of the Plan is to minimize traffic disruption and protect the local
neighborhoods from intrusion by regional traffic during the store’s opening period.
This Plan has been formulated in consultation with the Council’s Transportation
Subcommittee and it is presently receiving review from our neighboring cities - Palo
Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, as well as CalTrans, the State Highway Patrol, the
Mid-Peninsula Transportation Group, and local schools.
The Traffic Management Plan (TMP)
The Draft Traffic Management Plan includes three basic elements: Operations, Physical
Traffic Plan, and Public Relations as summarized below.
1. Operations - The IKEA TMP operational group has been formed including key
members of the police traffic divisions, city and Stanford transportation departments,
representatives of IKEA, the State Highway Patrol (CHP), and CalTrans and is meeting
weekly. An operations plan for the opening and the subsequent weeks is being
ikea-tmp-cc.g03 1
formulated. This operations plan is to include a public and internal communication
scheme to enable effective response to public inquiries and coordinate resources among
the multiple agencies during the first weeks. There will be extensive coordination among
the traffic divisions of East Palo Alto and Palo Alto police departments, the CHP, and
CalTrans.
This TMP is also being reviewed by the local fire and emergency service agencies. The
Operations Plan will include contingent response levels up to and including the closing of
the store and alternate routes for emergency services.
2. Physical Traffic Plan
The Draft IKEA Traffic Management Plan, prepared by a consulting traffic engineer, is
attached. A key feature of this plan is the adjustable response of traffic measures. The
traffic response can range from traffic control officers, to temporary traffic mitigation
measures, to temporary traffic barriers. Key intersections identified in the plan are
Capitol Avenue/Donohoe Street, Cooley Avenue/Donohoe Street, Clarke Avenue/E.
Bayshore Road, Pulgas/E. Bayshore Road, University Avenue/Donohoe Street, Euclid
Avenue/Bayshore Road, and Bayshore Road!Embarcadero Road.
This Plan has the flexibility to increase control from the placement of traffic control
officers to the placement of temporary traffic mitigation barriers (partial or full) at critical
intersections. If barriers are placed, they can be left in place for the first few months of
operation. After these few months, the City can review the adequacy of these measures
and adjust them accordingly. They can be ~hardened" into permanent structures or
relaxed or removed.
IKEA employees are to report to a site away from the facility and will be transported to
and from the facility via shuttle. Finally, IKEA will be responsible for providing
information and guidance to customers entering and leaving the IKEA parking facility.
3. Public Relations
A public relations campaign is being developed that will include publicizing principal
travel routes to and from IKEA. All principal routes are on established street arteries.
This will be accomplished through IKEA promotional literature and through the local
agencies’ existing public communications media. Included in the public outreach will be:
a public meeting by the City and IKEA for local residents (to be held in early August),
presentations to local agency transportation commissions and to schools, distribution of
the Plan to local agencies, and IKEA promotion of reconm~ended routes through
electronic media and road side signage.
Local Review. recent
During a meeting of the Mid-Peninsula Transportation Group on July 9th several points of
the draft Plan were added. These included:
>Directional signage will be prevalent along the roads leading to and from the site
indicating destinations.
ikea-tmp-cc.g03 2
>The City’s Police Department has met with its counterparts from the city of Emeryville,
site of the latest IKEA opening in Northern California.
>Caltrans will be on site during the f~rst days of the opening to make adjustments to its
signals as needed.
>Traffic control at critical intersections will be provided by the police agencies of East
Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and the State Highway Patrol.
>Publicizing the Plan to the neighboring cities and schools and through the media will be
implemented throughout the weeks leading up to the opening.
Schedule
Key events preceding the IKEA opening, August 27th;
Week of Monday:
¯ 14 July:
¯ 21 July:
¯ 28 July:
¯ 04 Aug:
¯ 11 Aug:
local law
¯ 18 Aug:
¯ 25 Aug:
Council reviews the IKEA-TMP, Operations Group (Ops) meeting
TMP revisions, Council Subcommittee meeting (proposed), Ops meeting
Anticipated TMP approval by Council. Ops meeting.
Final TMP distributed to local agencies. Ops meeting.
Public presentation of TMP at East Palo Alto City Hall. TMP briefing for
and emergency agencies. Ops meeting.
Ops meeting.
Ops meeting, IKEA opening.
It is noted that the college football season will begin the second Saturday following the
IKEA opening. The only football game conflict with the IKEA opening during the first
seven weeks is Saturday, September 6th, when San Jose State plays at Stanford. It is
pla~med to continue the IKEA TMP Operations Group through Thanksgiving.
Council’s attention is drawn to the suggested Council Transportation Subcommittee
meeting during the week of July 21st for a review of the Plan.
Councit is requested to review the Plan and provide direction. Staff will report back to
Council at the July 31st meeting with a version that will be near complete and ready for
publication.
Fiscal Impact
Beyond routine staff administrative costs, there is no fiscal impact associated with this
report. Costs associated with the TMP, including signage, traffic control officers, traffic
mitigation measures, are to be borne by IKEA.
CB
ikea-tmp-cc.g03 3
DRAFT REPORT
CONTINGENCY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR
IKEA OPENING, EAST PALO ALTO
Prepared for:
City of East Palo Alto
Prepared by:
Kimley-Hom
and Associates, Inc.
July 10, 2003
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Kimley-Hom and Associates (KHA) was engaged by the City of East Palo Alto
to prepare a contingency traffic management plan to help it prepare for the Grand
Opening of IKEA in East Palo Alto. This Draft Report summarizes the basis for
and elements of this plan.
Background
IKEA East Palo Alto is under construction and scheduled to open August 27,
2003. The City considers IKEA traffic to be predominantly regional in nature,
and anticipates that the opening will create substantial traffic congestion and
therefore will require City resources to help manage it. The City’s intent is to
minimize traffic disruption caused by the IKEA opening, thereby maintaining
local community access and emergency response routes, and protect local
neighborhood streets from intrusion by IKEA traffic.
City staff, in coordination with IKEA representatives and other locat and State
agencies, has developed a Traffic Management Plan specifically for this opening,
including three components: Operations, Physical Traffic Plan, and Public
Relations. This document is the Phvsical Traffic Plan.
Purpose of Physical Traffic Plan
The purpose of this document is to define specific traffic management items that
will help to minimize traffic disruption, thereby maintaining local community
access and emergency response routes, and protect local neighborhood streets.
Traffic plan elements were categorized to allow for progressive "hardening" of
traffic management to address specific conditions (namely the failure by IKEA to
complete promised off-site roadway improvements). Finally, traffic plan
elements were given specific implementation dates.
Scope of Work
KHA conducted three tasks to develop this document, as summarized below:
Define Opening Plan - In consultation with City staff and IKEA
representatives, KHA defined the status of construction, anticipated
opening day completion status, and off-site improvements underway.
KHA also reviewed the traffic impact analysis in the project EIR with
respect to anticipated traffic "hot spots."
Summarize Traffic Plan Objectives and Elements - KHA summarized
fundamental objectives of the Traffic Plan and a list of potential Traffic
Plan elements for consideration by the City Council Subcommittee. This
effort was focused on the driveway intersections along East Bayshore
and Donohoe, local street intersections along Donohoe and East
Bayshore, and junctions with freeway ramps serving northbound and
southbound Route 101 traffic.
Kimley-Hom
and Associates, Inc.
Prepare Traffic Plan - A graphical summary of traffic management
elements was developed on a local area map centered on the IKEA site.
Written descriptions were prepared to complement the graphic. These
items were compiled into this Draft Report.
Traffic Plan Elements
Experience and observations regarding major retail facility openings indicates it
is probable that all planned construction - on-site and off-site - will not be fully
complete on opening day and some period thereafter. The Traffic Plan addresses
this by including two categories of elements. The first category is aimed at the
condition whereby all off-site improvements are complete, and the second
category is aimed at the condition whereby all off-site improvements are not
complete.
It is noted that the following off-site improvements are included in the IKEA
project:
¯Addition of a new right-turn lane westbound between Donohoe/Cooley
and East Bayshore/IKEA Entrance Driveway;
¯New traffic signal at Donohoe/Cooley;
¯Creation of a second northbound left-turn lane at University/Donohoe;
¯Modification of traffic signals at Donohoe/East Bayshore and East
Bayshore/]KEA Entrance Driveway;
¯Interconnection and coordinated operation of traffic signals between
University/Donohoe and East Bayshore/IKEA Entrance Driveway;
¯Storm drainage replacement on Cooley.
If Off-Site Improvements Are Complete
The traffic plan elements are divided into temporary and permanent categories.
The temporary category addresses actions required during the Grand Opening
and subsequent weeks when traffic demand is expected to be substantially above
average. The permanent category addresses actions required prior to
Thanksgiving week; these actions provide more-permanent protection of local
streets from regional traffic.
Temporaq/ Measures
The following temporary measures are recommended to be implemented prior to
opening day:
o IKEA staff to provide information and guidance to customers
entering and leaving parking facility and store;
o Coordinate traffic signals between and including
UniversityiDonohoe and IKEA - Gate~vay 101 Entrance/East
Draft Report June 17, 2003
Contingency Traffic Management Plan for IKEA Opening, East Palo Alto Page 2
Kimley-Horn
Associates,and Inc,
Bayshore to optimize throughput and minimize queues; a cycle
length of 110 seconds or less wilt likely be required;
If necessary, manually control traffic at University/Donohoe,
Capitol/Donohoe and Cooley/Donohoe;
Monitor traffic at Pulgas/East Bayshore, Clarke/East Bayshore,
and Donohoe/101 northbound ramp;
Coordinate with Palo Alto Police Department about potential
congestion at Laura/East Bayshore and Embarcadero/East
Bayshore;
Coordinate with Caltrans regarding posting additional resources
at the University/southbound ramps intersection to monitor and
adjust signal operations;
Coordinate with California Highway Patrol regarding freeway
operations;
Install changeable message signs at two points to advise
customers of entrance location and "return to 101" route;
Install temporary guide signs along East Bayshore at Clarke
("!KEA" with arrow), at IKEA entrance ("IKEA entrance" with
arrow) and along westbound Donohoe west of Cooley ("to 101"
with arrow);
Install all-way stop at Euclid!Donohoe (subject to warrant test
and further analysis)
If neighborhood traffic infiltration is evident, consider the
following items:
¯Barricade northbound lane of Capitol at Donohoe;
¯Barricade Cooley at Donohoe (prohibit access and
egress);
¯Barricade Clarke at East Bayshore (allow local traffic
only);
¯Barricade Pulgas at East Bayshore (allow local traffic
only).
Permanent Measures
The following measures are recommended to be installed prior to Thanksgiving
week :
Install median channelization (right-in/right-out) on Cooley at
Donohoe, including complementary turn restriction signs;
Install "No Thru Traffic" sign and traffic hump on Clarke north
of East Bayshore;
Install "No Thru Traffic" sign and traffic hump on Pulgas north
of East Bayshore;
Install median channelization or closure at Euclid/East Bayshore.
Draft Report June 17, 2003
Contingency Traffic Management Plan for IKEA Opening, East Palo Alto Page 3
Kimley-Hom
and Associates, Inc.
If Off-site Improvements Are Not Complete
If off-site improvements are not complete on opening day, the City shouId
seriously consider prohibiting the store opening because the local street system
would likely be gridlocked due to its limited capacity relative to the expected
KEA traffic demand.
,,Temporary Measures
The same measures presented above under the "improvements complete" case
would be recommended in the ease that off-site improvements are not complete.
In addition, if necessary, manual control of the East Bayshore/KEA Entrance
Driveway is recommended.
Permanent Measures
The same measures presented under the "improvements complete" case would be
recommended in the case that off-site improvements are not complete.
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Draft Repo~June 17, 2003
Contingency Traffic ManagementPlan ~rlKEA Opening, EastPalo Alto Page 4