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Home My WebLink About0142.093" ,-,-, •• _<--' -.• ,.-.~---.*'~----' ----. Ja~uary 28, 1993 HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Alto, California Attn: Policy and Services co~~ittee Status Report on Meada"'" ICbarlesto'l; S_£...~991 COlT1IDute cor_rider _Study Members of the Council: Report In Brief This informational ~eport provides a status update on the Meadow! Charleston School commute Corridor safety study and identifies the proce.ss recommended by s'taft f-or Policy ar.d Services Conuni ttee review of the Study, as ~ell as the City Council referral concerning the issue of further analysis of other stUdy areas in the city. No Conneil action is required. fJackground In February 1992, council directed staff to proceed with a focused study of the MeadoW' Drive and Charleston Road school commute routes, between Barron Park and Qther \West of El Cahlino Real neiqhborhoods l and to J. L. Stanford Middle School (JLS). The study area includes signal i zed and unsignal ized crossings of El camino RealI the Meadollw-Drive and Charleston Foad corridors, the at-grade railroad crossings, and the Al~a Street intersections (see attached study area map). The Council moti on contained the following further understandings: a. Staff ... i11 work with thE: Citl'jSchool Traffic Safety committee to ensure that the stUdy proce>ss 1. ncludes participation by appropriate representatives from the affected schools, PTAs, and the School District; b. The amount of the consultant contract fo!. this st'.ldy is not to exceed $25,000 and will be developed and executed by th~ City Manager, or her designeE', as provided in the Palo Alto Municipal Code, "Without further review a,""!d approval by the City council; and CM:R:142:93 rar 7 ? 't7 ,--'", ~",,---...,-. , ~:- ·.i t_1 r:: e' "- '-J , C. Refer tne issue of further study of other corri~ors to th~ P;:,licy and Set"vices Committee with the proviso tt".at the itEm return to the Cit~J council prior to, or simulta:-:eollsly w,rith/ the final study. In May 1992, the City initiated the lieado .... rjCharleston School commute Corridor Safety Study_ The firm of TJKM Transportation con.sultants was retained to perform the study ~ A S~udy Advisory Committee, com~sed. of members of the City/School Traffic Safety committee, PTA 1 and neighborhood representatives from the study area, .... as fo~,ed to ... ork 'With and advise City staff end the consul tant through each st,3.ge of the study. A communi t)~ meating ",as held at .iLS last May to allow the consultant and City staff toO meet directly with inte~ested 'll1embers of the public~ to solicit input from the school cornmunity about the safety issues and specific areas of c·:mcern ...... ithin the study corlidor. TJKM performed a comprehensive data collection phase of the study in May and June and a detailed anal},sis anC: evaluation of the data continued during. the summer and fall" At the request of the study Advisory Co'mmittee, additional field data was collected and evaluated by the consultant, after school began in the fall. to assess the impact of the railroad crossing inprovements at Alma/Meadow and Alma/Charleston. In consultation w':"th the studr Advisory Committee~ TJKM has identified a range of pet.ential solut.l.ons (e.g. physical and operational improve1":1ents, changes in city or PAusD policies, programs and strategies r etc.). A cOl!lmunity meeting 'Was held on January 14th to share the studl' recommendations 'With the public. The consultant 'Will submit a final study report in mid February. Once the consultant study is concluded, a staff report "'ill be prep;H"ed transmitting the fina 1 study report and staff IS recommendations for Council action. Although council referred thE issue of future study areas to the Policy and Services Committee, it did not expressly refer the M~ado".J/Char leston Safet}" Study. Nevert.heless, staff believes that it I,oiauld be most logical and useful for the Committee to have an understanding of the MeadOW/Charleston stUdy process~ th~ issues brought fo~ward by the public and considered by the consultant, and the scope of the study recommendations (some of 'Which 'Will be appl icable ci tirt"ride), before. moving on to the discussion of hmo' to approach study corridors in other areas of the City. The committee meeting format .... 'Duld also provide a!1 infor!71al setting for a thorough discussion of the study by the co'!":',mittee, and for comment from School District representatives, parents, PTA members, and other members of the public. It is hoped that through the. CMR: 142: 93 1/28/93 Pa'3e 2 dialoque at the rr.eeting, thE: Conrl'l1ittee and staff \..'0\..110 also gi'!in a better understanding of the communi ty ~s interest, expectations, and prioriti~s relative to other school commute corridors. Therafore, a three-step approach is proposed. The Policy and Services Committee would first review the staff report transmitting t.~e final study report and staff recarorner.o:ations. ;.t a second COmffiittee meeting, staff would return with a report that addresses the process, priorities, and funding of studies of ".)t:f.er school commute corridors. At the conclusion of the comrnitteets revie~ of these issues, committee recommendations on all ~chool safety study issues ..,ould be forwa:-ded to the Ci ty cour,ci 1. The tentat i ve schedule for the proposed review process is as f0110'",,5: March :2 policy and Services Committee Meeting Review of Meadow/charleston School Commute Corridor Study Final Report and staff recommendations April 6 May 10 Policy and RevieW' o"f Corridors services Co~mittee He~ting staff Report on the issue City council Meeting of Other study Action on Policy and Services CONmittee Recommendations This schedule will allow the City Council to address the budgetary impacts of the Meadow/Charl~ston Saf~ty Study recommendations on the operating and capital improvement program budgets, as 'Well as potential future school safety study issues, prior to the adoption of the 19q3-94 budget in Jur.e~ Respecttully submitted. 11 . f ~:~i{?~ENS ,: I(~ k., Senior Pl.l.nner. Transportation ,\~Xw ~~J FLEMING ~ ~ Manager KENNETH R. SCHRE1BER Director 0f Planning and CO!T1:!'iuf'.i ty Environment CC: James Brown, PAUSD Superintendent of Schools City/Schcol Liaison Committee City/School Traffic Safety committee Meadow/Charleston Commute Corridor Study Advisory Committee PTA Safety Representatives PAUSD Principals Nancy Karp CHR:142:9J ' .. , ' PALO A.l-TO 5TP.E.'ET "'E.TvJO~K ~~ ((Jl.,-p:c.-,.-o",- -""'TI!""I\L -"'-)<P"''''5'''''''Y -,,~~-p . ...,. .... y • ."T"-.... C'"''' ... G~ Pl-...... N"~G 4"'" ... ,",C"-"""h',." '-~~~:::-=-=-~ . MEADOW/CHARLESTON SCHOOL COMMUTE CORRIDOR stUDY AREA ".'-:-.:', ~ ~, ~ ,.. ~ ... ~ .. ~ !i