Traffic Safety Committee Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES July 11, 2017 ACTION MINUTES – These minutes are prepared to depict action taken for agenda items presented to the Traffic Safety Committee. CALL TO ORDER: Police Chief Brizzee called the Traffic Safety Committee Meeting to order at the hour of 2:01 p.m. ROLL CALL – MEMBERS OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE PRESENT: Tim Marrison, Fire Chief (Fire Department); Mark Fachin, Public Works Director/City Engineer (Public Works Department); Gary Brizzee, Police Chief (Police Department); Stacy Elms, Community & Economic Development Director (Community & Economic Development Department); Erik Limon (Planning Commission Representative). STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Assistant City Clerk/Human Resources Technician Sousa. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Limon seconded by Marrison to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – APRIL 4, 2017: Motion by Limon, seconded by Fachin to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. PUBLIC FORUM: MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE ON ANY ITEM OF PUBLIC INTEREST THAT IS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY; INCLUDES AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS. NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS. SPEAKERS ARE LIMITED TO A FIVE (5) MINUTE PRESENTATION. COLLEEN CRAWFORD, Los Banos, thanked the committee for their hard work and time spent on the speed cushion discussion, spoke about the reason she pursued the issue and her concern for the safety of the senior citizens in her area; NYDIA ROSA, Los Banos, stated she must use a wheelchair and was almost run over in the area of Vineyard Drive and Stonewood Drive, spoke with residents in the area and was told that others are afraid of the unsafe traffic conditions as well, there are children playing soccer in the field next to the intersection and she’s concerned about the safety at this intersection. No one else came forward to speak and the public forum was closed. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF INSTALLATION AND LOCATION OF SPEED CUSHIONS ON QUAIL STREET BETWEEN MERCEY SPRINGS ROAD AND MEADOWLARK AVENUE. MARK FACHIN, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/CITY ENGINEER, stated that the volume and speed survey was conducted and the area passed that test, the first drawing was provided to the neighborhood facilitator, two options will be presented to the facilitator for location approval by the neighbors, location approval is important because once a speed cushion is installed it is difficult to uninstall, feels it is better to research the locations now rather than install one cushion and not be able to install the other, there is a two house requirement for approval of installation. POLICE CHIEF BRIZZEE stated the committee could go with an installation of one speed cushion instead of two but it would be beneficial to have both installed, he spoke with one of the neighbors and that neighbor does not want the speed cushion installed at their location so that delays the process a bit, asked that the neighborhood facilitator discuss options with the opposing neighbor. FIRE CHIEF MARRISON explained why the location is where it is and one of those locations is within two homes where one neighbor is opposed to the installation. COLLEEN CRAWFORD, Los Banos, stated she feels that maybe in the future the policy should be changed, there are property owners that don’t live in the area and don’t care what happens which makes it difficult to obtain approval of installation next to their property. MARYANN SPADA, Los Banos, inquired as to if there was any way for the City to install the speed cushions for safety without going through the approval process. POLICE CHIEF BRIZZEE stated the City adopted the approval process because it is not normal policy for the City to install these types of devices. FIRE CHIEF MARRISON stated that the opposing neighbor may not have a say if the speed cushion was approved just a house or two down from them. Motion by Fachin, seconded by Elms to bring the item back for approval at a later date. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO INSTALL A STOP SIGN ON 3RD STREET AT THE INTERSECTION OF 3RD STREET AND K STREET. POLICE CHIEF BRIZZEE stated he received a request from a resident in the area who is concerned with near misses they’ve seen at the intersection as both streets are uncontrolled. Brizzee stated that the intersection did not meet the stop sign warrants as there was not enough data to support the request. Motion by Elms, seconded by Limon to deny the request. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO CHANGE THE CURRENT PARKING TIME RESTRICTIONS IN THE 500 BLOCK OF J STREET. Police Chief Brizzee stated he was contacted by a business owner regarding parking restrictions and customers not being able to park in front of their business when it opens. Motion by Elms, seconded by Fachin to replace the “No Parking from 3am to 6am” signs with “No Parking from 3am to 5am” signs in the 500 block of J Street. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO INSTALL SPEED LIMIT SIGNS ON THE WESTSIDE OF PLACE ROAD BETWEEN B STREET AND REGENCY DRIVE (CONTINUED FROM APRIL 4, 2017). Police Officer Pricolo stated he conducted a speed survey during school hours and the average speed was 43.5 mph and his recommendation for a posted speed limit in this area is 35mph. Fire Chief Marrison spoke about a continuation school being built in the future and possibly having to remove the 35mph signs to accommodate the 25mph of a school zone and wants to be sure any change in speed limit signs does not prohibit that. Motion by Elms, seconded by Marrison to install 35mph speed limit signs on Place Road between B Street and Regency Drive for the northbound and southbound lanes. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO INSTALL STOP SIGNS ON VINEYARD DRIVE AT STONEWOOD DRIVE (CONTINUED FROM APRIL 4, 2017). POLICE OFFICER PRICOLO stated he had surveyed the intersection in the past and was recently asked to re-evaluate the intersection specifically concentrating on the visibility perspective, during his speed survey he was approached by numerous residents in the area that cited visibility problems at the Stonewood Drive and Cabernet Drive intersections so he looked into both intersections, while traveling northbound on Stonewood approaching the stop sign limit line on Vineyard looking to the west visibility was an issue and was approximately 220 feet, average speed was approximately 40 mph, a lot of motorists would approach the stop sign and creep out while some would just quickly stop and go, pedestrian use of Vineyard Park on May 25th over the time he surveyed the park included up to five citizens in the park and up to four of those who crossed the intersection, Similar intersections are Overland Avenue from Hwy 165 to Place Road, San Luis Street which is very curvy from Ward Road to Hwy 152 is currently posted at 35mph, Vineyard Drive at Stonewood Drive has had one collision which had to do with a fire hydrant, three reported collisions two of which could have been prevented by a stop sign, the other collision was an intoxicated pedestrian struck by a motorist so it is difficult to say if controls would have helped in that accident, some of the visibility issues at the intersection may be alleviated by trimming the landscaping. POLICE CHIEF BRIZZEE stated he was out at the Vineyard Drive and Stonewood Drive intersection today for thirty minutes watching the stop sign and every single car stopped and then carefully creeped out onto Stonewood Drive. PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/CITY ENGINEER FACHIN stated that Vineyard Drive is a major carrier of traffic and it was built that way on purpose to alleviate the neighborhood streets. COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR ELMS stated that the signal at Dove Street and Vineyard Drive will be triggered by the future development of Northpoint. POLICE OFFICER PRICOLO spoke about CalTrans Stop Sign warrant number 7 which states that other combined factors may be considered for the rationale of installation of a stop sign. ADDY GONZALEZ, Los Banos, stated she is the Assistant Manager of a local soccer club that practices at the park and she notices the traffic is heavy between 5pm and 7pm at night, there are a lot of people traveling over 40mph, when entering Stonewood Drive from Vineyard Drive a vehicle must creep out due to visibility issues, how a soccer parent had an accident at the intersection last year because their vehicle was longer in the front and while they were creeping out onto Stonewood Drive they were struck by another vehicle, there are a lot of children crossing the streets from Lorena Falasco. CANDELARIO GOMEZ, Los Banos, has been a resident since 2009, spoke to a Sergeant who told him that a traffic survey had to be conducted in order to add a stop sign, vehicles travel over 40mph and sometimes over 50mph, there are two large bushes affecting visibility at the intersection, he is afraid to let his daughter ride her bike, vehicles are traveling so fast they could distract a young child causing them to swerve their bike and that’s not safe. ERIK LIMON stated he would love to see a stop sign there even if it is premature and before another development triggers it, his children play soccer at the nearby park and he has also witnessed speeding vehicles. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR ELMS stated she has family members that live off of Woodbridge and she has witnessed speed issues in the area. PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/CITY ENGINEER FACHIN stated that there are many factors to consider here such as the sight distance issues, pedestrians traveling to and from the park, the lack of a sidewalk on one side of the street. Motion by Fachin, seconded by Elms to approve installation of stop signs and a fully marked crosswalk on Vineyard Drive at Stonewood Drive. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO INSTALL SPEED LIMIT SIGNS ON VINEYARD DRIVE BETWEEN NANTES AVENUE AND MERCEY SPRINGS ROAD AND TO REDUCE THE SPEED LIMIT TO 30MPH ON VINEYARD DRIVE (CONTINUED FROM APRIL 4, 2017). Police Officer Pricolo stated the 85th percentile of speed was 39.2, he personally drove the roadway at varying speed and was comfortable at 35mph, if Police Officers were to stop vehicles for driving 40mph there would be an issue in court because the survey shows an average speed of 39mph, there is currently no posted speed limit. Motion by Marrison, seconded by Fachin to deny original request. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. Motion by Marrison, seconded by Limon to install 35mph speed limit signs on Vineyard Drive between Nantes Avenue and Mercey Springs Road for the eastbound and westbound lanes. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all committee members present. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS. Committee Member Limon, spoke about how there are no signs for the merging lane on Mercey Springs Road just North of Overland Avenue near Circle K, stop sign eastbound on Santa Barbara there is a limit line and vehicles need to pull out farther to see the oncoming vehicles. Police Chief Brizzee requested that Commissioner Limon send him an email with his concerns. Public Works Director/City Engineer Fachin announced that the encroachment permit was approved for “cross traffic does not stop” signs at Ortigalita and Pioneer so they’ll be installed soon. Committee Member Elms thanked Officer Pricolo for the informative reports. ADJOURNMENT. The meeting was adjourned at the hour of 3:17 p.m. APPROVED: / s / Gary Brizzee ____ ATTEST: Gary Brizzee, Chairman / s / Jana R. Sousa ______ Jana R. Sousa, Assistant City Clerk