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Home My WebLink About09/10/2002ROLL CALL: Council Members Present: Council Members John Ewan, Christine Mulholland, Ken Schwartz, Vice Mayor Jan Howell Marx, and Mayor Allen K. Settle City Staff: Present: Ken Hampian, City Administrative Officer; Jeff Jorgensen, City Attorney; Lee Price, City Clerk; Dan Blanke, Police Captain; Steve Tolley, Police Sergeant; Mike McCluskey, Public Works Director; Tim Bochum, Deputy Public Works Director; Jim Hanson, Transportation Engineer; and Peggy Mandeville, Traffic Planner PUBLIC COMMENTS Willow Kelly. 1121 Orcutt Rd. #69, Citizens for Safe Access, expressed concern for pedestrian safety, especially for the disabled, along the Orcutt and Laurel corridor. Sifu Kelvin Harrison reiterated claims of harrassment. Don Miller, 3134D Camellia Ct., read a prepared statement voicing concerns regarding the danger to disabled pedestrians at the intersection at Peach and Nipomo (on file in the Office of the City Clerk). Ray Castro expressed appreciation to the City for making pedestrian crossing improvements at the railroad crossing at Orcutt and for considering the concerns of the disabled. 1. 2001 ANNUAL TRAFFIC SAFETY REPORT. Public Works Director McCluskey. Deputy Public Works Director Bochum and Traffic Engineer Hanson presented the staff report. Brief questions from the Council followed. Public Comments Dave Romero, 2057 Skylark, commented that improper signal timing may have been part of the problem in certain intersections downtown and expressed a hope that some accidents will be avoided now that they have been re- timed. He urged the Council to put in a signal at the ' mid -block crosswalk on Marsh as well as consider signalized intersections on other busy arterials. He spoke in support of the staff recommendations as presented. MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL t CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2002 - NOON COUNCIL CHAMBER, 990 PALM STREET SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA ROLL CALL: Council Members Present: Council Members John Ewan, Christine Mulholland, Ken Schwartz, Vice Mayor Jan Howell Marx, and Mayor Allen K. Settle City Staff: Present: Ken Hampian, City Administrative Officer; Jeff Jorgensen, City Attorney; Lee Price, City Clerk; Dan Blanke, Police Captain; Steve Tolley, Police Sergeant; Mike McCluskey, Public Works Director; Tim Bochum, Deputy Public Works Director; Jim Hanson, Transportation Engineer; and Peggy Mandeville, Traffic Planner PUBLIC COMMENTS Willow Kelly. 1121 Orcutt Rd. #69, Citizens for Safe Access, expressed concern for pedestrian safety, especially for the disabled, along the Orcutt and Laurel corridor. Sifu Kelvin Harrison reiterated claims of harrassment. Don Miller, 3134D Camellia Ct., read a prepared statement voicing concerns regarding the danger to disabled pedestrians at the intersection at Peach and Nipomo (on file in the Office of the City Clerk). Ray Castro expressed appreciation to the City for making pedestrian crossing improvements at the railroad crossing at Orcutt and for considering the concerns of the disabled. 1. 2001 ANNUAL TRAFFIC SAFETY REPORT. Public Works Director McCluskey. Deputy Public Works Director Bochum and Traffic Engineer Hanson presented the staff report. Brief questions from the Council followed. Public Comments Dave Romero, 2057 Skylark, commented that improper signal timing may have been part of the problem in certain intersections downtown and expressed a hope that some accidents will be avoided now that they have been re- timed. He urged the Council to put in a signal at the ' mid -block crosswalk on Marsh as well as consider signalized intersections on other busy arterials. He spoke in support of the staff recommendations as presented. City Council Meeting Page 2 Tuesday, September 10, 2002 - Noon Andrew Carter, 1283 Woodside Drive, observed that the striping on Johnson Avenue has been a tremendous improvement, particularly making the Southwood/Johnson intersection safer. He suggested that the striping on San Luis Drive has not been as effective because of natural conflicts in the goals of the drivers. He also recommended that the Council consider this report on an annual basis and emphasized the need to examine in detail injury accidents rather than just frequency of crashes. He recommended more stoplights at pedestrian crossings and stop signs at all four -way intersections. In addition, he proposed that parking be moved away from intersections to provide more space to improve the line of sight Deputy Public Works Director Bochum pointed out that the injury rate is rather low. —end of public comments— Council Member Schwartz commented in support of the recommendation made by Andrew Carter about the Council reviewing the Traffic Safety Report annually. By majority approval, staff was directed to bring the report back formally to the Council annually. Vice Mayor Marx remarked that she did not see in the report information about trucks carrying haz ardous materials traveling through the City and asked if this is monitored and/or controlled. Sot. Tolley reported that staff is looking into these issues along with the issue of enforcing truck routes. Mayor Settle and Vice Mayor Marx encouraged the enforcement of full disclosure of the contents by trucking companies. Public Works Director McCluskev pointed out the spectrum of "hazardous" is very broad, making enforcement complex. ACTION: Moved by Ewan /Schwartz to: 1) Receive the 2001 Annual Traffic Safety Report and associated staff recommendations. 2) Allocate $35,000 out of the carryover General Fund for recommended traffic safety mitigation, including $20,000 for design of signal improvements. 3) Consider funding for the construction of the signal improvements, and other future safety mitigation costs for 2002, 2003, 2004 Traffic Safety Reports in the upcoming financial planning process for fiscal years 2003 -2005; motion carried 5:0. Deputy Public Works Director Bochum then provided an oral report on the Orcutt Road Corridor regarding recent requests for safety improvements and pedestrian enhancements. He demonstrated various engineering alternatives for improving pedestrian safety at Orcutt and Laurel and provided other recommendations proposed, including: 1) Marked crosswalks on Laurel, McMillian and Duncan to define crossing areas, 2) Establishment of an informal working group including members of the disabled community, to provide feedback in sensitive and problematic areas; 3) Continue to pursue design improvements to intersection of Laurel Lane to reduce pedestrian crossing time and exposure areas and 4) Complete design of the full Orcutt Road Improvement Project when SLOCOG funding is available. Deputy Public Works Director Bochum summarized scheduled improvements planned for installation as part of the Orcutt Road Expansion project. Public Works Director McCluskev outlined the time schedule and funding plan. Council Member Mulholland suggested that the project, which was approved in 1994, be brought back to this Council and recommended that it include a Class I bike lane. City Attorney Jorgensen reported that the project was controversial at the time and explained that staff has been negotiating with property owners along this area over the years. He cautioned the Council about the risks of changing the plan. 1 1 1 City Council Meeting Tuesday, September 10, 2002 - Noon Page 3 Individual Council comments followed including suggestions for improving pedestrian safety. Public Comments: Willow Kelly, 1121 Orcutt Rd. #69, Citizens for Safe Access, voiced concern for the number of serious accidents at the Laurel/Orcutt intersection. She argued that traffic needs to be slowed down and urged the Council to declare the intersection a commuter corridor. Andrew Carter, 1283 Woodside Drive, commented that the data provided does not take into account the real fear that pedestrians feel at certain intersections. He cautioned that if a driver makes a mistake, the pedestrian will lose. –end of public comments — Council discussion ensued. ACTION: Moved by Ewan/Marx to, within the threshold of existing resources, approve staff recommendations to improve traffic safety at the intersections of Laurel/Orcutt and Brizzolara/Peach, including: 1) Installing marked crosswalks on Laurel, McMillian and Duncan to define crossing areas, 2) Establishing an informal working group of City staff and members of the disabled community to provide feedback in sensitive and problematic areas; 3) Continue to pursue design improvements to the intersection of Laurel Lane to reduce pedestrian crossing time and exposure areas and 4) Complete design of the full Orcutt Road Improvement Project when SLOCOG funding is available; motion carried 5:0. There being no further business to come before the City Council, Mayor Settle adjourned the meeting at 2:40 p.m. to Tuesday, September 17, 2002 at 6:15 p.m. in the 07cil Chamber, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo. /1"11 APPROVED BY COUNCIL: 10/1/02 LP:dr Lee Price, C.M.C. City Clerk