HomeMy WebLinkAbout022604 PTS Minutes
MINUTES OF A REGULAR
MEETING OF THE CITY OF TEMECULA
PUBLlCrrRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION
FEBRUARY 26, 2004
CALL TO ORDER
The City of Temecula Publicrrraffic Safety Commission convened in a regular meeting at 6:00
p.m. on Thursday, February 26, 2004, in the City Council Chambers of Temecula City Hall,
43200 Business Park Drive, Temecula, California.
FLAG SALUTE
Chairman Connerton led the audience in the Flag salute.
SWEARING IN CEREMONY
City Clerk Jones duly swore in the newly appointed Publicrrraffic Safety Commissioner Paul
Jacobs.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Commissioners 'Katan, Lanier, Jacobs, and Chairman Connerton
Absent:
Ramos.
'Commissioner Katan arrived at 6:04.
PRESENTATION:
Police Chief Domenoe introduced three new Motor Officers, Scott Forbes, Ralph Fernandez,
and Jim Nunley. Police Chief Domenoe also noted that the motor officers recently finished a
very extensive two-week motorcycle training course; and that the motor officers will be assisting
with enforcement of red light violations in the City.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
No public comments.
COMMISSION CONSENT CALENDAR
1.
Minutes of January 22. 2004
RECOMMENDATION:
1.1
Approve the Minutes of January 22, 2004
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MOTION: Commissioner Lanier moved to approve the Consent Calendar No.1. Commissioner
Katan seconded the motion and voice vote reflected approval with the exception of
Commissioner Ramos who was absent and Commissioner Jacobs who abstained.
COMMISSION BUSINESS
2.
TSC Diqital Photo 2004
RECOMMENDATION:
2.1
That the PublicrTraffic Safety Commission receive and file report.
Fire Captain Adams presented a staff report (as per agenda material), noting the following:
That staff is currently in the process of exploring different options of TSC Digital
Photo;
That one option would be a web-type camera that will have USB cable that would
display a 360 degree view of the scene which could be e-mailed to the
emergency room;
That another option could be the use of digital cameras and portable printers;
and that pictures of the scene can be taken and sent with paramedics to the
emergency room;
That the last option could be the use of lap tops, that pictures could be taken and
with the use of a sprint card, could be transmitted via e-mail to the emergency
room;
That to effectively evaluate the benefits and merits of this technology, fire staff
will need to contact other jurisdictions that currently utilize this process to discuss
their input;
That contacts with the appropriate representatives will be required to attain the
respective information mentioned above;
That staff will be bringing a full report to the Publicrrraffic Safety Commission in
the near future.
It was the consensus of the Commission to receive and file the report.
3.
Jefferson Avenue Medians. Winchester Road north to the Santa Gertrudis Creek
Bridae
RECOMMENDATION:
3.1
That the Publicrrraffic Safety Commission recommend the installation of the
proposed median island on Jefferson Avenue north of Winchester Road to the
Santa Gertrudis Creek Bridge as shown on Exhibit 2
Due to a conflict of interest, Commissioner Lanier excused himself from the dais.
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Director of Public Works Hughes presented an overview of the staff report (as per agenda
material), noting the following:
That the proposal is to install a median island on Jefferson Avenue north of
Winchester Road;
That the project is currently in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP); and that it
is funded and has been deemed necessary;
That the intersection is one of the top accident locations in the City for signalized
intersections, as well as t he a rea north 0 f t he intersection, the segment a long
Jefferson Avenue is also one of the higher accident locations;
That the goal of the project at the intersection of Winchester Road and Jefferson
Avenue will be to add capacity to the intersection.
That after improvements, staff will be adding a second southbound left turn to the
east which will allow dual-turning rnovements;
.
That a southbound designated right-turn pocket from Jefferson Avenue to
westbound Winchester Road will also be added;
.
That Winchester Road will be widened to accept the designated right-turn pocket;
That a second left-turn eastbound to northbound Jefferson Avenue will also be
added;
That the last improvement will be to construct a designated right-turn pocket from
eastbound Winchester Road to southbound Jefferson Avenue;
.
That with all the above mentioned improvements, the capacity of the signal will
be enhanced and the safety characteristics at the locations of the intersections
will also be addressed.
Associate Engineer Maxwell relayed that as a result of two workshops with property and
business owners along the project limits, staff recommended Exhibit 2 as the preferred
alternative for the proposed raised median along Jefferson Avenue (see staff report).
Principal Engineer Moghadam presented a PowerPoint presentation, noting the following:
.
That in the year 2001, there were seven left-turn collisions, four in the year 2002,
and three in the year 2003;
That stopped vehicles in the road were four in the year 2001; five in 2002; and
six in 2003;
At this time, a short video was shown.
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In conclusion, Director of Public Works Hughes relayed the following:
That there are 18,000 vehicles a day that use Jefferson Avenue, north of
Winchester Road;
That projects are designed to provide the capacity and the safety needed for
years to come;
.
That the best approach to ensure safety would be to have a median along the
entire stretch of the area of discussion;
That staff explored every driveway as well as access and turning movements
options for every single driveway, but that due to a stacking distance for the left
turns at Winchester Road, it would limit the ability to provide any left-turn
movements to the third driveway on both east and west side;
That it would be staff's recommendation to install the median with the ability to
provide for left-turn in movements for northbound traffic but restricting a
northbound left-turn in movement into the private driveway of Ritchie's Diner and
that a southbound left-turn in movement on Jefferson Avenue would be provided
to access commercial sites on the east side on Jefferson Avenue and that no full-
turning movements are being proposed at any driveway location;
That staff would be of the opinion that the turning movements could be provided
and could be monitored; that staff would anticipate that these movements would
be used in a safe and reasonable manner by motorists and that they would
remain indefinitely;
That staff would be willing to entertain other studies prepared by the businesses
and that this project must proceed;
That it would be staff's goal to have the project under construction late spring,
early summer to nominal impact during the upcoming holiday season;
That delays of moving the project forward could result in waiting until next spring
or summer;
That in the event the PubliclTraffic Safety Commission found it worthy to study
traffic studies of signal locations, the proposed project could still go forward;
That currently staff has a project that is funded and would like to move forward;
That the proposed recommendation would attempt to balance street safety as
well the business needs.
At this time, the Public Hearing was opened.
Mr. Larry Markham, 41635 Enterprise Circle, representing Anderson and Burns properties,
relayed the following:
.
That the property and business owners recognize that the intersection is a
problem; that the widening of Winchester Road and Jefferson Avenue is needed;
and that they have no problem with this project going out to bid;
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That the issues of the property and business owners is the median itself;
That he was surprised to see that staff's report did not have any substantiating
data such as traffic counts, a.m.lp.m. midday counts, or ADTs;
.
That the property and business owners are requesting another 30 days to come
up with some creative solutions as how to access the properties, especially the
properties on the west side;
That they have explored several options to realigning the driveways on both the
east and west sides;
That they see no need to hold up the bidding of the widening project;
That they could be ready in 30 days if the PublicrTraffic Safety Commission
permits.
Ms. Carliene Anderson, 41623 Margarita Road, representing Winchester Jefferson Plaza,
relayed the following:
That her retail business will be the most impacted by the access;
That more time is needed to have an independent study performed;
That the problem is a major problem only two times a day;
That she is in full support of the proposed improvements;
That the posted 45/50 mph speed limit signs are a problem.
Mr. David Thompson, 27310 Jefferson Avenue, noted adding another signal would create a
traffic break.
Mr. Neil Cleveland, 28046 Del Rio Road, owner of one of the properties on the east side, noted
the following:
That he attended all the workshops and appreciates staff's help;
That he would approve of staff's Exhibit 2; however, expressed concern for the
owners on the west side;
That he would respectfully request that the PublicrTraffic Safety Commission
allow the west side property owner's time to have their independent studies
performed to allow for an alternative solution.
At this time, the Public Hearing was closed.
Commissioner Katan echoed by Commissioner Jacobs, relayed that he is very impressed with
Exhibit 2 and how the businesses are willing to explore other alternatives and, therefore, have
no objection to giving the businesses another 30 days to evaluate their options.
For Chairman Connerton, Director of Public Works Hughes relayed that staff would not be able
to proceed with the intersection project until the median issue is resolved; that staff's
recommendation would be to move forward with Exhibit 2 as the median design and that if
property owners were to provide an effective solution, this could be addressed at a later time.
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In response to Chairman Connerton's queries, Mr. Hughes noted that if the PublicrTraffic Safety
Commission were not to approve staff's recommendation, it could possibly delay construction to
the following spring or summer; that it is always a concern with the City Council and City
Manager's office having construction at major intersections during the holiday shopping season;
and that it would be staff's goal to be under construction as early as possible.
Being of the opinion that the property owners will not be able to address the issues within 30
days, Mr. Hughes reiterated that the goal of the City would be to maintain public highways,
making them safe and efficient for moving traffic and that staff would be willing to work with the
businesses and entertain any projectthat they may have for a traffic signal at the northerly
driveway location.
For Commissioner Katan, Mr. Hughes relayed that there is a distinct need to move traffic on
arterial and collector roads that the more signals installed the more the ability to move traffic;
that although a signal on the north driveway would improve access and would make it safer to
those private properties, it would hinder the ability to move traffic on the main route; that it would
not meet the objectives of moving traffic on Jefferson Avenue; and that although it may be good
for the private businesses, it would not be good for the community.
In response to Commissioner Jacobs, Mr. Hughes noted that staff is of the opinion that Exhibit 2
as proposed, would provide a balance of giving access to the driveway and that staff would not
support signals at Sandborn at this particular time.
For Chairman Connerton, Mr. Hughes stated that installing a stop sign at Sand born would be
disastrous in that it would create backup and compound the existing problem.
In response to Chairman Connerton, Sergeant Pino stated that from law enforcement
perspective, driveways in and driveways out create hazard and relayed his support of Exhibit 2.
Fire Marshall Mc Bride noted that the Fire Department would fully support staff's
recommendation.
Commissioner Katan relayed that although Exhibit 2 would appear to be a good solution, he
would like to see the business owners come up with a creative alternative.
Chairman Connerton noted that he would be inclined to support staff and would anticipate that
the property owners quickly proceed with their studies.
MOTION: Commissioner Jacobs moved to approve staff's recommendation. Chairman
Connerton seconded the motion and voice vote reflected approval with the exception of
Commissioner Lanier who abstained, Commissioner Katan who voted No, and Commissioner
Ramos who was absent.
At this time, Commissioner Lanier returned to the dais.
4.
Parkinq Restrictions - Westside Business Park
RECOMMENDATION:
4.1
That the PubliclTraffic Safety Commission provide a recommendation to the City
Council.
Principal Engineer Moghadam presented a brief overview of t he staff report (as per agenda
material), noting the following:
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That at the meeting of January 13, 2004, the City Council suggested that this
item be brought to the PublicrTraffic Safety Commission for further consideration,
possibly allowing parking on weekends and restricting parking on weekdays;
That staff would be of the opinion that part-time or partial parking could cause
confusion and create further on-site parking problems;
.
That staff is recommending that the Commission consider the implementation of
either full-time parking restrictions or no restrictions at all on streets within the
Westside Business Park;
.
That Mr. Olhasso, representative for the Westside Business Park, was unable to
attend February 26, 2004, meeting due to a previous engagement but requested
that staff reiterate that the Westside Business Park does not want the "No
Parkinq" signs removed.
In response to Commissioner Jacobs' query, Mr. Moghadam relayed that the only area where
parking restrictions are implemented are schools.
For Commissioner Lanier, Mr. Hughes clarified that although there are CC&Rs associated with
the Wests ide Business Park, it would be staff's and the City Attorney's opinion that the CC&Rs
do not have any bearing on enforceability from the standpoint of the City being a policing
agency.
Commissioner Katan concurred with staff's recommendation.
MOTION: Commissioner Lanier moved to approve staff's recommendation. Commissioner
Jacobs seconded the motion and voice vote reflected approval with the exception of
Commissioner Katan who voted No and Commissioner Ramos who was absent.
5.
Request for Multi-Wav Stop Siqns - Meadows Parkwav and La Serena Wav
RECOMMENDATION:
5.1
That the P ubliclTraffic Safety Commission recommended t hat the City Council
adopt a resolution establishing Multi-Way Stop signs at the intersection of
Meadows Parkway and La Serena Way.
Principal Engineer Moghadam presented a staff report (as per agenda material), noting the
following:
That a recent study of All-way stop signs was performed at La Serena Way and
Meadows Parkway intersection;
That the study indicated that the minimum warrant criteria for installation of AII-
way stop signs were satisfied;
That because All-way stop signs would only be temporary, staff would
recommend that the PublicrTraffic Safety Commission recommend to the City
Council the installation of interim All-way stop signs at the intersection of
Meadows Parkway and La Serena Way.
For Commissioner Lanier, Mr. Moghadam clarified that stop signs are warranted.
Commissioner Jacobs concurred that All-way stop signs are needed at this location.
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Chairman Connerton concurred with staff's recommendation.
For Chairman Connerton, Mr. Hughes relayed that the construction will be handled by another
division in the Public works Department and that the item will go to bid and could possibly be
ready to go to construction in fall 2004.
MOTION: Commissioner Lanier moved to approve staff's recommendation. Commissioner
Katan seconded the motion and voice vote reflected approval with the exception of
Commissioner Ramos who was absent.
Assistant to the City Manager Yates welcomed newly appointed Commissioner Jacobs, relaying
that an orientation will be scheduled to meet with the Public Works Department, Police
Department and the Fire Department; that in the month of March, a commission tour will be
scheduled to a Public Safety Dispatch Center, Ben Clark Training Center, and Emergency
Command Center to discuss emergency services; and that a number of new programs will be
brought forward to the PubliclTraffic Safety Commission in the near future.
6.
Traffic Enqineer's Report
Principal Engineer Moghadam had no report at this time.
Mr. Hughes relayed that Lorna Linda, east Pechanga Parkway, and Wabash Lane will be
discussed on the March 25, 2004, agenda.
7.
Police Chiefs Report
Sergeant Pi no presented a police update relaying the following:
.
That motor officers spent 20 hours in the Georgetown area and that no tickets
were written;
That he had spent some of his personal time in the Georgetown area and
observed no speeders;
.
That 14 hours were spent at Pechanga Parkway and that 73 tickets were issued;
and that enforcement will continue in that area;
.
That within the past two weeks, DUI enforcement resulted in 14 DUls; that a DUI
check point will be scheduled for March 17,2004.
8.
Fire Chiefs Report
Fire Marshal McBride welcomed Commissioner Jacobs to the Commission and noted the
following:
.
That there were two structure fires in the last month that are currently under
investigation;
That the Fire Department and the Public Works Department will be working
together to ensure safety at the upcoming car show;
That next month the Fire Department will be attending a conference on wireless
technology;
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That in two weeks the Fire Department will be testing a mobile printer;
That in two months the Fire Safety Trailer will be arriving;
That the Fire Department is hopeful of adding a Public Safety Specialist.
9.
Commission Reports
A
Commissioner Lanier welcomed Commissioner Jacobs and thanked the Fire
Department and Police Department for their fine work on the Rod Run.
B
Commissioner Jacobs relayed excitement to being a part of the Public Traffic/Safety
Safety Commission.
C
Commissioner Katan welcomed Commissioner Jacobs a nd thanked Mr. Yates for the
exciting updates of future programs.
D
Chairman Connerton thanked staff, Mr. Yates, the Fire Department, and the Police
Department for their fine work.
ADJOURNMENT
At 8:17 P.M. Chairman Connerton formally adjourned this meeting to Thursday, March 25,2004
at 6:00 P.M., in the City Council Chambers, 43200 Business Park Drive, Temecula.
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