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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/3/2003CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 3, 2003 CALL TO ORDER: Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. in Room CC -2 of the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765, ROLL CALL: Present: Chair Morris, Vice Chair Pincher and Commissioners Kashyap and Torng. Commissioner Virginkar was excused. Also Present: Linda Lowry, City Manager; James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager; Mike Jenkins, City Attorney, David Liu, Public Works Director, Fred Alalhomada, Senior Engineer; and Sharon Gomez, Senior Management Analyst. PWD/Liu introduced Mike Jenkins, City Attorney. CA/Jenkins explained that the appointed Commissions of this City play a valuable role and that is to support the City Council in specific areas of government. As Commissioners, you have dual functions: representatives of the community and members of City government. The Council is the elected body and has the ultimate responsibility to govern the City. Having one foot in each camp makes the Commissioner's job more difficult because residents who have concerns and voice them during Commission meetings perceive Commissioners as their peers and expect them to act on their behalf. Commissioners have the opportunity to become experts in the area in which they operate. As experts and as part of the government apparatus, that gives Commissioners the opportunity as well as, the responsibility to take actions. CA/Jenkins stated that Commissioners must be prepared to make decisions from time to time that people will not like. For example, one area of controversy is "stop signs." In order to make people happy, it's easy and inexpensive to install a stop sign. Sometimes it is harmless and sometimes it is not. Suddenly, the person living at the corner where the stop sign was installed found himself unable to exit his property. He wasn't at the meeting and wasn't aware that the stop sign was going in. Or, he has lived there for several years and now with cars stopping and starting he hears new noises. Now, he comes to a meeting and complains and comes back for the next meeting with a number of his neighbors in attendance and a petition in hand. Now, the Commission has a situation with which it must deal. CA/Jenkins presented to the Commissioners a paper that talks about why stop signs don't do what people commonly think they're going to do. People believe stop signs slow down traffic and make their street safer. The summary says that stop signs are not effective for speed control. Stop signs don't necessarily reduce the volume of traffic, and stop signs don't necessarily reduce accidents. Stop signs create noise impacts and sometimes increase exhaust fume impact. So, stop signs are not always solutions for particular problems. September 3, 2003 Page 2 T&T COMMISSION CA/Jenkins summarized that the easy thing to do is give the resident a stop sign and he'll go away happy. The difficult thing to do is to advise residents why the Commission would believe the stop sign was not the answer and look at other possible solutions. CA/Jenkins stated that as the City Attorney, he provides advice, explains options and implications — the decision -makers make the decision. Hopefully, they follow his advice. Sometimes they do not follow his advice. He tries to explain the risks. As long as they are prepared to move forward understanding the risks, he has done his job. There are attorneys and traffic engineers that want to make decisions. They should run for City Council in the cities where they live and then they can be decision -makers. CA/Jenkins said he believed the Commissioners could only perform their jobs effectively if they considered the advice of their professional staff. The Traffic and Transportation Commission is in a unique position because it is the only Commission that deals with issues that could create potential liability for the City. He cautioned the Commissioners that their public record utterances could be used against them and the City in the event of a lawsuit. CA/Jenkins explained the relationship between Commissioners and staff members. In the end, as long as there is mutual respect for the role of each entity, there is ground for excellence. CM/Lowry cautioned the Commissioners that when they state their disagreement with Council decisions or comment on what they consider to be unsafe conditions, their utterances become part of the record and are subject to consideration during litigation. C/Kashyap and VC/Pincher said it would have been helpful to have this discussion at the beginning of their term of service. VC/Pincher felt the discussion was very helpful and hoped that the Commission had an opportunity to repeat it on an annual basis. Chair/Morris asked if the Commission could get information on all accidents, not just accidents that warranted a report. He felt it negatively impacted the Commission's credibility when they lacked information. PWD/Liu explained that the numbers presented by staff are reflective of the official record. CA/Jenkins suggested staff determine the standard for reporting and then discuss modifying the standard in order to accumulate evidence. If there is credible evidence from residents the City could take the information into account. C/Kashyap felt frustration that issues took so long to resolve and felt that people got frustrated and short tempered for that reason. September 3, 2003 Page 3 T&T COMMISSION PWD/Liu explained that staff shares the frustration. However, it is imperative that solutions are well thought out and documented before action is taken. Sometimes the process is quick and sometimes the process is lengthy. At all times, the City's best interest is and must be staff's first priority. CM/Lowry stated that one good approach to complaints about a lengthy process is to explain to residents that the City has such limited resources that it is attempting to make certain through the cumbersome process that those limited resources are spent in the best possible way in order to meet the most urgent needs.. Chair/Morris felt that CalTrans had a responsibility to assist the City with mitigation measures due to the havoc that is being reaped upon this community for the next two years. CM/Lowry emphasized that it is important to staff that Commissioners become educated about the inner workings of government and how best to serve the City and its residents. Better informed Commissioners go on to serve as well-informed and productive Council Members. VC/Pincher said that when she was appointed, Mayor Herrera told her that if she had questions she should direct them to staff. C/Torng wondered why, since traffic issues were so important, the Traffic and Transportation Commission met only once a month instead of every two weeks. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chairman Morris adjourned the meeting at 7:24 p.m. to the Regular September 11, 2003 meeting. Attest: Chair Roland Morris Respectfully, David G. Liu, Secretary