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Home My WebLink About1/8/2004CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION JANUARY 8, 2004 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Morris called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 E. Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Torng led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present: Chairman Morris, Vice Chairman Pincher and Commissioners Kashyap, Torng and Virginkar. Also Present: David Liu, Public Works Director, Fred Alamolhoda, Senior Engineer, Sharon Gomez, Senior Management Analyst; Debbie Gonzales, Administrative Assistant and Sgt. Chris Blasnek. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A. Minutes of November 13, 2003. C/Virginkar moved, C/Torng seconded to approve the November 13, 2003 minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Kashyap, Torng, Virginkar, NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None+ncher, Chair/Morris ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None Ill. COMMISSION COMMENTS: VC/Pincher wished everyone a Happy New Year. Commissioners Kashyap and Virginkar concurred. IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None Offered, V. CONSENT CALENDAR: A. Observation of Traffic Concerns at Golden Springs Drive and Sabana Drive. SE/ Alamolhoda presented staff's report. Staff recommends that the Traffic and Transportation Commission receive public comment and concur with staff to continue to monitor the intersection. Arlene Smith, 415 Camaritas Drive, spoke about the traffic problems at Sabana Drive and Golden Springs Drive. A lot of parents and students leaving Sabana Drive to Lorbeer Middle School or Armstrong Elementary School have a problem turning left onto Golden Springs Drive. The problem is that the people turning left to go up to Mt. Calvary Church and coming January 8, 2803 PAGE 2 T&T COMMISSION down Golden Springs Drive attempting to turn left onto Prospectors Road creates heavy congestion. She is concerned about letting her daughter walk to Lorbeer Middle School because of the situation. She wondered how the City would address the problem. She felt the Foothill Transit bus stop near the intersection on Golden Springs Drive impeded sight visibility. She asked who she should address her concerns to about the billboards on the SR 60 advertising "gentlemen clubs." PWD/Liu responded that the billboards were within the jurisdiction of the City of Industry or Los Angeles County. He said staff would refer Mrs. Smith to the proper party or parties. Chair/Morris felt that letters from residents to the owners of the billboards might cause some action to be taken. VC/Pincher commended Ms. Smith for speaking out about something that was offensive to her. Community input does make a difference. Chair/Morris asked staff to look at what other cities do in this situation during the monitoring process. During the Caltrans project, it is too convenient for people to use surface streets. Ultimately, the City should be consistent in its approach to these traffic situations. He suggested residents write to the owners of the billboards. Vi. ITEMS FROM STAFF A. Traffic Enforcement Update — Report by Sgt. Chris Blasnek - Received and filed on the following items: 1. Citations: October and November 2003 2. Collisions: October and November 2003 Sgt. Blasnek reported that Collisions decreased by about 25 percent. There were four injury collisions in November 2003, an all time low. He felt it could be due to enforcement and increased officer presentation on the streets. 3. Radar Trailer Development 4. Results of Traffic Operations 5. Future Deployment of the Radar Trailer Sgt. Blasnek said he personally responds to complaints to view the area and determine whether there is credibility to the complaint. The January 8, 2003 PAGE 3 T&T COMMISSION radar trailer is deployed directly in relationship to those legitimate complaints. Chair/Morris commended Sgt. Blasnek on his representation in the field. Sgt. Blasnek felt that the failure to yield to approaching cars when making left turns and failure to clear the roadway prior to pulling out of a side street, alleyway or residential driveway. Most hazardous citations, that are not radar related, are basically failure to yield. Chair/Morris requested Sgt. Blasnek to provide education on the cable channel regarding failure to yield. Sgt. Blasnek responded to CNirginkar that the department depends on the volunteers on patrol for deployment of the radar trailer. C/Kashyap congratulated Sgt. Blasnek on his report and the department's increased presence in the community. VII. OLD BUSINESS: None VIII. NEW BUSINESS: None IX. STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS PWD/Liu reported that at the November 18 2003 meeting, the City Council approved the Traffic & Transportation Commission's recommendation to install must -way stop signs on Bower Cascade Place at Acolito Place. At the December 2, 2003 City Council meeting, staff presented the improvement alternatives and plans for the Grand Avenue Beautification Project. On December 16 2003, Council directed staff to continue the Earlgate Street/Lemon Avenue red curb matter for 90 days to give the property owner additional time to investigate expansion opportunities. Further, for the January 20, 2004 City Council Meeting, staff has scheduled the award of construction contracts for traffic signal improvements on Golden Springs Drive at Adel Avenue and at High Knob Road. X. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS: CNirginkar referred to a Money magazine article "The Hottest Towns to Live in the United States." Diamond Bar is listed as one of the 87 towns selected. Chino Hills was also listed. Chair/Morris pointed out that a year ago Diamond Ranch High School was chosen by New Yorker magazine as the "coolest" high school in America. January 8, 2003 PAGE 4 T&T COMMISSION C/Kashyap was asked by several of his neighbors at the south end of Diamond Bar at Brea Canyon Road and Copper Canyon Drive if a "KEEP CLEAR" pavement marking could be installed to mitigate evening traffic allowing drivers to easily access Copper Canyon Drive from Brea Canyon Road. CNirginkar agreed with C/Kashyap. VC/Pincher felt that the signaiization coordination greatly enhanced traffic movement throughout the City. She wondered if the signal coordination would have helped to improve accident and citation statistics. In addition, she felt that the Diamond Bar High School staggered times had greatly improved traffic flow at the school site. C/Torng asked if staff could report on the status of the Diamond Bar High School circulation. He commended Sgt. Blasnek for his community outreach. He invited the Commissioners, staff and Sheriff's Department to join in the Saturday, January 31 Diamond Bar Chinese Lunar New Year celebration at Diamond Bar High School from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Chair/Morris noticed that the delay on Carpio Drive entering Golden Springs Drive is much longer and is inhibiting the flow of the fire department vehicles. He asked staff to investigate the matter and report to the Commission at its February meeting. The construction on the signal at Golden Springs Drive and Ballena Drive appears to have subsided and the debris looks tacky. He asked staff to investigate trash haulers because they appear to be dragging equipment and gouging the pavement that was recently resurfaced. He asked staff to see what could be done to mitigate this situation. XI. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: Staff reported on the following items: A. Caltrans 57/60 Interchange Improvements SE/Alamolhoda reported that the next community meeting is scheduled for January 14 at 6:00 p.m. B. Speed Hump Update C/Torng asked if Longview Drive could be added to the list of streets for consideration due to the many inquiries he had received. January 8, 2003 PAGE 5 T&T COMMISSION XII. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS — as agendized. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chairman Morris adjourned the meeting at 8:28 p.m. Respectfully, D id G. iu. Secretary Attest: Chairman Roland Morris