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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/9/2004CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 CALL TO ORDER: Chair Pincher called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Man agement/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Virginkar led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present. Chair Pincher, Vice Chair Torng and Commissioners Morris, Shah and Virginkar. Also Present: David Liu, Director of Public Works; Kimberly Molina, Assistant Engineer; Sharon Gomez, Senior Management Analyst and Debbie Gonzales, Administrative Assistant. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A. Minutes of regular meeting of July 8, 2004. C/Morris moved, C/Shah seconded, to approve the July 8, 2004 minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Morris, Shah, Chair/Pincher NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: Torng, Virginkar ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None B. Minutes of regular meeting of August 12, 2004. C/Virginkar moved, C/Torng seconded, to approve the August 12, 2004 minutes as corrected. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Shah, Torng, Virginkar, NOES:COMMISSIONERS: None/Porcher ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: Morris ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None II. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Lee Paulson, 21919 Santaquin Drive, said that prior to the signal installation at the intersection of Pathfinder Road and Fern Hollow Drive drivers proceeding eastbound on Pathfinder Road could make a yield on green to turn left onto Fern Hollow Drive. Now drivers often have to wait the entire SEPTEMBER 9, 2404 PAGE'? T8T COMMiSSfON cycle of the light before getting the green arrow and he wanted to know if it would be possible to change the sign to read: Left turn on green arrow or yield on green. Many drivers use the signal to weave through Santaquin Drive to avoid Diamond Bar Boulevard. C/Virginkar asked if the same consideration could be given to the left turn on northbound Brea Canyon Road onto Pathfinder Road. C/Morris cautioned that Mr. Paulson's request could work well for him but could cause further congestion in residential areas if it were easier for drivers to bypass Pathfinder Road/Diamond Bar Boulevard. Ill. CONSENT CALENDAR: None IV. ITEMS FROM STAFF: A. Traffic Enforcement Update — Received and filed on the following items: 1. Citations: August 2004 2• Collisions: August 2004 3. Future Deployment of the Radar Trailer Chair/Pincher asked if the Sheriff's Department would be Participating in Commission meetings. PWD/Liu responded that as an example, the Sheriff's Department has been streamlining their operations to better meet the City's needs. Sgt. Blasnek implemented several positive changes including improved community relations as well as information to the Commission in the form of this report. Staff believes that the Sheriffs role with the Commission is better served on an as -needed basis with greater emphasis on community involvement and communication. C/Morris asked PWD/Liu if he could ask Sgt. Blasnek to consider asking his evening officer to stop by occasionally from 7:00 p.m, to 7:10 p.m. for example. C/Virginkar felt that the Sheriff was more qualified to respond to questions and concerns from residents and that the presence of a Sheriffs representative was very valuable during discussion of certain items. V. OLD BUSINESS: None SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 PAGE 3 VI. NEW BUSINESS: None VII. STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS: T&T COMMISSION PWD/Liu stated that at its September 7, 2004 meeting City Council approved three items forwarded by the Commission: Multi -way stop signs on Armitos Place at Rockbury Drive; preferential parking for Laurelrim Drive. multi -way stops sign on Rock River Drive at Clearview Crest, and VIII. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS: C/Morris asked if the Commissioners would have an opportunity to provide a list of priorities during the Neighborhood Traffic Study process. PWD/Liu said he would speak to that matter under Informational Items. CNirginkar reminded staff that he had requested a copy of the Scope of Work for the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. Other Commissioners indicated they received their copies the week following the August meeting. PWD/Liu said that staff would forward another copy to CNirginkar if he were unable to locate his copy. IX. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: A. Diamond Bar High School Traffic Circulation SMA/Gomez reported that the separate controller for the Brahma Boulevard signal was installed prior to school commencement and that staff had received a number of positive comments from residents and the school principal, Dennis Paul, that it was a tremendous benefit to the traffic circulation. CNirginkar observed the signal to be working and also observed Sheriff's officers on the scene during morning peak traffic hours and asked that staff convey his gratitude to them for their presence. B. South Pointe Middle School Traffic Circulation. SMA/Gomez stated that at the request of Chair/Pincher she contacted the Sheriffs Department about the congestion at the school. The next day Sgt. Blasnek took a crew to the school and implemented traffic control procedures. Over time she expected even greater improvement. C. Chaparral Middle School Traffic Circulation. SMA/Gomez reported that feedback about the Sheriff Department's traffic on-site traffic moving thereby eliminating the bottleneck and mitigation had been positive. The deputy's worked with school staff to keep traffic backup SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 PAGE 4 TBT COMMISSION onto the public street. In addition, the City's traffic engineer was attempting to re -stripe the area to avoid red curbing the three homes on the downhill side of Mountain Laurel Way. D. Neighborhood Meetings for Proposed Speed Humps on Leyland Drive and Longview Drive. SMA/Gomez indicated that staff met with community members on August 24 and 25, 2004. About six Longview residents attended and indicated they were in favor of the three proposed installations. The Commission would likely consider a multi -way stop at Longview Drive and Softwind Drive in October, 2004. The 10 Leyland Drive residents who attended the meeting were in favor of the three proposed installations on their street. Chair/Pincher asked if staff received feedback from residents who were not in attendance at the neighborhood meetings. SM/Gomez responded that staff received some feedback from their mail out, the majority of which was Positive. C/Shah asked for the schedule of speed hump installations. SMA/Gomez said that staff needed input from the traffic engineer and the fire department before a schedule could be set. VC/Torng commended staff for their good work. He asked if data was being collected on the Great Bend installation to monitor the effectiveness of th speed hump installation. PWD/Liu explained that staff collected data prior to the Great Bend Drive and Goldrush Drive installations and would be collecting data after six months to a year from the date of installation. The same holds true for Leyland Drive and Longview Drive. E.. Grand Avenue/Shotgun Lane Traffic Signal Modifications. SMA/Gomez reported that following the August 12, 2004 meeting in which a speaker complained about the no right turn on red eastbound on Grand Avenue from Shotgun Lane, Staff had been working on a plan to aid the vehicles exiting the Diamond Bar Center and Shotgun Lane. Staff has ordered a 12" x 12" extinguishable message sign that would allow the traffic exiting both Diamond Bar Center and Shotgun Lane the ability to sometimes turn right on red during no traffic and sparse traffic times. Staff estimated a 45 -day turnaround for receipt and installation of equipment. C/Virginkar thanked staff for their timely response to this matter. Chair/Pincher felt that SMA/Gomez' explanation of the situation during the August 12 meeting was stellar. On the heels of that and with everything SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 PAGE S TAT COMMISSION falling into place it was an excellent response to a resident's concern and she thanked SMA/Gomez for her timely and responsible actions. F. Neighborhood Traffic Management Program PWD/Liu reported that staff and Sheriff Department representatives would meet on Monday, September 13, 2004 to discuss how to best get the word out and get residents to participate in a series of neighborhood meetings as well as, continue participating in the future with the support of the Traffic and Transportation Commission and the City Council. The entire process Should take about a year to complete. Staff hoped to schedule a joint meeting for the Commission and City Council in early October, possibly October 5, 2004. G. Caltrans SR57/60 Construction PWD/Liu reported that six residents attended the Caltrans quarterly meeting last night and that the project is on schedule for completion in the summer of 2006. Caltrans closed the westbound SR -60 Brea Canyon on-ramp and Planned to reopen it in June 2005. In addition, the northbound/eastbound SR57/60 Grand Avenue will be closed for two months and is scheduled to reopen by November 1, 2004, H. Walnut Valley Water District Diamond Bar Boulevard Project. AE/Molina stated that the district had been working on Diamond Bar Boulevard since the beginning of August 2004 with completion slated for the end of next week. The affected intersections were Diamond Bar Boulevard at Pathfinder Road, Morning Canyon Road, Kiowa Crest Drive, Acacia Hill Road and Maple Hill Road. The scope of work included tying in the three laterals at Morning Canyon, Acacia Hill Road and Kiowa Crest Drive to a northbound Diamond Bar Boulevard existing 12" line because there was concern that the southbound Diamond Bar Boulevard 12" line was old and would not sustain the water flow over time. Work on Pathfinder Road was completed prior to the start of school. All trench plates were removed today and the trenches would be repaved beginning Monday, September 13, 2004. Due to the increased school traffic, the intersections would no be resealed until the winter school break. During the slurry seal process, crosswalks would be re -striped and damaged Botts dots would be replaced. X. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS — as adgendized. XII. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: SEPTEMBER 9, 2004 PAGE 6 T&T COMMISSION Chair/Pincher asked if the November meeting would be changed to a date other than Veterans Day. PWD/Liu suggested that the October meeting be adjourned to another date depending on the agenda. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chair/Pincher adjourned the meeting at 8:22 p.m. Respectfully, D G. 1u, Secretary Attest: Chair L ana Pincher