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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/8/2007CITY OF DIAMOND BAR ' MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 8, 2007 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Shah called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Lin led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Jimmy Lin, Liana Pincher, Kenneth Mok, Vice Chairman Michael Shay and Chairman Jack Shah Also Present: David Liu, Public Works Director; Rick Yee, Senior Engineer; Kimberly Molina, Associate Engineer, and Marcy Hilario, Senior Administrative Assistant. I REORGANIZATION OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION: Commissioner Pincher nominated Commissioner Shay to Chair the Traffic and Transportation Commission. There were no other nominations offered. Commissioner Shay was unanimously elected to serve as Chairman of the Traffic and Transportation Commission by the following Roll Call vote: Commissioner Lin Yes Commissioner Mok Yes Commissioner Pincher Yes Commissioner Shay Yes Commissioner Shah Yes Commissioner Shah nominated Commissioner Mok to serve as Vice Chairman of the Traffic and Transportation Commissioner. There were no other nominations offered. Commissioner Mok was unanimously elected to serve as Vice Chairman of the Traffic and Transportation Commission by the following Roll Call vote: Commissioner Lin Yes Commissioner Mak Yes Commissioner Pincher Yes Chairman Shay ' Commissioner Shah Yes Yes II. ,APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of the February 8, 2007 meeting MARCH 8, 2007 PAGE 2 T&T COMMISSION IV. V. VI. C/Lin moved, VC/Mok seconded to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Lin, VC/Mok, Chair/Shay NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: Pincher, Shah ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None PUBLIC COMMENTS: CONSENT CALENDAR: ITEMS FROM STAFF None Offered None A. Traffic Enforcement Update - Received and filed on the following items: Citations: February 2007 2. Collisions: February 2007 3. Street Sweeping: February 2007 - VC/Mok wondered why the statistics were so different for February and PWD/Liu pointed out that during December and January street sweeping occurs on a weekly basis which would account for the increase in citations. In February the City returns to a bi-weekly street sweeping schedule. C/Lin felt it would be more realistic to include a yearly comparison (February to February) rather than compare one month to the next month. OLD BUSINESS: A. Diamond Bar Traffic Management System — report received & filed. SE/Yee presented staffs report using a power point presentation. C/Shah asked for clarification of connectivity with adjacent cities. SE/Yee responded that the cities involved in the Pomona Valley ITS project include Claremont, Diamond Bar, Industry, LaVerne, Pomona, San Dimas and Walnut. The County has taken the lead on correspondence with other cities. PWD/Liu said that technology has improved and become more efficient but in terms of working across county lines, D.B.'s issue is that the regional trafficthat impacts this City is coming from outside of L.A. County. However, because of the funding source for construction of this traffic management center it has to stay within the L.A. County area. He said he understood that Chino Hills and San Bernardino County have established a similar system in their jurisdiction. Eventually, the different jurisdictions may be able to establish some sort of MARCH 8, 2007 PAGE 3 T&T COMMISSION framework to better integrate and communicate. When this project was first conceived, Caltrans was a major player but later opted out and the County is still working with the state and believes that eventually, Caltrans will be on- board with the project. C/Shah asked if D.B. was talking and dealing with City of Industry. During peak hours D.B. synchronizes its signals on Grand Avenue and if the City of Industry is not working toward the same goal it defeats the purpose. PWD/Liu reiterated that the County Public Works Department is the project manager and D.B. wants a complete system within its own jurisdiction. D.B. is part of the Pomona Valley ITS. Within the PVITS umbrella are the cities SE/Yee previously mentioned. All of the cities under the umbrella of this project are communicating and working together. The ultimate goal is to share the traffic operation data and communicate a need to adjust the timing to accommodate regional traffic as well. D.B. is primarily concerned about the day-to-day demands and response to the needs of the City's residents with respect to traffic flow. SE/Yee said that ideally, the City would prefer to work with neighboring cities toward a common goal of better traffic movement. Chair/Shay asked if there was any overlap from the interior arteries to the freeways. SE/Yee responded that if there was congestion resulting from a freeway accident, for example, the signal system would automatically respond once the traffic congestion had reached threshold inside the City. PWD/Liu stated that although there will be a response it would not happen simultaneously. In the example, freeway traffic would be dumped onto City surface streets and D.B. streets are not designed to accommodate that kind of traffic volume. However, the responses will be much more effective in real time with closed circuit TV cameras at the six major intersections. In addition, the system could be expanded with cameras overlooking the freeway, for example. C/Pincher asked how the public would be educated about this system; that it is not a red light ticket intersection camera and, if this is a video, is it "real time;" and asked if the City could be subpoenaed for traffic accidents that occur. SE/Yee said that staff had discussions about liability and data -retention requirements. Video would require a tremendous amount of storage capacity and staff has made a preliminary decision not to retain any data. The system is intended for real time traffic control purposes only. SE/Yee said that staff would need to work with the City's public information staff members to create public outreach and notify residents as to the purpose of the system. C/Lin felt that if the signalization could be improved within the City it would help to move the traffic through the major arterials and somewhat relieve the ' congestion. He believed it was important to find a good manager for the system. SE/Yee responded to Chair/Shay that the cost for the interconnect system is slightly more than $1 million and for the traffic management system $275,000 MARCH 8, 2007 PAGE 4 T&T COMMISSION including the hardware, software design and implementation. In order to transmit video back to City Hall some DSL Ethernet lines are required at a cost about $300,000. The City has a cooperative agreement with the County for the City to receive Prop C funds in the amount of $600,000 toward payment for this project. Chair/Shay asked if there was another jurisdiction that had implemented this system and if so, has it been effective. SENee stated the vendors interviewed all had experience implementing these systems. Staff viewed an identical system in Phoenix and SENee said he personally spoke with four cities for each vendor and selected D.B.'s vendor accordingly. In fact, tonight's packet contains pictures that came from the preferred vendor installation. VII. NEW BUSINESS: A. Congestion Relief Strategy for State Routes 57 & 60 Proposed Work Plan. PWD/Liu presented the Commission with the Power Point presentation staff recently made to the City Council. Chair/Shay commented that the bulk of this matter is out of the City's control. Traffic from the ports will get worse and D.B. cannot control traffic coming from other areas. D.B. is stuck with a regional problem. Chair/Shay said he was concerned about the consulting cost and wondered why D.B. should have to bear all of the cost. PW D/Liu explained that the consultant costs are relatively low compared to the overall scheme. D.B. can fund these costs and the idea is to be able to influence the grander scheme to benefit D.B. The City continues to seek improvement funding through various sources. C/Pincher said she liked the idea of phasing this project rather than doing both Lemon and Grand Avenue at the same time. She felt this project should have been started 10 years ago or more and it is good D.B. is leading the way because this City has a lot at stake. VIII. STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS None IX. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS C/Lin asked if D.B. protested about the City of Industry project. PWD/Liu responded that there were at least 20 pages of traffic impact comments that the City offered about the project. It will take about 10 years for the project to be built out. The EIR identified numerous mitigation measures and impact fees and the largest item is the Grand Avenue bridge widening. C/Lin recommended adding an advisory on the SR 60 alternate that said "only" to force drivers to realize they cannot use the lane as a bypass to go south on SR 57. MARCH 8, 2007 PAGE 5 T&T COMMISSION C/Shah said that regarding the three arrows on the SR57 southbound from Grand Avenue the right turn on SR57, the north lane has been cut off. Today he was in that lane attempting to get onto SR57 south and the lane is no longer available and drivers are stuck on the SR60 and cannot get onto the SR57 unless they cut across traffic. The arrow on the green board is no longer accurate since the re -striping was done. C/Lin suggested staff stand on the Grand Avenue Bridge with a Caltrans rep and point out the operational deficiencies. C:/Pincher said she was very impressed with the Neighborhood Traffic Management Project materials. The off ramp on the SR57 at Diamond Bar Boulevard is a large traffic problem for D.B. and needs to be signalized. The on ramp at Pathfinder south on the SR57 is still very bad and very congested. It is a short onramp and everyone should stop and take their turn because it makes no sense to have a carpool lane at that location. It has been a month since Council Member Zirbes passed away and for many reasons she will miss him very much. Many nice things have been said about him, all true - and she hoped that the Commission would adjourn tonight's meeting in his memory. X. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS ' A. Neighborhood Traffic Management Program — Neighborhood Meeting for Sunset Crossing/Prospectors SENee stated that this project had previously been placed on hold until the acquired federal funding is received for this project. Residents responded positively to the concept of narrowing Sunset Crossing Road to one lane in each direction. Speed cushions and speed humps received mixed reviews. Staff will be collecting new traffic data for the next community meeting in April. All Commissioners will be invited to attend. PWD/Liu stated that staff is asking the Traffic and Transportation Commissioners to participate in future follow up neighborhood meetings and engage residents in dialogue before the final proposal goes to the City Council. B. Caltrans 57/60 Direct Connector (Carpool Lane) Opening PWD/Liu said that the Commissioners comments regarding this item would be taken into consideration. As of this date the connector is opened and working in accordance with Caltrans plans. C. Grand Avenue Improvements Project— Phase II SENee said that although the project is virtually complete there are some punch list items to attend before closing out the project. D. Industry's Grand Avenue Bridge Widening/Interchange Project MARCH 8, 2007 PAGE 6 T&T COMMISSION PWD/Liu explained that Industry is packaging the bridge -widening project into a larger project. Industry would like to turn this into a regional improvement project and build bypass connector roads. Industry is proposing to leverage the bridge improvements if the state and other stakeholders will agree to help pay for the bypass connector project. E. Lemon Avenue On/Off Ramps Project PWD/Liu stated that Industry's consultant is conducting another traffic study and the project is moving forward. F. Prospectors Road Street Rehabilitation Project AE/Molina reported that staff met with the design consultant and Community Services Department to determine the proper parkway improvements along Prospectors Road and identified specific areas such as around the bridge at the SR57 where Crape Myrtles would be planted as well as at the flood control channel along Prospectors Road at Sunset Crossing Road where some type of architectural element and hardscape will be installed. G. Washington Street Cul -de -Sac AE/Molina stated that upon further review, staff determined that sod installation would require irrigation improvements, which would in turn require installation of a water meter from the water district. Due to the cost of the water meter for such a small area the designer redesigned the area to have river rock in place of the sod and install two tree wells for housing Crape Myrtles that can be irrigated by a water truck. With those minor modifications the project should go out to bid once the added specs are reviewed. H. ACE Grade Separation on Brea Canyon Road SENee reported that the closure between Washington Street and Spanish Lane would be extended to mid block between Washington Street and Lycoming beginning March 19t' and continuing for two weeks. This extension will require a rerouting of the Metro traffic east on Lycoming, north on Lincoln and west on Washington. Staff is preparing flyers for circulation by the Alameda Corridor East. SR 57/60 Feasibility Study PWD/Liu reiterated that the study would not be ready until late summer. J. "California Roll" at Pecan Grove and Ironbark. AE/Molina reported that a resident requested consideration of a crosswalk. Our traffic engineer reviewed the matter and determined that a crosswalk was 1 MARCH 8, 2007 PAGE 7 T&T COMMISSION not warranted and instead recommended installation of a stop sign and stop bar enforcing the stop at the three-way intersection. Stop sign and pavement legend will be installed the week of April 2"d XII. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS: As listed in the Agenda. Chair/Shay talked about coming to a Commission meeting one month ago and it was that very day that Council Member Zirbes passed away. People who serve need to be remembered through time. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chair/Shay adjourned the meeting at 9:05 p.m. in remembrance of Bob Z_irbes. Attest: Respectful[ David G. Liu, Secretary