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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/8/2009CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 8, 2009 CALL TO ORDER: VC/House called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Chairman Lin led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Kenneth Mok, Liana Pincher, Vice -Chairman Kevin House and Chairman Jimmy Lin Absent: Commissioner Michael Shay was excused. Also Present: David Liu, Public Works Director; Rick Yee, Senior Civil Engineer; Christian Malpica-Perez, Associate Engineer, and Marcy Hilario, Senior Administrative Assistant. I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A. Minutes of the September 10, 2009 regular meeting. C/Mok moved, VC/House seconded, to approve the September 10, 2009 minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Mok, Pincher, VC/House Chair/Lin NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Shay II. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Resident Jack Fong said that he and fellow residents, Nina Goncharov and Stan Granger, have been trying for eight or nine months to get the petition signatures needed to satisfy the NTMP demands to establish speed bumps in the Cleghorn/Gold Nugget area. There has been a great deal of effort on the part of Ms. Goncharov and Mr. Granger to gather the second set of signatures. Mr. Fong wanted to believe they had complied with the numbers and wanted to know why there is an issue about them having to get more signatures. PWD/Liu explained that AE/Molina has been communicating with representatives from the neighborhood. He said it was his understanding that the request for 67 percent was understood by the representatives of the community and, while the City has a significant amount of signatures, his ultimate concern is that the 67 percent signature requirement was not reached. It had come to staff's attention that there were some addresses on Monument Canyon Road that were inadvertently OCTOBER 8, 2009 PAGE 2 T&T COMMISSION overlooked in the initial mailings regarding the NTMP. Approximately 49 residents in a condo complex had not been provided information regarding the proposed request for speed cushions. With that said, PWD/Liu stated that while additional signatures are not being required, he requested that an attempt be made to communicate with those condo residents. He believes there are a sufficient number of signatures to allow the Commission to concur with staff's recommendation to move forward with Phase II of the project (speed cushions). C/Mok inquired about what Phase II involves and PWD/Liu confirmed that it was education and speed cushions. This is an open and on-going process. C/Mok asked, worst case scenario, if every condo resident was opposed to the project, would that stop the project? PWD/Liu said that, as discussed during the last T&T Commission meeting, the residents along Cleghorn Drive and Monument Canyon Road could take advantage of a downsized project to focus the effort along Gold Nugget Drive. Mr. Fong said that this is not strictly a condo centric issue. Gold Nugget is a street with only single family residents and his neighborhood is adjacent to the condo complex. When he first conducted the petition drive to get to the 51 percent of residents' signatures, it was difficult to get feedback because of the ethnic diversity and unwillingness to become involved. Some residents do not speak or understand English which could be a hindrance. In his opinion, these cultural issues have to be taken into consideration in meeting the percentages and it involves a long campaign effort. Chair/Lin explained that PWD/Liu's point is that regardless of the outcome of the outreach to condo owners, staff is recommending mitigation. However, the 49 condo residents need to be made aware of the process. PWD/Liu responded to Chair/Lin that the residents (property owners and renters) need to be contacted. C/Pincher said she understood that the condo occupants received all of the literature for the neighborhood meetings. PWD/Liu said that when staff was establishing the database that it presented to the representatives, the 49 condo units had Monument Canyon addresses and were not included in the list. As a result, he made the decision that outreach should continue to include those residents as well. C/Pincher said these issues of diversity and condominium units backing up to single family homes was a factor in many areas of the City. She commended the residents on their effort. Ms. Goncharov said she has visited some of the homes several times and has met resistance in getting residents to open their doors due to the recent increase in crime on Gold Nugget and other streets. Some houses are empty and should probably be removed from the count. People have asked her where the 67 percent figure comes from and she would like to see it in print. She has spent many hours talking with people and collecting signatures and it is a very difficult and demanding and now there are additional signatures required. She still does not understand how many more signatures are needed. Chair/Lin again explained that PWD/Liu previously stated he would like the entire neighborhood contacted and even though there may not be any more signatures collected, everyone is entitled to notification about the proposed project. PWD/Liu said he would move forward with the recommendations OCTOBER 8, 2009 PAGE 3 T&T COMMISSION but wanted to make sure that the entire neighborhood was aware of what would take place. On another note, Ms. Goncharov presented articles to staff regarding the noise from Grand Avenue. Mr. Granger asked how long it would take to complete the project. PWD/Liu responded that staff has already contacted its traffic engineering consultants and asked that they provide the City with design proposals for speed cushions for the neighborhood. Those proposals are due next week and he estimated thatthe design project would take no more than 30 days or so. Whatever design proposal is brought forward will be conveyed to the residents living on the streets. Once the residents approve the concept the plan, it will be finalized for Request for Proposals for the construction phase. The entire process may take up to six (6) months. Staff is working on the project and has the budget to move it forward. Mr. Granger said that the 49 condos were about 20 percent of all of the condo units that were missed. Kevin Clayborn, owner, Clayborn Hair Studio, spoke in regard to Item IV — Parking on Brea Canyon Road for Pepper Tree Shopping Center. He said the street parking is limited in front of his business and did not understand the limitation because there is limited parking in the center. He asked if the City could either eliminate the limitation or extend the time to accommodate his clients. III. ITEMS FROM STAFF: A. PWD/Liu noted that the number for Street Sweeping Citations was not an accurate number, as Sheriff's staff was back -logged with data entry. Next month's report will reflect the correct numbers. Received and Filed Traffic Enforcement Updates for: 1. Citations: July, August and September 2009 2. Collisions: July, August and September 2009 3. Street Sweeping: July, August and September 2009 IV. NEW BUSINESS: A. Parking on Brea Canyon Road for Pepper Tree Shopping Center SE/Yee presented staff's report and recommended that the Traffic and Transportation Commission concur with staff to implement expanded parking hours to one-hour parking from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Brea Canyon Road adjacent to Pepper Tree Shopping Center. In addition, staff would further recommend that the Commission include in its motion the need to retain the "no stopping and no parking" signs between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. C/Pincher asked how many new spaces would be created on Brea Canyon Road with the additional parking. SE/Yee responded that they are no new OCTOBER 8, 2009 PAGE 4 T&T COMMISSION V. spaces proposed. These are existing spaces and expansion of the time period only. C/Pincher asked how many spaces were available and SE/Yee responded that there were four spaces. C/Pincher asked if there was a reason for limiting the parking to one hour for the businesses. SE/Yee said staff discussed this with some of the tenants who said that one hour was sufficient for the types of businesses in the immediate area and would help to cycle a great number of patrons throughout the day. C/Pincher moved, C/Mok seconded, to concur with staff's recommendation to implement expanded parking hours to one-hour parking from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Brea Canyon Road adjacent to Pepper Tree Shopping Center and to retain the "no stopping and no parking" signs between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. In addition, the Commission further recommends that staff investigate removal of the bike path immediately south of the northerly parking center driveway to add parking spaces. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS: Mok, Pincher, VC/House Chair/Lin None Shay SE/Yee spoke about Commission's concern on Grand Avenue with respect to USA Markings which staff has removed. SEIYee reported that as a result of the NTMP on Cleghorn and Gold Nugget there were residents who expressed concern about traveling northbound on Grand Avenue at Cleghorn and vehicles regarding the pavement markings indicating that the right curbside lane was a right -turn -only into Cleghorn. Staff investigated the matter and observed existing pavement markings and striping that denote the correct vehicular movement. However, some of the pavement markings needed to be replaced and striping needed to be refreshed and the City's maintenance department will perform the work. In response to C/Shay's request that staff look into the possibility of installing signage along Brea Canyon Road relating to speed, the appropriate signage to use on arterial roadways is signage that reads "speed enforced by radar" and staff is working with its traffic consultant to evaluate an appropriate location for placement of the sign(s). VI. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS: VC/House said he noticed potholes in the slurry seal project on Diamond Bar Boulevard at Brea Canyon Road in front of the EV Free Church from sprinklers causing deterioration of the pavement. There is an excessive amount of water on the roadway when the sprinklers are running and felt that the watering could be curtailed OCTOBER 8, 2009 PAGE 5 T&T COMMISSION to mitigate the situation. In addition, he felt the sprinklers should be turned off during repaving. Chair/Lin asked when the traffic signal timing phases begin and end on Diamond Bar Boulevard. SE/Yee said that at the present time there are three different timing plans: a.m. peak, midday and p.m. peak. During the evening the signals run free. Staff is in the process of developing additional timing plans for weekend and off-peak hours as a result of recent upgrades to the controllers which increases the current three timing plans to nine. Chair/Lin suggested that staff consider moving the morning peak traffic to an earlier time due to heavy traffic in the early morning hours. VII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: A. Diamond Bar TMS/Traffic Signal Interconnect Links — Phase II—AE/Malpica- Perez reported that staff continues to work with the consultant on resolving minor issues with the system. The contractor has completed 65 percent of the interconnect work. Staff expects the project to be completed by November 2009. B. Lycoming Street Rehabilitation Project — SE/Yee stated that the re - reconstruction of Lycoming Street from Lemon Avenue to the easterly City limit project is substantially complete. Staff is currently developing a punch list of final items for the contractor to take care of. C. Industry's Grand Avenue Bridge Widening/Interchange Project — SE/Yee reported that technical studies are being done in preparation for the Environmental document. This is actually two projects: 1) westbound SR60 ramp that will allow traffic to proceed from southbound Grand Avenue directly onto westbound SR60 instead of making a left turn. 2) The bridge widening on Grand Avenue and on-off ramp improvements in the eastbound direction. D. SR57/60 Feasibility Study — SE/Yee stated that in late September staff submitted final comments on the draft technical study and are awaiting a response from metro regarding the project. The City of Industry is also in the process of submitting comments and suggesting recommended changes to the document and D.B. will monitor that activity as well. E. Lemon Avenue On/Off Ramps Project — PWD/Liu reported that staff is still waiting for Caltrans to get back to it with the City's request to complete the construction in two phases. As late as this morning, the project manager sent a request to Caltrans that the parties meet to discuss the possibility of forward movement on the project. F. Residential —Area 5 Slurry Seal Project —AE/Malpica-Perez reported that this project was completed. There are a few punch list items remaining to be taken care of by the contractor so that the City can issue a Certificate of Completion. G. Arterial — Zone 3/Zone 4 Slurry Seal Project (American Recovery Reinvestment Act) —AE/Malpica-Perez stated that demolition began this week at selected curb ramps and sidewalk locations. Replacement of concrete is slated to begin next week. H. Chino Hills Parkway Street Rehab Project — AE/Malpica-Perez said that staff received the draft plans and specifications which are currently under review. Staff anticipates this project going out for bid in February/March 2010. OCTOBER 8, 2009 PAGE 6 T&T COMMISSION PWD/Liu reported that the Cleghorn/Gold Nugget Neighborhood Traffic Management program was covered early by residents and staff during the Public Comment portion of tonight's meeting. Vlll. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS: As stated in the agenda. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chair/Lin adjourned the meeting at 8:02 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 'I�T{ day of -SAAJUA , 2010. Respectfully, Davi . L' , Secretary Attest: `Ix� L- ===� Chairma Jimmy n