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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/11/2009CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING JUNE 11, 2009 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Lin called the meeting to order at 7:01 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 Pincher led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Kenneth Mok, Liana Pincher, Michael Shay, Kevin House, Vice -Chairman, and Jimmy Lin, Chairman Also Present: David Liu, Public Works Director; Rick Yee, Senior Civil Engineer; Kimberly Molina, Associate Engineer; Erwin Ching, Assistant Engineer; Christian Malpica-Perez, Associate Engineer, and Stella Marquez, Senior Administrative Assistant. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A. Minutes of the May 14, 2009 regular meeting. C/Shay moved, VC/House seconded, to approve the May 14, 2009 minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: II. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. III. ITEMS FROM STAFF: Pincher, Mok, Shay, VC/House Chair/Lin None None A. Received and Filed Traffic Enforcement Updates for: 1. Citations: 2. Collisions: 3. Street Sweeping IV. OLD BUSINESS: None March, April & May 2009 March, April & May 2009 March, April & May 2009 JUNE 11, 2009 PAGE 2 T&T COMMISSION V. NEW BUSINESS: A. Request for "No Parking Vehicles Over 6' High" signs to be installed between the intersection of Winterwood Lane/Amberwick Place and 1362 Winterwood Lane- AE/Molina presented staff's report and recommended that the Traffic and Transportation Commission receive public comments and concur with staff to forward the proposed installation of signage prohibiting parking of vehicles over 6 feet in height to City Council for approval. AE/Ching reported that staff received four letters and one telephone call from concerned residents. He read excerpts from each communication and all indicated that they supported staffs recommendation. Chair/Lin asked in which residence the truck owner lived and AE/Ching responded that the owner lives at 1403 Winterwood Lane. VC/House said he concurred with staffs recommendation and asked if the City could red zone the area close to the intersection. He wanted to know if the problem was the width of the vehicle or the length of the vehicle. AE/Molina responded that residents who have brought this matter to staff's attention have complained about the height of the vehicle. PWD/Liu explained that the current municipal code does not have provisions for the City to deal with oversized vehicles, only the height of a vehicle or trailer, hence staff's recommendation. C/Mok asked whether the truck was a commercial vehicle. AE/Ching responded that it is a semi -trailer and not considered to be a commercial vehicle. Although the photos do not indicate such, residents stated that at times there are commercial vehicles parked in the same area. C/Mok asked if there is a home-based business operated from the residence. AE/Ching replied that residents believe it is, based on what they observed. Staff has checked with the Planning Department to see if the resident has a business license. PWD/Liu explained to C/Mok that once the City Council approves the Commission's recommendation, the legal authority will be in place and the signage would offer warning that violators can immediately be cited. PWD/Liu acknowledged that the trailer could be moved to a different location on the street causing the same concerns. Staff is attempting, on an incremental approach, to force the trailer owner to cooperate with his neighbors. In addition, red curbing would tend to penalize the very individuals who are seeking the City's help. AE/Molina read Municipal Code Section 10.16.490 for C/Shay. C/Shay believed this was a citywide problem and that one solution would be to put JUNE 11, 2009 PAGE 3 T&T COMMISSION signs up throughout the City or, to simply have law enforcement give a warning ticket to anyone in violation of the code and subsequently, a ticket with a fine. PWD/Liu said that D.B. has been dealing with this issue since inception. There has been no final decision about how to deal with oversized vehicles. Other cities struggle with this problem as well and at this time, there is no firm solution about how to address oversized vehicles in residential neighborhoods. C/Shay said that if this law is on the books it should be enforced. AE/Molina explained that the code says that Council must find that there is an intersection or situation that exists that would constitute erecting the signs. PWD/Liu said that according to the code, staff would have to investigate every intersection throughout the City before the signs can go up. C/Mok agreed that enforcement is probably the answer but on the June 3`d memorandum, Page 2, at the top, it states that in order for the Sheriff's Department to enforce Municipal Code Section 10.16.490, signs must be properly posted indicating that vehicles over six feet in height are prohibited." C/Shay felt the Council should look at rewriting the code to enforce this throughout the City. Chair/Lin said that he agreed with PWD/Liu that this is probably the best solution to deal with the problem at hand. He also agreed with C/Pincher that once the signs are erected, the owner of the vehicle will likely move to another spot on the street. When that happens, further action may be required. VC/House moved, C/Shay seconded, to recommend that the City Council concur with staff to approve installation of signage prohibiting parking of vehicles over 6 feet in height. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS NOES: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: VI. STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS: Pincher, Mok, Shay, VC/House Chair/Lin None None PWD/Liu reported that at its June 2nd meeting, the City Council reviewed and adopted FY 2009/10 budget that includes the Capital Improvement Projects listed in tonight's packet with funding from a variety of sources, the most significant of which is $1.77 million from the federal government's stimulus money. Yesterday, staff received notification that Caltrans authorized the project to proceed and staff will be advertising the project for bids. PWD/Liu stated that on June 2nd, the City Council also approved a three-year `h crossing guard services contract with All -City Management Services. On June 16, JUNE 11, 2009 PAGE 4 T&T COMMISSION the City Council will consider removal of the northerly crosswalk on Diamond Bar Boulevard at Mountain Laurel Way. VII. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS: C/Pincher stated that with the installation of east/west left turn arrows at the intersection of Evergreen Springs and Pathfinder, the traffic moves more smoothly but is still very congested. In addition, during school hours the crossing guard allows students to use the entire intersection so that no car could queue into the intersection to make a left and, of course, no cars could make a right turn which stops all traffic. PWD/Liu said that staff would speak with the Sheriff's Department to make certain that there is regular communication between them and the school administration. A new crossing guard company has been employed since May which has a good training program and staff will bring to their attention that there are problem locations that need to be appropriately managed by the crossing guards. Staff will continue to pursue the matter. VIII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: A. Diamond Bar TMS/Traffic Signal Interconnect Links — Phase II — SE/Yee reported that staff will receive a full week of training from the City's consultant on use of the system. The City is awaiting the system acceptance test which is scheduled for the second week of July before implementation of Phase I. Staff opened bids for Phase I I last week and received a low bid from CT&F in the amount of $356,000, well under the engineer's estimate of $680,000 resulting in substantial savings in funding sources set aside for this CIP. B. Lycoming Street Rehabilitation Project - SE/Yee stated that staff is awaiting the signed contract and insurance with an anticipated start date of early July. C. Sunset Crossing Road and Prospectors Road Traffic Calming Project — SE/Yee reported that the project is 99 percent complete. D. Industry's Grand Avenue Bridge Widening/Interchange Project — PWD/Liu reported that the City of Industry has split the project into two phases. Phase I will be the westbound on-ramp and Phase II, the balance of the project. E. Lemon Avenue On/Off-Ramps Project — PWD/Liu indicated that the design team continues with the plans to be completed by July 1St along with 50 percent of the specifications. There are issues with this project and the significant issues range from the City's desire to phase the project to landscaping the area as an entry statement. F. SR -57/60 Feasibility Study - PWD/Liu stated that last week staff received the final draft from MTA which is currently being reviewed with the City's consultant. G. Residential -Area 5 Slurry Seal Project - AE/Molina reported that on May 20tH the City Clerk opened bids. Six (6) bids were received. The low bidder was Doug Martin to whom a contract was awarded on June 2"d. The bid was $743,562. Construction should begin within the first part of July. H. Arterial—Zone 3/Zone 4 Slurry Seal Project (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act) — AE/Molina reiterated that this project is being funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. Staff received JUNE 11, 2009 PAGE 5 T&T COMMISSION authorization to proceed with advertising the project for bids and hopes to have a contract to Council for award in August with construction to commence in September. I. Chino Hills Parkway Street Rehab Project — AE/Molina reported that this week staff received the different design alternatives with cost estimates. Staff will review and discuss the alternatives with the City's design consultant within the next couple of weeks. J. NTMP — Cleghorn Drive and Maple Hill Neighborhood —AE/Molina stated that a concept has been developed that will be reviewed by staff prior to taking it back to the neighborhood for consideration. The Commission will be notified about the meeting. With respect to the Maple Hill Neighborhood, this week staff received the results of the speed and traffic volume data specific to the neighborhood. Staff will review the data and put together a concept for this neighborhood as well. K. Items from May 14th T&T Commission Meeting — SE/Yee reported the following: 1. Diamond Bar Library Parking Issue — The City Manager's office has taken this matter under advisement and staff will continue to monitor the area and report back to the Commission when a conclusion is reached. 2. Golden Springs Elementary— The principal is expecting 120 additional 7th grade students this coming fall. The fall of 2010 he expects an additional 100 8th grade students. The principal requests that parents of upper grade level students drop off and pick up their children at the rear of the school off of Encino Drive. 3. Skyline Drive/Highcrest Gate — Staff confirmed that per the project conditions of approval Crestview Drive is intended to be the primary access to the community. There is no plan to use the gate except for emergency access. 4. Diamond Bar Boulevard/Morning Canyon Signal Request— In 2004, the City conducted a traffic signal warrant for the location. Based on the information at the time, no warrants were met for a signal. Recently, staff collected data for the intersection and the number of accidents do not meet the threshold for the City to consider another signal warrant. Staff continues to monitor the area for changes. 5. Street Sweeping Citation Enforcement — The City has two sweepers and one CSO. Due to time split and constraint on resources, each area gets ticketed on a monthly basis only. VC/House said there has been no enforcement on his street this year. If the City is paying the Sheriff's Department for this service it should be getting the service and the revenue from the tickets. PWD/Liu said his understanding is that the City pays for only one CSO, not two. For the last two years the Sheriff's Department was not able to hire a second CSO. 6. Verizon Overhead Lines — Staff met with Verizon to discuss this and other issues. Verizon acknowledges deficiencies with their contractors and agreed that sagging lines and leaning poles should be corrected. 7. Caltrans Follow-up — Staff brought up the issue of maintenance along JUNE 11, 2009 PAGE 6 T&T COMMISSION the freeways and they have a lot of constraints on what work they can perform at this time_ Caltrans has recorded staff's concerns and staff will continue to follow up regarding maintenance and underpass lighting. Maintenance work is done as requested or as time allows. In addition, Caltrans reiterated that budget cuts are affecting manpower. IX. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS: As listed in the Agenda. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chair/Lin adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this �-V/ day of IQL' , 2009. Respectfully, D 'd G. 11u, Secretary Attest: Chair= Jimmy Li