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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/14/2019 - Minutes - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING WINDMILL COMMUNITY ROOM, DIAMOND BAR CITY HALL 21810 COPLEY DRIVE, DIAMOND BAR NOVEMBER 14, 2019 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Garg called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m1 in the Diamond Bar City Hall Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Wong led the Pledge ofAllegianceI ROLL CALL: Commissioners Surendra Mehta, Cynthia Quan, Andrew Wong, Vice -Chair Michael Gonzalez and Chair/Mahendra Garg Also Present: David Liu, Public Works Director; Christian Malpica, Associate Engineer; Fabian Aoun, Associate Engineer; Nicholas "Nick" Delgado, Engineering Technician; and, Stella Marquez, Administrative Coordinator, I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A. Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting Minutes of October 10, 2019. C/Quan moved, C/Wong seconded, to approve the Meeting Minutes of October 101 2019 as corrected. Motion carried by the following R011 Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Mehta, Quan, Wong, VC/Gonzalez, Chair/Garg NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None 11. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None 111. ITEMS FROM STAFF: A. TRAFFIC STATISTICS —September 2019: VC/Gonzalez moved, C/Quan seconded, to Receive and File the September 2019 Traffic Statistics. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES NOES: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: Mehta, Quan, Wong, VC/Gonzalez, Chair/Garg None None NOVEMBER 14, 2019 PAGE 2 T&T COMMISSION C/Wong asked if the parking and hazardous citations increased and decreased or remained fairly consistent. PWD/Liu responded that citations are fairly consistent for August and September. C/Wong felt there had been an increase in the amount of traffic on City streets during the evening since the time change. PWD/Liu replied that he is not aware of a significant increase in traffic. PWD/Liu introduced and welcomed Nicholas "Nick" Delgado who was recently employed by the City as an Engineering Technician, B. MONTHLY UPDATES OF VARIOUS PROJECTS/PROGRAMS: a) Adaptive Traffic Control Signal System (ATCS) —AE/Malpica —The contractor completed the field detection work and, for the past week and a half, staff has met with the vendor and traffic consultants to fine-tune certain areas along the main arterials. While there has been congestion in some areas, it will diminish as the system is fine-tuned. Staff is on schedule to fully deploy the system by the end of December. b) NTMP/Pantera Drive Neighborhood — AE/Malpica —Staff has collected traffic counts from October 111h to October 15th and are currently working with one of the City is traffic consultants to analyze the data. Once completed, staff can bring recommended accommodations to the neighborhood and staff will likely schedule that meeting with the Commission and the neighborhood in January 2020. c) NTMP/Castle Rock between Cold Springs and Fountain Springs Road — AE/Malpica — Construction began October 28th and is close to completion with punch list items and corrections being done at this time. Staff received an email from the neighborhood captain who expressed his happiness that the neighborhood was able to go through this process with the City. He further acknowledged that the residents are pleased with the outcome. The project should be fully completed within the next week or so. d) Grand Avenue/Golden Springs Drive Intersection Improvements - AE/Malpica — Construction was rescheduled to commence in January 2020 due to additional time allowed for completion of maintenance agreements between L.A. County and the City of Industry. e) Diamond Bar Boulevard Complete Streets Corridor — AE/Aoun — There is no update at this time. The consultant continues to work on the design plans and staff is working closely with the consultant to make sure the plans are completed appropriately as staff continues to pursue funding for construction of the project. f) TR63623 — South Pointe Residential Development/Larkstone Park— AE/Aoun —All homes have been constructed and are undergoing inspection for issuance of Certificates of Occupancy so that the public can begin purchasing and moving into the homes. The developer is NOVEMBER 14, 2019 PAGE 3 T&T COMMISSION finalizing punch list items and working with staff to complete outside items including those within the community, public utility improvements, and annexations. g) Area 7 ResidentiallCollector Street Rehabilitation and Diamond Bar Boulevard Street Rehabilitation — AE/Aoun — The contractor has completed all new curb ramps and the localized pavement repairs of smaller portions that require slightly heavier construction. The contractor is currently working on cul-de-sac repairs where they will complete a six-foot edge grind of the area and lay new pavement. The contractor plans to complete the cukde-sacs as well cape seal streets prior to the Thanksgiving holidays. The first week of December, the contractor will begin the slurry seal and plan to complete this portion prior to the Christmas holiday. Construction along Diamond Bar Boulevard, between Mountain Laurel Way and Clear Creek Canyon Drive is scheduled to begin toward the end of November, after the Thanksgiving holiday. Construction work and traffic control will be monitored continuously to minimize impacts to the residences and businesses. C/Mehta asked if the City hired consultants to assist with these types of projects. AE/Aoun explained that consultants are hired through the RFP (Request for Proposals) process to gather proposals to prepare the design plans. While this is a maintenance project, there are certain areas that must be studied more closely to determine what type of treatment they will receive, as well as other areas that may need a specialized local repair beyond what general maintenance provides. Staff oversees the construction management and inspection and hires a contractor to complete the work. PWD/Liu added that construction projects are subject to state law requirements. Street improvement projects are based on the City's Pavement Management System, which is updated every three years based on conditions and needs of specific pavement areas. Prior to proceeding with any Public Works projects that require design work, the City must go through the RFP process to open it up to the general public. C/Mehta felt the road conditions were not as good this year as lastyear. PWD/Liu shared that this past year, Diamond Bar lived through a very, very wet winter season which did a lot of damage to asphalt pavements throughout the City. Again, staff is very mindful of those areas and if anyone notices any hazardous conditions, they are requested to please bring those to the City's attention. Typically, these damages are superficial and affect only the top layer of the pavement. Diamond Bar has one of the best roadway systems with regard to structural integrity. NOVEMBER 14, 2019 PAGE 4 T&T COMMISSION h) Brea Canyon Business Center Project — AE/Aoun — This project is located along Brea Canyon Road just north of the intersection of Golden Springs Drive and Brea Canyon Road on the vacant RV storage facility lot. This area is being proposed to construct a new hotel, medical office suites and a separate office condominium. This project was recommended for City Council approval by the Planning Commission last week and will go to the City Council for approval after which the applicant and developer can begin submitting full construction documents to the City in order to develop the business center as soon as possible. C/Mehta asked if the hotel was planned to be a franchise. AE/Aoun shared his understanding is that it is intended to be a Hampton Inn Suites by Hilton. C/Quan asked if the location was near Farmer Boys. AE/Aoun confirmed. C/Quan moved, VC/Gonzales seconded, to receive and file the updates on Various Projects/Programs. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Mehta, Quan, Wong, VC/Gonzalez, Chair/Garg NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None C/Mehta stated that he sees a lot of ADA work being done on the side streets and asked if this was State mandated. AE/Aoun responded that he is unaware of any new State rulings. However, the City upgrades curb ramps on a consistent cycle. For example, if a roadway is being upgraded and corrected with a cape seal, anything that goes above a slurry maintenance, it is required by law that the City upgrade curb ramps adjacent to that roadway, which is why several curb ramps in Area 7 are being upgraded. In addition, the City has an annual CDBG program wherein the City pursues CDBG funding to upgrade curb ramps in other neighborhoods. Currently, staff is pursuing funding for the Area 2 neighborhood to upgrade curb ramps where they do not currently exist. Following that will be the Area 2 roadway project, similar to Area 7, which will also take into account additional curb ramps in that neighborhood. C/Mehta said he is pleased to see the good work being done and staff taking an active part in the process. NOVEMBER 14, 2019 PAGE 5 T&T COMMISSION iV. NEW BUSINESS: None V. STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS: AE/Malpica reported in response to C/Quan's comments regarding the bougainvillea within the landscaped median on Grand Avenue at The Country Estate's entrance. Staff checked on the matter and noticed that the City's contractor recently trimmed it. PWD/Liu added that, going forward, this area will likely be replaced with a more suitable ground cover species. C/Quan said she appreciated what the landscapers have done and looks forward to a permanent fix. C/Mehta acknowledged the improvement and said that a few of his neighbors had responded favorably as well. He looks forward to a permanent solution, AE/Malpica responded to a concern voiced by VC/Gonzalez about overgrown branches blocking a stop sign at the intersection of Gold Rush Drive and Pantera Drive. He shared that staff was unable to confirm that intersection due to the fact that Gold Rush Drive and Pantera Drive do not intersect. However, staff drove the area and found only one stop sign at Highcrest Drive and Leyland Drive that was blocked by tree branches, which was trimmed. A. FUTURE MEETING SCHEDULE FOR THE T&T COMMISSION PWD/Liu stated that at the November 5th City Council meeting, staff introduced the ordinance amendment to change the meeting schedule from monthly to bi- monthly (every other month) which was approved for the first reading. The second reading and final approval will take place on November 19th and become effective January 2020. B. MT. CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH/SCHOOL DRIVEWAY LINE -OF -SIGHT STUDY AE/Aoun stated that at the October Commission meeting, School Principal, Dr. Steven Christopher, expressed concerns regarding the line -of -sight and tree removals stating he would prefer to not have the trees replanted along Golden Spring Drive near the driveway of Mt. Calvary. Staff took his concerns into consideration and engaged a traffic consultant to perform a line -of -sight study and analysis at that location. Staff has asked for recommendations about what, if anything, should be replanted and what might potentially be done to improve the safety of the roadway. Staff will review the recommendations upon receipt of the study and bring it to the next Commission meeting for an update. AE/Aoun spoke with Dr. Christopher and told him about this plan last week stating he would provide him with an update when available. NOVEMBER 14, 2019 PAGE 6 T&T COMMISSION Vl. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS: C/Mehta said he has noticed that drivers do not stop at stop signs and asked if the Sheriffs Department could do something about that. Additionally, he observed that there is a very short left turn lane at the SR-57 north from Diamond Bar Boulevard. He asked if the pocket length could be increased. PWD/Liu said that staff would look into the matter and report back to the Commission. C/Mehta also mentioned traffic proceeding east on Golden Springs Drive turning left onto Diamond Bar Boulevard; that too, is a very short left turn pocket. PWD/Liu said that staff would look into that matter as well, and report back to the Commission. C/Quan stated that the City did a beautiful job with the Veterans' Day Celebration. While there, she spoke with a resident who lives in the tract behind Walmartwho said that for him to exit his tract, he has to go out of Cleghorn Drive onto Grand Avenue. If one drives from Chino Hills into Diamond Bar, there are signals to control the traffic at Longview Drive, Summitridge Drive and Rolling Knoll Road; however, there is no signal at Cleghorn Drive. The striping is well done; however, people are rushing to the freeway and not using the right lane to turn into the residential area. This creates a hazard for residents attempting to exit the neighborhood. PWD/Liu responded to C/Quan that this information will be relayed to the Sheriffs Department. Previously, when the City conducted a traffic study at that intersection, a traffic signal was not warranted. In addition, because the intersection is so close to the signal on Diamond Bar Boulevard, if a signal were placed at Cleghorn Drive, it would worsen the congestion for the entire corridor. VII. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS: As noted in the Agenda Commissioners concurred to go dark for the Thursday, December 12th meeting. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chair/Garg adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 1 day of 1r1 P:2020. r Respectfully Su fitted, David G. Liu, Secretary