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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/1998 Minutes - Town Hall MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TOWN HALL MEETING NOVEMBER 7, 1998 CALL TO ORDER: M/Herrera called the Town Hall Meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in the Auditorium of the South Cost Air Quality Management District, 21865 East Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. ROLL CALL: Council Members Ansari, Huff, O'Connor, Mayor Pro Tem Chang, Mayor Herrera. Also Present were: Terrence L. Belanger, City Manager; James DeStefano, Deputy City Manager; David Liu, Deputy Director of Public Works; Steve Tamaya, Marketing Coordinator and Lynda Burgess, City Clerk. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Herrera. 2. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION: Mayor Herrera 3. OFF-SITE PARKING TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS: CM/Belanger presented staffs report and recommendations on each of the Off -Site Parking Task Force motions. Captain Martinez explained that contract services provided to the City consist of a package of traffic, parking and general law enforcement duties. The Sheriffs Department's mission is to provide cost effective law enforcement services responsive to the varied characteristics of the City. The Department is dedicated to understanding the City's vision, the underlying values and specific needs, and to administer and develop enforcement services that respect the designers of the City. The Department monitors adherence by its personnel to the department's goals and standards to ensure the highest level of law enforcement service and the respect of those served. The Department constantly strives for understanding and courageous professional service in the delivery of community oriented law enforcement. The Department accepts change in meeting the specific needs of the City and directs its internal operations to aggressively pursuing internal efficiencies and flexibility necessary to deliver quality services at a reasonable cost. He presented documents that indicate the activities pursued by the Department in D.B. for the past three years. He pointed out that although arrests have increased, crime has decreased. Motion #1 -"To recommend to the City Council that enforcement should be increased, specifically to the violations discussed within the Task Force meetings." NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 2 TOWN HALL MEETING Martha Bruske said that, with respect to Motion #1, the Task Force took the posture that current funding is adequate and no overtime and no additional staff should be provided until accurate data is gathered. The Task Force found it difficult to determine how many Sheriffs staff members were assigned to D.B. The representative from the Sheriffs Department indicated that their only priority is crime prevention. She expressed confusion over Captain Martinefs presentation and did not believe that the Task Force presented' Motion #1 as it has been presented in the handouts. She objected to an apparent increase in "lying in wait" because she felt it is detrimental to the image of the City. Al Rumpilla pointed out that the Sheriffs Department states that there is a decrease in crime due to increased enforcement. He pointed out that the Task Force's number one priority was "enforcement." Therefore, there does not need to be a ban against any type of parking in D.B. Instead, there needs to be enforcement of the current laws. George Galik believed that the City should address the fact that there are a lot of vehicles parked on streets and they remain there for months. West Covina has addressed this issue by having people who want to park on the street overnight to pay a fee of $5.00 and he believed D.B. should initiate the same policy. This method of control will also help the City remain crime free. Allen Wilson agreed that the City should increase enforcement as much as possible; however, he had a problem with the overtime and hiring of staff at a cost of $21,000. Wilbur Smith stated that, with respect to Attachment #1 in the Sheriffs package, he was concerned that the physical requirements for men and women are very low; therefore, he would not feel comfortable that he was receiving adequate response from an officer who was smaller than he in stature. He did not believe minimum size requirements were appropriate. C/Ansari stated that the Task Force was concerned about expanding the duties and authority of the City's Code Enforcement Officer. She believed it would be helpful for the officer to receive training and be given citation authority, which may free up some of the Sheriffs Department personnel to concentrate on other activities. C/O'Connor concurred with C/Ansari that, in order to comply with citizens request for increased enforcement, it would be prudent for the City's Code Enforcement Officer_ to have citation authority, particularly in residential areas. C/Huff agreed with C/Ansari and C/O'Connor that the City's Code Enforcement Officer should have citation authority. He asked why expansion NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 3 TOWN HALL MEETING capabilities of the Community Volunteer Patrol is not included in the report to Council. He believed such expansion would be cost-effective for the City. Parking has been a big issue in the City and while the City does not want crime statistics to increase, it does want to augment the officer's efforts without unduly burdening the City's finances. C/Ansari asked Captain Martinez the status of expanding the capabilities of the Community Volunteer Patrol. Captain Martinez stated that because Volunteer Patrol members are not authorized by the Vehicle Code to write parking citations, the Sheriff determined that they would not be used in such a capacity. M/Herrera asked Captain Martinez to report on the steps that will be taken to expand the scope of duties for the Community Volunteer Patrol. Captain Martinez stated that, as a result of discussions with Council Members and staff, the Sheriffs Department will expand the functions to include more observing and reporting of incidents to the Sheriffs Department. A training program will be formulated to educate the patrol members on matters such as code enforcement and activities that are currently performed by crime prevention in order to have them involved on a cooperative basis. C/Huff asked why it would be a violation of the Code for non -sworn officers to write tickets if the issue has been decriminalized. CM/Belanger stated that staff presumes that because parking violations fall under the Municipal Code within D.B., that non -sworn officers could write citations. C/Huff stated that Sheriff candidate Lee Baca indicated to him in February, 1998 that, philosophically, he did not see a problem with expanding the duties of the Community Volunteer Patrol and that, in the City of Industry, the Sheriff's Department actually contracts out to private individuals to issue parking citations in the unincorporated areas. He indicated he would like D.B. to move in that same direction. Karen Mahoney stated that she is a 17 -year resident of D.B. and a Community Volunteer Patrol officer. She indicated that there could be problems with several entities writing tickets and the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. She believed there should be a lot of investigation of potential problems before proceeding to give various entities citation authority and at what level of tolerance citations will be issued. NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 4 TOWN HALL MEETING M/Herrera stated that it is her preference to shift responsibilities and have either the Code Enforcement Officer or the Community Service Officers issue citations. MPT/Chang preferred to have the Volunteer Patrol trained and given the authority to issue citations, especially for long term parking violations. C/O'Connor asked for a response to Mrs. Mahoney's comments. CM/Belanger stated that the administrative details would have to be worked out. For instance, rather than having all of the calls go directly to the Sheriffs Department, calls could be routed to the City Hall for complaint purposes. C/Huff suggested that there could be two boxes on the citation, one box for the Sheriffs Department and one box for City Hall, and that the officer issuing the citation would check the proper box. He would like the matter brought back to the Council with respect to how Motion #1 might be accomplished in a cost-effective manner reflecting the previous discussion. M/Herrera asked staff to consider alternatives that involve current personnel and budget. CM/Belanger stated that staff will present findings with respect to current personnel and budget as well as the cost to expand staff to conduct parking enforcement. Motion #2 - "To recommend to the City Council to begin a public information campaign to raise public awareness of existing laws; that the information would convey to the residents why these laws are in existence; and that the City Council consider a postable insert into the next City newsletter as an appropriate vehicle to accomplish this request." Roy Wilks stated that he lives in the 91789 zip code area and does not receive The Windmill. Motion #3 - "To recommend to the City Council that the Sheriff's Department be instructed to enforce the present off-site parking laws." "To recommend to the City Council that the Sheriffs Department provide detailed information regarding citations and include the following items: time of day or night, day of week -weekday or holiday, location -commercial or residential, part of the City, violation, who wrote the ticket (CSO or Deputy), violation noted by an officer or called in by a resident or other party, how many warnings were issued, action taken NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 5 TOWN HALL MEETING and when (figures by the week and by the month), did the citations increase or decrease over a period of time, a hot line for the City for accountability, cost in man-hours relating to the work involved, maps of patrolled areas and routes that were taken as they drive through the City." Council concurred to direct staff to work with the Sheriffs Department to establish a data collection system. Motion #5 -"To recommend to the City Council to consider a dispensation/permit program for parking unattached trailers and boats on City streets for a period of 24 hours." CM/Belanger explained how a permit process would allow residents to park on the streets as a result of special circumstances. In response to C/O'Connor, CM/Belanger acknowledged that "a current California license plate" needs to be changed on the temporary permit application. He confirmed that the permit is non -transferable and appropriate language will be added to page 2 of the application. C/O'Connor stated that, with respect to the Statement of Permit Qualifications, the last sentence should include "such action may include but not be limited to..." C/Huff believed that a permit system should be developed to address the need to outfit recreational vehicles, boats, etc. He recommended that if the Council favors a permit process, the matter be scheduled for discussion at a later time. Council concurred. Clem Ziroli, First Mortgage Corp., Fallow Field Dr., spoke about the lack of on-site parking at his facility and the fact that when D.B. was under the jurisdiction of L.A. County, his employees did not have a problem with parking on the street. He explained that it is against company policy for employees to encroach into the residential neighborhood. M/Herrera explained that Council has received complaints from neighboring residents who have a problem with employees parking in residential areas and leave their trash on the streets. Scott Lehrer, First Mortgage Corp., explained that his company is responsive to complaints. He was surprised about concerns regarding trash being thrown into the residential neighborhood. He believed the problem is caused by children going into the neighborhood. NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 6 TOWN HALL MEETING C/Ansari asked if First Mortgage Corp. has held a neighborhood meeting to discuss the concerns. CM/Belanger stated that the parking restrictions on Fallow Field Dr. have been in place for some time. This issue went before the Traffic & Transportation Commission and Council some years ago, which resulted in the current restrictive measures. The situation is not unlike several areas in the City where the County approval of commercial property burden the streets. WHerrera encouraged First Mortgage Corp. to meet with its neighbors and attempt to resolve the current conflict. Al Rumpilla said that if the City implements a permit system, there may be more recreational vehicles parked on the City's streets, which will increase the hazards that the community is trying to eliminate. Roy Wilks expressed concern about Item A requiring all garage parking spaces to be available for parking vehicles. He did not believe the citizens of D.B. want this type of enforced restriction. Sharon Mahoney spoke about her concerns regarding the permit process. She said she parks her recreational vehicle in a commercial parking lot at a cost of $70 per month. She is retired and takes 20 trips per year, which means that if the permit system was implemented, she would be required to pay an additional $200 per year in fees to the City. She asked if she would be able to obtain an annual permit. Will the City make allowances for people who have been away from the City to have time to obtain a permit upon their return. She believed that Good Sam Club would be pleased to get involved with this issue in order to protect the rights of RV owners. She also stated that recreational vehicle owners pay a great deal of money for their registrations and that the City receives a portion of the revenue. M/Herrera responded to Mrs. Mahoney that her discussion points will be considered by the Council. CM/Belanger explained that the parking permit system that is being recommended to Council is for unattached trailers and boats and vehicles that are parked in limited parking areas that already exist (1 -hour and 2 -hour parking limitations). This recommendation does not include recreational vehicles. Lloyd Stoa stated that Code Enforcement Officers in neighboring cities like the permit system because it allows the Police/Sheriffs Departments to check vehicles that do not have permits. Some vehicles are inoperable and many are stolen vehicles that have been left on city streets. The permit NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 7 TOWN HALL MEETING system has been very effective in other cities. In response to M/Herrera, CM/Belanger stated that if Council were to consider a weight limit on residential streets, it would be in excess of 10,000 pounds. C/Huff believed it would be wise to try some of the other implementation strategies or enforcement, and save the option for consideration after implementing strategies to mitigate problems that have been identified fails to succeed. M/Herrera asked staff to bring back the matter of the permit process system for future discussion. Motion #6 -"To recommend to the City Council that no parking on street sweeping days be considered as on alternative to the problems identified." CM/Belanger explained that the current refuse collector contemplates a five- day -a- week system which would allow the City to coordinate with street sweeping so that, for a block of time on a single day, trash would be collected and the street would be swept. The idea would be to have no cars on the street when this occurs. He recommended that this be brought back to Council incorporating this recommendation with the recommendation that it would encompass the restriction for trash collection. This matter requires coordination with the refuse company and the company that conducts street sweeping. This is typical of many communities that coordinate street sweeping and trash collection in residential neighborhoods. C/Huff spoke about balancing the needs of the people with enforcement. In his opinion, this is one of the most effective methods for keeping abandoned vehicles and permanently stored recreational vehicles off of residential streets. Although the cost for installation of signs (estimated to be $136,000) seems excessive, it is a one-time cost as opposed to the ongoing cost of hiring enforcement personnel. C/O'Connor thanked Mrs. Mahoney and all of the other owners who park their recreational vehicles off-site or on their own property. She stated that, in her neighborhood, people leave their RV's parked on the street for days at a time and do not park their recreational vehicles off-site. She wants those circumstances addressed. She expressed concern about the safety of students on street sweeping days when parents cannot park their vehicles and walk their children to school. CM/Belanger stated that implementation of this type of program needs to take into account the needs of the schools, which are primarily located in NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 8 TOWN HALL MEETING residential areas for peak morning and afternoon hours. Staffs recommendation will include such an accommodation. Roy Wilks felt Council is proposing to get cars off of City streets. There are a few people who park their cars on the street for a period of time. When he walked a portion. of the City passing out flyers, he found four or five cars that had been parked for an extended period of time. He believed that people make mistakes and the entire City will be penalized because of a few violators and that the City needs to enforce present laws and not adopt new ones until current laws are enforced. He also believed the streets need to be swept more frequently during the time that trees are expelling their leaves. Kevin Scherb stated that his neighborhood has problems with vehicles stored on the street. The Sheriffs Department responds after several calls. RV owners move their vehicles slightly to avoid the 72 hour violation. He asked if the recommendations cover this circumstance. C/Huff explained that street sweeping will solve the problem to a certain extent and at the same time help the City to meet the NPDES requirement. M/Herrera stated that it is difficult for people to accept and live with change. She suggested that the Council consider a phased -in process. Mike Goldenberg stated that he toured the City for over 700 hours and was very much in favor of this type of ordinance because many of the City's older neighborhoods have had vehicles parked on the streets for long periods of time, which deteriorates the neighborhood. Street sweeping will improve the neighborhoods, the quality of life and the value of the homes. Tiffany Myer, Crooked Creek Dr., stated that parents block driveways in residential neighborhoods when they drop their children off at school. Schools are built so that vehicles can drive through the school property to drop off students. M/Herrera reiterated that street sweeping will solve a number of problems including assisting the City in meeting the NPDES requirements. A number of cities are being sued for violation of NPDES requirements. In response to M/Herrera, CM/Belanger presented the following time line for discussion of the motions: Motion #1 December 15, 1998 Motion #2 Ongoing effort. Motion #3 Staff will create an internal system and report back to Council on the process. NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 9 TOWN HALL MEETING Motion #5 December 15, 1998. Motion #6 Early 1999 depending on the refuse hauler's schedule. 4. TRAFFIC PROBLEMS/SOLUTIONS: CM/Belanger stated that since the opening of Grand Ave. to Chino Hills and with continuing development to the east, traffic volume issues continue to be a topic of conversation. In order to provide background for this discussion, the City retained services of consultants who have provided traffic analyses and traffic counts for Grand and D.B. Blvd. The City is a member of the Four Corners policy group, a group of cities and other public agencies that are affected by the 71, 91, 57, 60 and 15 corridors. Recently, the Four Corners Group, in conjunction with the So. Calif. Assn. of Governments (SCAG), engaged the services of Parsons Brinkerhoff, et al, to undertake a reasonable study of traffic and transportation systems and projecting out over the next 20 years in order to make recommendations regarding traffic impacts and possible mitigation. The study points out that D.B. has a trans- regional roadway corridor through the City known as Grand Ave. and D.B. Blvd. for traffic originating beyond its eastern borders. DDPW/Liu stated that, according to traffic volume studies conducted over a one week period, approximately 26% of all traffic entering the intersection of Grand and D.B. Blvd. originates from the south and the east respectively. Traffic volumes have increased 5% to 17.5% on a daily basis during the same one week period between October, 1997 and October, 1998. CM/Belanger explained that because of the inconsistency in the data with respect to morning and evening traffic counts, additional information must be gathered at all of the City's inlet points. The data points out that, generally, traffic volumes are increasing within the community and generally originating from the east. C/Ansari asked about the increase in the Saturday traffic and whether the recent freeway improvements have contributed to lower the traffic volumes within the community. CM/Belanger believed that it is generally easier for traffic to continue on surface streets rather than attempting to get back onto the freeway. Certain traffic improvements are currently underway and not yet open to the public. Once the HOV lanes on the SR 60 are opened in early 1999, additional traffic counts will be conducted to determine whether or not there. are positive impacts. Steve Sasaki, Wes Pringle & Assoc., commented that this Town Hall meeting is timely with respect to current data. In some instances, there may be an easy engineering solution. The data for Grand and D.B. Blvd. NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 10 TOWN HALL MEETING indicates that it is a complicated matter. He pointed out that the Linscott Greenspan report includes daily counts. Intersection analyses rely on peak hour turning movement counts. The existing condition analysis was based on current CMP (Congestion Management Program) counts, which is a requirement of L.A. County and the cities that. participate in the gas tax increase. Each county and city is subject to complying with the CMP and, as a park of that program, each two years, monitoring counts are taken. The report includes official counts of the County and the City. Future long-range projects were based upon the following factors: Growth (1 % per year), traffic effects of specific projects and major long-range projects, and the City of Industry project. As a result of the Four Corners analysis, there is consideration of a bypass road along Tonner Canyon, which is not included as a part of these analyses. C/Huff explained that Four Corners is not looking at a bypass road in Tonner Canyon but in the region connecting Grand Ave. or the 71 fwy. to the 57 fwy. Mr. Sasaki further stated that improvements to the 57/60 fwys. are not included in the data and it is assumed that whatever improvements are made to those freeways would result in some improvement to the intersection of Grand and D.B. Blvd. He stated that, in working with staff, short term or more feasible improvements were determined. Alternative #1 is related to what is identified within the Economic Revitalization Study, which has to do with lane striping changes and would not require curb widening or right-of- way acquisition. This alternative accommodates through traffic, restructuring current right turn lanes (eastbound, westbound and southbound approaches) and re -striping those lanes to provide through -lanes. This change would result in the loss of acceleration/deceleration and protected right hand turn features. Alternative #2 involves the potential for bicycle lanes at the intersections on Grand Ave. which would require no right-of-way easements or street widening but would result in the replacement of right -turn lanes with bicycle lanes. He indicated that Alternative #3 is in consideration of the effects of adding a through -lane in each direction. He explained how the curb line would be moved out using the overhead. C/Ansari expressed concern about the lane configuration on eastbound Grand Ave. between Montefino Ave. and D.B. Blvd. Mr. Sasaki indicated that under existing and future conditions, any of the alternatives will result in a level of service "F" condition. This indicates that the needs at the intersection are much greater than what can be accomplished with any of the three alternative short term improvement. Even with Alternative 3, there will be a higher traffic demand than the community can accommodate. Given the situation, the identified conditions are as follows: NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 11 TOWN HALL MEETING 1) Will a "problem" level of service "F" intersection slow the approval process for projects in Diamond Bar? 2) How is the cut -through traffic viewed from a business standpoint? He explained that a bypass road would relieve some of the cut -through traffic. Major widening of the streets (two or more through -lanes) beyond improvements identified in Alternative #3 would relieve some of the traffic issues. However, this type of improvement would present major impacts to surrounding land uses. Mr. Sasaki indicated that other methods of moving traffic from the City's side streets would be to establish shorter traffic signal lengths for intersections leading up to the D.B. Blvd/Grand Ave. intersection as well as turn pockets to improve storage lengths. He emphasized that there is not an easy fix for the intersection of D.B. Blvd. and Grand Ave. and his firm is looking for input from the citizens to determine what they want to see with respect to the City's traffic flow. For example, is it worth supporting a bypass road to fix the current situation or are the issues related to the bypass road negative to the point that the residents are willing to live with congestion at D.B. Blvd. and Grand Ave. In response to C/Huff, Mr. Sasaki explained that his firm assumed that, as a best case scenario, a bypass road would remove about two-thirds of the cut -through traffic during peak hours. With respect to signal timing, his firm considered implementation of a signal timing system to deal with peak hour concerns and did not consider particular timing patterns. Currently, the County's consideration of signal timing is conducted on a regional basis. A City controlled signal timing system may offer more opportunity for creative solutions. C/Huff said he receives complaints from residents who live on adjacent side streets and find it difficult to turn onto D.B. Blvd. and Grand Ave. at peak hours. Mr. Sasaki indicated that the five-day count conducted one year ago compared to a five-day count one year later may account for the difference in projected growth. His firm's estimation of a 1 % growth rate is based upon the County's estimation, watching traffic growths over long periods of time, evaluation of different areas within the County, together with what is a reasonable growth rate. There is a great deal of development occurring to the east of the City. However, for better or worse, the intersection currently has an inherent amount of delay. The attraction for additional vehicles to pass through this City is limited. It is anticipated that the freeway improvements will help to keep pace with the building that is taking place. In response to MPT/Chang, Mr. Sasaki stated that projections are based on growth out to the year 2015 as well as future major projects including the NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 12 TOWN HALL MEETING Chino Hills buildout. His firm is awaiting input from the community with respect to what alternative it considers feasible before projecting costs. CM/Belanger explained that one consideration that has not been included is a reorientation of Grand Ave. to the south with the inclusion of a single large commercial site and Grand being widened to accommodate future growth. It is important to note in Mr. Sasaki's analysis, that creation of a third or fourth east/west connection will have a positive effect on the intersection. If a bypass corridor was built and the proposed improvements were made in the existing time frame, the level of service in the a.m. would be "C" and the level of service in the p.m. peak hours would be "E". What is unknown is what effect a bypass road would have with all of the widenings and right-of-ways. However, one can make presumptions that if the street is widened, the level of service would be reduced to at least a "D" and "E" level of service with a bypass corridor. He explained that a bypass corridor is another east/west corridor between Grand Ave. and SR142, Carbon Canyon Rd. Peter Ling explained how difficult it is to move from Longview Dr. onto Grand Ave. during daytime hours. Sometimes it takes one-half hour to move a quarter mile, which is absurd. He is planning to move out of his residence because of the frustration. He asked the City to make it a top priority to move quickly to deal with this worsening traffic problem. Richard Eide said he also lives in the combat zone of Longview Dr. He believed the first page of the report contains a solution to the matter: "...make it undesirable..." which means taking the lights at Longview Dr. and Grand Ave. and at Summitridge Dr. and Grand Ave. and make the signalization more favorable to the residents. He recommended that traffic officers visit the site during peak morning hours when vehicles are speeding through the area. He recommended traffic enforcement for vehicles that block Summitridge Dr. to the extent that vehicles are prevented from exiting Summitridge onto Grand Ave. He said he no longer shops locally in the evening. Instead, he shops in Chino Hills because of the ease of movement. George Galik indicated he has observed that at peak times, traffic generally comes from Chino Hills. When the 57/60 freeway becomes jammed, traffic spills onto Grand and D.B. Blvd. He believed that if the protected right turns and bicycle lanes were eliminated on D.B. Blvd. and Grand Ave. during peak hours, the traffic would move faster. In addition, he believed that traffic signals should be timed in favor of the traffic moving on the major streets during peak hours. He spoke in favor of a bypass road through Carbon Canyon which would off load the Chino and Chino Hills traffic. Rebecca Hwang read a letter addressed to Council and signed by Therina Sun, 24089 Highcrest Dr., which discussed the fact that the City's traffic NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 13 TOWN HALL MEETING problems have adversely affected Mrs. Sun's real estate business and personal life. Wilbur Smith expressed disappointment that very little has been done to mitigate the City's traffic concerns. He believed that if the City can control the signal flow from the D.B. Blvd. off -ramp to Grand Ave., it will reduce the level of irritation and make it more difficult for cut -through traffic to get through D.B. He further believed that there is plenty of opportunity for widening of the traffic lanes on D.B. Blvd. between Grand Ave. and the SR57 including the elimination of the center island, which should greatly improve the overall situation at a reasonable cost. Doug McGuire stated that he has difficulty exiting Silver Bullet Dr. onto Brea Canyon Rd. in the early morning hours. He recommended installation of a stop sign at either Copper Canyon Dr. or Silver Bullet Dr. to help the residents. He believed that even with improvements to D.B. Blvd. and Grand Ave., a bypass road in the Tonner Canyon or Carbon Canyon area will be necessary to accommodate the traffic. CM/Belanger stated that a traffic signal installation is scheduled for Silver Bullet Dr. at Brea Canyon Rd. in the spring of 1999. Heather Zeroti said she has lived in Diamond Bar for 23 years. She works in Anaheim and travels across town to visit her parents. She travels the SR 57 in the mornings and D.B. Blvd. in the evening. She asked why traffic signals are being installed at Quail Summit Dr. and Montefino Ave. on D.B. Blvd. She asked if it is possible to install a "keep clear" notification at the medical building/Century 21 E -N building on Grand Ave. between Montefino and D.B. Blvd. so that vehicles have access to turn in and out at the location. She stated that vehicles continue to travel through red lights on D.B. Blvd. The problem is not with the timing of the signals, the problem is that vehicles need to stop at the red lights to allow traffic to flow in and out of side streets. She asked when the carpool lanes will be opened on SR 60. She also asked if Chino and Chino Hills are contributing monies to D.B. for the vehicles that originate from their cities. She believed the best idea is for D.B. to make it undesirable to travel through the City. She complained that when traffic enforcement officers pull vehicles aside for infractions during peak hour traffic on D.B. Blvd. and Grand Ave., it impedes the traffic flow. Bonnie Eide said she would like the streets to come back to the City. When her children cross Grand Ave. at Longview Dr. to board the school bus, they have to dodge traffic on Grand coming from the direction of Chino Hills. Vehicles often do not stop at the red light nor do they stop in the crosswalk. She agreed that D.B. should make it undesirable for bypass traffic to use its streets to keep the children and residents safe. NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 14 TOWN HALL MEETING C/Ansari suggested that the City discuss this matter with the school district. She said that it does not seem very safe for the children to have to cross Grand Ave. to catch the school bus. She asked staff to check on this matter. Bonnie Eide did not believe it is safe for children to be on Grand Ave. during school hours. She has discussed this matter with school officials. She pays over $380 per semester for her children to ride the school bus. It is not right for the school district to ask the children to cross a busy and unsafe street to catch the bus. Mike Goldenberg stated that the City of Ontario plans to renovate 30,000 homes. The main egress street is Edison, which turns into Grand Ave. which will impact D.B. CalTrans estimates that the 71/60 freeway interchange, when completed, will be at maximum capacity. He asked Council to consider a regional bypass road. C/Huff stated that the Four Corners committee has extended its study to the 15 fwy. for consideration of Ontario's plans. He concurred with Mike Goldenberg that any projects undertaken by D.B. are minimal when compared to what is occurring outside of the City's borders and the related impacts to the community. Richard Eide said that many of his co-workers in North Orange County travel from areas beyond Chino Hills (Fontana, Riverside, etc.), who say they travel via Edison Ave. CM/Belanger stated that an HOV interconnect project is planned for the early part of 2000 which is designed to alleviate the 57/60 interchange traffic merge. The HOV lanes will be opened the early part of 1999. The project was delayed due to a redesign of the 60/71 interchange to accommodate seismic strengthening. With respect to a bypass road, he expected that the Four Corners study will recommend a connection between Carbon Canyon and Grand Ave. as a part of the solution. He pointed out that environmental groups are working diligently to assure that a bypass road is not constructed. The City continues to provide additional traffic control devices along D.B. Blvd. to allow residents to move in and out of their streets. Major roadway improvements are currently in design. The widening of D.B. Blvd. and Grand Ave. is not part of the City's Capitol Improvement Program. M/Herrera and C/Huff spoke about the committees that Council members are involved with in an attempt to mitigate the anticipated increase in automobile and truck traffic on the 60 fwy. which will impact D.B. C/Huff stated he has received verbal requests from residents for consideration of the following items: A traffic signal at Clear Creek Canyon Dr. and D.B. Blvd., change the turn pockets on D.B. Blvd. to favor the NOVEMBER 7, 1998 PAGE 15 TOWN HALL MEETING residents instead of the through traffic, provide an interconnect bus route from Chino Hills to Mt. San Antonio College and metrolink, increase school bus availability to decrease car traffic, and city -initiated traffic signal management. He asked staff to look at the possibility of installing a third lane from the SR 57/Grand Ave. exit easterly to Montefino Ave. with flexible barriers to allow emergency vehicle access east of Montefino Ave. C/O'Connor responded to Heather Zeroti that the traffic signal installations at Quail Summit Dr. and Montefino Ave. are to assist the residents and businesses in the area. MPT/Chang thanked residents for their participation. C/Ansari asked staff to look into the matter of using Crooked Creek Rd. exit for a student dropoff at Evergreen Elementary School, explore the current state of the real estate business with the City's brokers, pursue the issue of facilitating a joint meeting between the residents and First Mortgage, study the matter of ingress/egress on the south side of Grand Ave. between Montefino Ave. and the Lucky Center, and the issue of a traffic signal at Clear Creek Canyon Dr. She thanked citizens for their participation in the Town Hall meeting. M/Herrera thanked the residents for their valuable input. She stated that, while the City wishes to install signalization that favors its residents, she was concerned about through traffic blocking the streets due to shortened intervals. She reminded the public that Council .will be considering staffs recommendations for off-site parking as well as recommendations for mitigation of the D.B. Blvd./Grand Ave. traffic problems at its December 15 meeting. She thanked the audience members for their participation and recommendations. 7. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to conduct, M/Herrera adjourned the town hall meeting at 1:00 p.m. T,N DA BURGESS, City Clerk ATTEST: