Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/13/2011 CITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING JANUARY 13, 2011 CALL TO ORDER: Chairman House 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:Vice Chair Pincher led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Also Present: Commissioners Ted Carrera, Jimmy Lin, Kenneth Mok, Vice Chair Liana Pincher and Chair Kevin House David Liu, Public Works Director; Rick Yee, Senior Engineer; Kimberly Molina, Associate Engineer; Christian Malpica-Perez, Associate Engineer (Traffic), and Marcy Hilario, Senior Administrative Assistant I.APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A.Minutes of the December 9, 2010 regular meeting. C/Lin moved, C/Carrera seconded, to approve the December 9, 2010 minutes as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES:COMMISSIONERS:Carrera, Lin, Mok, VC/Pincher, Chair/House NOES:COMMISSIONERS:None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS:None II.PUBLIC COMMENTS:None III.ITEMS FROM STAFF: A.Received and Filed Traffic Enforcement Updates for: 1.Citations:October, November and December 2010 2.Collisions:October, November and December 2010 3.Street Sweeping:October, November and December 2010 JANUARY 13, 2011PAGE 2T&T COMMISSION IV.OLD BUSINESS:None V.NEW BUSINESS: A.Citywide Speed Zone Survey Update — SE/Yee SE/Yee presented staffs report and recommended that the Traffic and Transportation Commission concur with staff to forward the attached speed zone survey update to the City Council for adoption and amendment of the City's Municipal Code. C/Carrera asked if he understood correctly that staff concluded that the vertical change on Brea Canyon Road outweighs the navigation around the railroad crossings with respect to speed because he would assume the opposite to be true. .SE/Yee explained that the reason for a reduced speed limit is due to a reduced line of sight from a vertical perspective. In response to C/Carrera, SE/Yee stated that based on the criteria and approach used in the study, the accidents reported are mid-block accidents because the speed limit changes are intended to address mid-block accidents. At intersections, the traffic signals are intended to address intersection-related accidents. There was no analysis of the cause or conditions related to the accidents. The data was collected and accident rates were used to render the judgments. Chair/House pointed out a couple of instances where the accident rate was twice the norm. PWD/Liu responded that staff would look at the back-up information, look into the accident reports, and talk with the Sheriff's Department as well as the traffic engineer to make sure that all issues are comprehensively addressed. If improvements are needed or recommended in certain areas, staff would bring those back to the Commission for discussion. C/Lin stated that the accident rate is actually very low according to the report because the accident rate is one per one million. By roll call vote, Commissioners unanimously concurred with staff to forward the attached speed zone survey update to the City Council for adoption and amendment of the City's Municipal Code. VI. STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS: SE/Yee stated that at the last commission meeting, VC/Pincher asked about the speed limit along Brea Canyon Road. He stated that even though the speed limit is 40 mph, the requirement for roadways adjacent to schools is 25 mph which is in effect during school hours and enforced by the Sheriff's Department. JANUARY 13, 2011PAGE 3T&T COMMISSION VII. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS: VC/Pincher shared that driving to tonight's meeting, she observed there is a "no right on red" sign at Brea Canyon Road at Pathfinder Road traveling west on Pathfinder Road and she wondered if it was a new permanent sign or temporary sign during construction. AE/Molina responded that the sign was posted to accommodate construction. Once the contractor begins work on the Brea Canyon Road Catch Basin Project, they will close the No. 2 lane on Brea Canyon Road and the right-turn only lane on WB Pathfinder Road at Brea Canyon Road. VC/Pincher stated that neighbors of hers as well as her husband are concerned about what they perceive to be a considerable increase in what they believe to be cut- through traffic. They also expressed concerns regarding observing a Metro Bus traveling along northbound Brea Canyon Road approaching Pathfinder Road at peak hours. PWD/Liu said he believed Metro had an express line that comes from Brea Mall which exits at Brea Canyon Road and returns to the SR-57 north from Pathfinder Road. This bus stops at the park-and-ride lot in the morning and evening. PWD/Liu was not aware of additional cut-through traffic; however, he said that staff would look into the matter and report back to the Commission. C/Mok asked if there was an update on the landslide mitigation along Sunset Crossing Road. He wondered if, with the recent rains, there had been damage to City streets or additional mudslides. AE/Molina responded that repair of the Sunset Crossing Road/Minnequa Drive landslide area is progressing. The first row of tiebacks was completed on the upper bench and will begin the second row of tiebacks on the lower bench next week. Due to the significant amount of rainfall throughout the holidays, the schedule was pushed back a couple of weeks and full repair is now anticipated for March. The homes will remain red-tagged until the Building Official can evaluate the homes to assess what needs to be done to remove the red tags. Regarding additional mudslides, there was one significant hillside that eroded onto Diamond Bar Boulevard on December 23rd. Crews were dispatched at 3:30 a.m.and cleaned up the roadway. The No, 2 lane on Diamond Bar Boulevard between Grand Avenue and Steep Canyon Road was closed for most of the day; however, crews were able to open the road by afternoon rush hour. There are several private properties throughout the City that experienced hillside erosion and staff is monitoring those issues. Property owners have been notified by letter from the City. Since the erosion took place on private property, it is the responsibility of each landowner to repair their hillsides. With respect to the other damage to City streets, the City has experienced pavement issues on some streets such as Sylvan Glen Road and Armitos Place, both of which will be repaired. PWD/Liu stated that due to lack of funds, Caltrans has been unable to properly mitigate the damage to the right-of-way slope abutting Golden Springs Drive at the north end of the City limits. Staff continues its efforts to get Caltrans to respond. Chair/House stated that D.B. streets are very well maintained in comparison to other cities in the area. JANUARY 13, 2011PAGE 4T&T COMMISSION VIII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: A.Traffic Signal Battery Backup System Project— AE/Malpica-Perez reported that the City's traffic consultant completed the configuration of the existing eleven (11) battery backup systems, which gives staff the ability to gain full access via the web browser. Staff continues to work with the BBS manufacturer and the City's IS Department to set up a paging/alarm system to advise staff when the unit kicks in during the event of a power outage. As part of the 2011 BBS Project, eleven (11) additional locations will be equipped with BBS units. Staff received three (3) proposals for the design and construction management services. Based on the evaluations, staff will be recommending KOA-CBM Consulting as the most qualified traffic engineering consultant to provide these services. Staff anticipates taking the contract to Council for award in February. B.Industry's Grand Avenue Bridge Widening/Interchange Project— SE/Yee reported that there had not been much activity since the last Commission meeting, except an update on a meeting scheduled for staff in the middle of February. C.SR57160 Feasibility Study — SE/Yee explained that there has not been a lot of movement on this project during the past month. Staff is considering opportunities for grant funds to help pay for a planning study in order to move the missing connectors portion of the Big Fix. D.Environmental Enhancement Mitigation (EEM) Improvement Project — SE/Yee explained that there have been plantings along Golden Springs Drive between Adel Avenue and Gateway Center Drive, across from the local Caltrans maintenance yard. The contractor is responsible for replacements during the three year maintenance period. The plantings on Brea Canyon Road and Via Sorella have presented some difficulty and staff hopes to see more activity in that area in March. E.NTMP — Briar Creek Road/Decorah Road Neighborhood/Willow Creek Neighborhood — SE/Yee stated that since meeting with the neighborhood last month, the design work is near completion but because of the immediate proximity of Willow Creek Road, staff felt it was necessary to collaborate and cooperate with these projects and the residents have been notified of that intention. Staff has a consultant that is working on a concept plan for the Willow Creek Neighborhood traffic calming effort. F.Lemon Avenue On/Off-Ramp Project — AE/Molina reported that the next project development team meeting will be held Thursday, January 20th, at which time there will be updates from the designer. The full project design should be completed by the end of the month. G.Residential Area - 7/Zone 5 Road Maintenance Project— AE/Molina stated that this week staff had a kick-off meeting with the consultant design team from Onward Engineering and provided direction for commencing with the design. The consultant anticipates having the design completed by March or April so that staff can go out to bid and award a contract prior to the end of this fiscal year. JANUARY 13, 2011PAGE 5T&T COMMISSION H. Brea Canyon Road Drainage Improvement Project — AE/Molina indicated that, in accordance with her last report, work was anticipated to begin on January 3rd• However, due to heavy rains, the contractor was called to an emergency project in Riverside and because rain was in the forecast for last week, it was in the best interest to postpone work until this week. Crews were on-site at the beginning of the week; however, as they began to lay out their removals, they discovered conflicts which prompted small redesigns. These have been completed so that work can begin next Monday. 2010-2011 CDBG Curb Ramp Project — AE/Molina reported that this is a three-neighborhood project. The first neighborhood is the Adel/Gerndal neighborhood, located south of Golden Springs Drive and east of Brea Canyon Road. The second neighborhood is the Calbourne neighborhood, located north of Golden Springs Drive off of Calbourne Drive, on the western City limit, and the third neighborhood is the Golden Prados neighborhood, located north of Golden Springs Drive, off of Golden Prados Drive and Sabana Drive (near the Diamond Bar Golf Course). Approximately 40 curb ramps are anticipated to be completed. Currently, the majority of these neighborhoods have few or no curb ramps; therefore, most of the 40 ramps will be new ramps with only a few ramps subject to rehab. The bid opening was on December 21st• The City received 16 bids. The engineer's estimate was $80,800 and the low bidder came in at $62,000. The next highest bid was $69,000, with a significant number of bids coming in below the engineer's estimate. The low bidder is CJ Construction and a contract will be presented to the City Council for approval on January 18th. Staff is on a tight schedule to complete this project and expend the funds in accordance with the CDC's requirement, so staff anticipates all work being completed no later than the end of February, if possible. C/Lin asked if the City would have to return any overage to CDC for CDBG funds received. AE/Molina explained that staff was including an approximate 25% contingency which is the highest possible amount without a contract amendment. If Council approves the contingency amount, staff will authorize a change order to add more curb ramps to the neighborhoods so that the City can fully expend the funds. C/Lin asked how staff would decide what additional ramps would be done. AE/Molina responded that all ramps have to be within the neighborhoods approved by the CDC. Staff would take into consideration the current design and include any other areas in those neighborhoods that can be upgraded. This would allow the ability to add ramps that were not previously identified. PWD/Liu stated that the design for the Traffic Signal Installation Project at SR- 57 on-off ramps at Brea Canyon Cutoff are complete. Staff will advertise the project beginning next week. We are hopeful that within the next two to three months, there will be signalization providing improvements to motorists for the ramps. PWD/Liu reported that last Tuesday, staff was visited by representatives from the Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans to review the City's records JANUARY 13, 2011PAGE 6T&T COMMISSION and documentation for stimulus funds that were received two years ago. Based on their review, D.B. is the third City in California to receive a gold star and a one-word statement that the City's documentation was "excellent." There were 300 projects reviewed in the State of California and D.B. was the third City to receive the gold star. He offered kudos to AE/Molina and the consultants who worked on that project. IX.SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS:As stated in the agenda. PWD/Liu asked that Commissioners who plan to attend the Snowfest event place themselves near the stage at 11:00 a.m. for the welcome speech and arrival of Flurry, the sled penguin. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chair/House adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 1(0-111 day of re6RAJARy , 2011. Respectfully, David G. Liu, Secretary Attest: Ch rman Kevin House