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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/14/2013 - MINUTES - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING NOVEMBER 14, 2013 Chairman Mok called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the Diamond Bar City Hall Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Absent: Also Present: Vice Chair Mahlke led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioners Ted Carrera, Peter Pirritano, Vice Chairman Jen "Fred" Mahlke, Chairman Kenneth Mok Commissioner Liana Pincher was excused. David Liu, Public Works Director; Kimberly Young, Associate Engineer; Christian Malpica, Associate Engineer (Traffic), and Marcy Hilario, Administrative Coordinator. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A. Minutes of the October 10, 2013 Regular Meeting C/Carrera moved, C/Pirritano seconded, to approve the Minutes of the October 10, 2013 meeting as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Carrera, Pirritano, Chair/Mok NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: VC/Mahlke ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: Pincher 11. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Chair/Mok introduced Jesse Morton, an engineer with Parsons who has expressed an interest in traffic and transportation and is here to observe tonight's meeting. NOVEMBER 14, 2013 PAGE 2 T&T COMMISSION Ill. ITEMS FROM STAFF: A. Receive and File Traffic Enforcement Updates for: 1. Citations: August, September and October 2013. 2. Collisions: August, September and October 2013 3. Street Sweeping: August, September and October 2013 VC/Mahlke moved, C/Pirritano seconded, to receive and file the Traffic Enforcement Update reports for August, September and October 2013. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS NOES: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS IV. OLD BUSINESS: None V. NEW BUSINESS: None VI. STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS: Carrera, Pirritano, VC/Mahlke, Chair/Mok None Pincher C/Carrera asked for a follow up on the street sweeping inquiry. AE/Young responded that there. had been no further contact from the individual once staff explained that GIS data proved the sweepers were on his street as scheduled. VII. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS: None V10. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: A. CCTV Project AE/Malpica reported staff continues to work closely with its vendor and consultant to resolve some communication and possible damage issues north of Grand Avenue -to Temple Avenue. The communications contractor conducted a test on' all of the fiber optic cable runs, switches and cabinets to determine any possible damage. Staff received a report that there are some items that need to be remedied including copper cable that may have been damaged by planned power outages. Staff forwarded the report to the maintenance contractor and asked him to provide the City with a quote for NOVEMBER 14, 2013 PAGE 3 T&T COMMISSION C. I repair and if acceptable, the maintenance contractor will be asked to complete the repairs. Median Project at Grand Avenue and Summitridge Drive/Diamond Bar Boulevard at Silver Hawk AE/Malpica stated that the contractor commenced demolition work the week of November 4th. This week the contractor installed new cobblestone, curb and gutter, and temporary asphalt. Next week the contractor will lay the permanent asphalt, slurry seal, and restriping. This project is scheduled to be completed during the week of November 25 h, prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday. . - Chair/Mok stated that he noticed the contractor appeared to be further along on Grand Avenue and Summitridge Drive than on Diamond Bar Boulevard and Silver Hawk Drive, and wondered if one or two crews were working the two areas. AE/Malpica responded that :in the beginning, there were two crews. Currently, there is one only. The crews worked faster than anticipated on the project and one crew will be able to finish next week. C/Carrera asked if these were the only two locations scheduled for this fiscal year. AE/Malpica responded "yes." PWD/Liu explained that Diamond Bar Boulevard at Kiowa Crest Drive is another location that is scheduled for work and he believes there are two more on the list for this fiscal year. Traffic Signal Operation and Maintenance Master Plans AE/Malpica reported that staff continues to work with the City's consultant on this plan. Staff received the draft plan and comments were provided to the consultant to make certain that whatever the final recommendations are, the final plan -needs to include items that staff has agreed to and that are priorities. Diamond Bar Traffic:Responsive PlanlSystem AE/Malpica indicated that the system. is in place and activated. When the system reaches the 1000 vehicle threshold, it initializes the flash plan and replaces the time -of -day plans. Since its implementation in September, the systerh has.been triggered three times and has handled the traffic well. Chair/Mok asked if someone was managing the monitors upstairs should the system be triggered during tonight's meeting, as an example. PWD/Liu explained that on an hourly basis, if the number of vehicles per hour exceeds 1100, the special timing plan will automatically be initiated. As a point of reference, during typical peak -hour traffic at Grand Avenue and Diamond Bar Boulevard, the hourly volume is just shy of 1000. This program is automatic and does not require anyone to be present to manage it. C/Carrera asked how the traffic counts are taken. AE/Malpica explained that the system is able to catch speed and volume through the traffic sensor loops. NOVEMBER 14, 2013 [a PAGE 4 T&T COMMISSION NTMP — Castle Rock Road/Crooked Creek Drive Neighborhood AE/Malpica stated that the second neighborhood meeti.ng was held last evening. At that time, staff introduced a Phase 11 improvement concept that included speed cushions, traffic enforcement and signage. p The proposal was I well received. The next step is to get the petition with signatures of at least 67 percent of impacted residents, the minimum r6qVired to moue' forward with the proposed improvements. Once the signatures have beenobtained and the petition presented to the City, staff will discuss the design concept plan with the consultant. Residents will be presented with the detailed design plan at the third neighborhood meeting. Once approved, the concept plan construction will move forward. i. C/Carrera commended PWD/Liu and AE/Malpica for the way they handled the Neighborhood Traffic Management Meetings and how they Were able to focus a somewhat contentious group on options that are available, how the process is implemented and what the expected results are. - F. ACE Fairway Drive Grade Separation Project, AE/Malpica reported that staff attended an ACE meeting on Tuesday, November 12th for an update on the construction schedule. The right-of-way certification will be done in March 2014; the project will be advertised in July 2014; the construction contract will be approved November/December 2014; and construction is set to commence early April 2015 or June 2015. The construction period is estimated to be 42 months. One of the stipulations is that a temporary or permanent traffic signal at Walnut Avenue and Lemon Avenue will need to be installed. The City's traffic consultant conducted a warrant study and determined that the proposed intersection would require a full sized traffic signal at the T -Intersection. The next step will be to determine whether the City wants to move forward with a full-sized traffic signal which will require a discussion with ACE about design and budget. ACE is anticipating having the intersection traffic signal installed by December 2015. AENoung stated that there is a proposal to install a partial diamond interchange at Lemon Avenue that consists of an SR -60 westbound on-ramp and eastbound off and on-ramp, which will result in the closure of the existing SR -60 eastbound on and off -ramp at Brea Canyon Road. Area businesses addressed their concerns to ACE regarding Fairway Drive access north and south once the grade separation closes the road. In an attempt to alleviate those concerns AC ' E relayed that Diamond Bar is installing on and off ramps at Lemon Avenue so businesses should be able to get freeway access at that location. However, staff had to make certain that *the WB on and EB off ramps would be constructed before Fairway Drive is closed to traffic. Therefore, as part of the Tuesday meeting, the two project schedules were coordinated. If everything moves ahead smoothly for the Lemon Avenue Interchange project with respect to the right-of-way acquisitions-, staff anticipates that construction will begin in 2015. Also, as part of the phasing of the project, the Phase I NOVEMBER 14, 2013 PAGE 5 T&T COMMISSION requirement for the contractor will be to construct the westbound on-ramp and eastbound off -ramp first, which would give businesses the access they need once Fairway Drive closes for the Grade Separation Project. That being said, the ACE project specs will include the statement that Fairway Drive cannot be. closed until April 2015, which staff believes will be more than enough time for the contractor to complete the Phase I Lemon Avenue improvements. Beginning in 2015 and forward, for about three years, the community will certainly feel impacts by these projects; however, once these major capital improvement projects are completed, the overall circulation and traffic flow through the City of Diamond Bar will be much better. Staff will be working very closely with the public information staff and Caltrans to make sure. that people understand it may be a challenge driving through Diamond Bar. G. Area 1 B/Zone 7 Roadway Maintenance Project AENoung stated she was pleased to announce that this prpjetct,h,as,:bpiEm completed. The deficient striping along Quail Summit Drive waijr6p'60-rre'd with a third coat of striping and the deficient striping on Mountain Laurel Way, * y, east of Diamond Bar Boulevard, was repaired with a full slurry sea[ and restripb. All punch list items have been completed. Staff is reviewing the final invoice and, once approved, a notice of completion will go to City Council on December 3`d H. Southern California Edison Infrastructure Upgrades AENoung reported that the civil phase of the project has been completed with the trenching and installation of the conduits. Staff received word from Edison that they will begin pulling cable through the conduits next week. Scheduling indicates that this is at least a three week project for all of the neighborhoods including Mountain Laurel Way, a small portion of Maple Hill Road near the elementary school, and the Sunset Crossing Road/Minnequa Drive neighborhood surrounding Diamond Point Elementary School. Once the cable' pull phase is completed, the contractor will go back into the Sunset Crossing Road neighborhood and slurry seal over the areas of the street that are identified by an inspector and restripe all crosswalks and stop legends. No slurry seal was required in the neighborhoods surrounding Chaparral and Maple Hill Middle Schools at this time because this is part of next summer's, road maintenance project. At that time, the entire neighborhood will receive.' specific road treatment based on the condition at that time. Chair/Mok asked if the power always goes off in areas of work when Edison is on-site. AENoung responded not necessarily. For example, when Edison is on-site next week, they will be pulling cable in the conduit. The switch -over will not be done until a later time, after Edison has been able to notify residents that power will be shut off. Residents and business are notified prior to any planned power outages. PWD/Liu added that when Edison feels the needs of the residents require continuous service, they bring in emergency generators to assist with the residential needs. NOVEMBER 14, 2013 PAGE 6 T&T COMMISSION IX. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS: As stated in the agenda. PWD/Liu explained that the December 3rd City Council meeting location is scheduled for the AQMD; however, if the Auditorium is not ready, the meeting will be held in the Windmill Room at Diamond Bar City Hall. In addition, the newest Council Member, Nancy Lyons, will be sworn in on December 3rd and outgoing Council Member Ron Everett will be recognized for his service. Chair/Mok wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday and Happy Hanukkah. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chair/Mok adjourned the meeting at 7:38 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this ! -rd day of Af,,IIAA-, 2014. Respectfully, a 1i D d 6. L I -u-, S ��e a r y vi Attest: airman Kenneth Mok