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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/11/2013 - MINUTES - Regular MeetingCITY OF DIAMOND BAR MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING JULY 11, 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. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Chairman Mok led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Ted Carrera, Liana Pincher, Peter Pirritano, Vice Chairman Jen "Fred" Mahlke, Chairman Kenneth Mok Also Present: David Liu, Public Works Director; Christian Malpica, Associate Engineer (Traffic), and Stella Marquez, Administrative Coordinator. I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A. Minutes of the May 9, 2013 Regular Meeting C/Carrera moved, VC/Mahlke seconded, to approve the Minutes of the May 9, 2013 meeting as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Carrera, Pirritano, VC/Mahlke, I Chair/Mok NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: Pincher ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None Il. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Adam Sakowitz, 23670 Monument Canyon Drive - Unit C, presented the Commission with Section 8.13 of the California Vehicle Code 40245 — Parking Violations during Street Sweeping. Mr. Sakowitz said that his interpretation of the Code is that a vehicle should not be ticketed if it is parked in the street sweeping lane after the sweeper has already been there because it does not cause an impediment to the street sweeper. Furthermore, if a street sweeper is not coming at all, even if it is on a scheduled day, he asked how any vehicle be an impediment to the street sweeper. He has lived in his home for over one year and has seen the street sweeper only one time. The reason he is bringing this matter to the JULY 11, 2013 PAGE 2 T&T COMMISSION Commission is that he and others have been getting ticketed for a non-existent street sweeper. PWD/Liu responded that the established City policy is consistent with the intent of the state's legislation. The signage on the residential streets specifies the timeframe (hours) during which the street sweeping operation takes place. From a practical perspective, in order to not impede the street sweeping operation, the parking enforcement officer comes before the street sweeper and does not follow the street sweeper. Unless he determines that the vehicle is impeding the street sweeper, the parking officer will cite the vehicle owner for that violation. While the street signage specifies the number of hours, once the street sweeper has left the area, the parking becomes immediately available on the residential street. Street sweeping is done on a bi-weekly schedule that is fairly regular except during December and January when it becomes a weekly schedule. The street sweeping driver is very experienced and very familiar with the condition of the streets and the parking enforcement officer only issues tickets when he sees vehicles obstructing the street sweeping operation. Staff is willing to discuss this matter further with the speaker. In addition, the City has an exempt policy for many different reasons including special needs and special circumstances. Any such requests are forwarded to the parking enforcement agency to consider waiving the citation. Chair/Mok stated that the Commission is not in a position to discuss or make any decisions this evening on public comment items. He asked the speaker to clarify that he has seen the street sweeper only one time and asked at what time of the day the speaker observed the street sweeper. Mr. Sakowitz reiterated that during the past year of living at his residence he has seen the street sweeper only once on Wednesday at about 11:00 a.m. He offered the Commission photographic evidence that the same trash and debris was on the street on Wednesday afternoon. C/Pincher asked what street the speaker lives on and he responded Monument Canyon Drive. C/Pincher asked if the speaker lives in a residence, condominium or apartment complex and the speaker responded that there are condos on both sides of the street and at the top of the block are single family residences. C/Pincher asked if his street is swept on alternating days to accommodate parking and the speaker responded that C/Pincher was correct. C/Pincher asked if the speaker knew the posted hours for each side. The speaker responded that he believed that on Wednesday the hours were 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Thursday the hours are 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. C/Carrera asked if the parking enforcement officer knew the exact route of the street sweepers. PWD/Liu responded that the CSO that enforces parking restrictions on street sweeping days has been with the Sheriff's Department since the inception of the street sweeping program and that he understands the program and the practices. In addition, he has a working relationship with the driver of the street sweeper and in the event of any changes both individuals coordinate the changes in advance. Diamond Bar wants clean streets and the goal is to provide standards that residents expect from the street sweeping service. From time to time, there could be exceptions, such as illness and substitute driver. PWD/Liu said that he and other JULY 11, 2013 PAGE 3 . T&T COMMISSION staff members have followed the sweeper to see how the service is operating. Again, the City wants to have a street sweeping program that is effective and makes sense. PWD/Liu added that he would be happy to look at the photographs and follow up with the street sweeper. C/Carrera said he could not speak for Monument Canyon Drive; however, on his street, he has personally witnessed on many occasions the CSO precede the street sweeper almost within five to six minutes of one another. VC/Mahlke thanked the speaker for his presentation. She asked the speaker what he hoped the City could do for him. Mr. Sakowitz responded that the City needs to establish effective street sweeping and he would not be present objecting to the citations if that service was actually occurring. It has been his observation that the service is not being provided and that is a failure of local government. Secondly, he is paying for the service and the one time about a year ago that he did observe the street sweeper, the parking enforcement officer was directly ahead of the street sweeper. However, he has seen people get citations on their vehicles when there is no street sweeper in sight. He received two citations last month. He appealed the first citation; however, he was denied. The second citation has not yet been paid or appealed because he wanted to come to the Commission meeting this evening for further guidance. He knows there is no street sweeper and does not believe he and others should have to pay for citations under the Code. Mr. Sakowitz asked what he should do about the citations. Chair/Mok reiterated that the Commission could not make a determination this evening based on public testimony. Chair/Mok added that he appreciated the speaker's presentation and asked him to leave his information with staff. PWD/Liu explained that Mr. Sakowitz needs to follow the instructions on the citation and if he feels he has a valid case, he needs to file an appeal. PWD/Liu said he would discuss the matter with the parking enforcement officer. ITEMS FROM STAFF: A. Receive and File Traffic Enforcement Updates for: 1 Citations: April, May and June 2013 2. Collisions: April, May and June 2013 3. Street Sweeping: April, May and June 2013 C/Carrera stated that he noticed at least a hundred fewer street sweeping citations this year than there were in previous years. VC/Mahlke moved, C/Pirritano seconded, to receive and file the Traffic Enforcement Update reports for April, May and June 2013. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: JULY 11, 2013 PAGE 4 T&T COMMISSION AYES NOES: ABSENT IV. OLD BUSINESS: V. NEW BUSINESS: COMMISSIONERS COMMISSIONERS COMMISSIONERS None Carrera, Pincher, Pirritano, VC/Mahlke, Chair/Mok None None A. Received and Filed Video Presentation regarding SR57/60 Confluence Project PWD/Liu presented a four minute professionally produced video that presents facts and statistics to explain both the urgency and the immediate need for the SR -57/60 Interchange improvements as well as, the $265 million multi -phase plan for this bottleneck area where 17 lanes of traffic are condensed into 14 lanes at Grand Avenue. C/Carrera moved, VC/Malke seconded, to receive and file the Video Presentation regarding the SR -57/60 Confluence Project. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: Carrera, Pincher, Pirritano, VC/Mahlke, Chair/Mok NOES: COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: None B. Received and Filed Updated Five Year (FY 2013-14 through FY 2017-18) Capital Improvement Plan PWD/Liu explained that the updated Five -Year Capital Improvement Plan identifies and coordinates the financing and timing of public improvements in Diamond Bar. By considering all of the projects at a single time in this planning document, the City has a more comprehensive view of its capital needs. Projects can also be better coordinated and financed through the use of this five-year document. Furthermore, this five-year CIP plan provides the means for the City to determine capital priorities and continuity in carrying them out. Project selection is based on citizen input, data from the pavement management program, comprehensive infrastructure management plan, the Parks Master Plan, City Council priorities, and General Plan goals as well as, information from staff and public. The 62 listed projects represents an investment of about $31 million over the five year plan. Of that amount, 5.7 percent ($1,766,377) is expected to be paid out of the City's General Fund. All projects slated from year 2 through 5 do not receive any expenditure authority JULY 11, 2013 PAGE 5 T&T COMMISSION until they are allocated funding in the CIP budget for that specific fiscal year. PWD/Liu highlighted and explained some of the proposed projects. C/Pincher spoke about the proposed Morning Canyon Road project and asked if the cost included removal of the pine trees. PWD/Liu responded affirmatively that removal costs were included in the projected budget. C/Pincher said that her Certified Arborist gardener stated that many cities were including Australian Willows which are hearty, require little water and once established, do not corrupt the sidewalks and streets. C/Carrera asked how reliable and solid the funding was for the non General Fund revenues anticipated for some of these projects. PWD/responded that staff feels very comfortable and strongly about the funding sources as well as, the estimates provided in the document. C/Pirritano moved, VC/Mahlke seconded, to receive and file the Updated Five - Year (FY 2013-14 through FY 2017-18) Capital Improvement Plan. Motion carried by the following Roll Call vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS VI. STATUS OF PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS: Carrera, Pincher, Pirritano, VC/MahIke, Chair/Mok None None AE/Malpica responded to C/Carrera's observation about the signal at Diamond Bar Boulevard and Maple Hill Drive that he mentioned at the last meeting. There are two possible scenarios — one, that the camera needed adjusting and two, that a push button may have gone bad. In fact, after reviewing field conditions, making field assessments and requesting that the traffic signal maintenance contractor look at the issue, staff discovered that in fact, one of the push buttons was damaged. Once it was s repaired, further monitoring of the intersection revealed that the problem was resolved. VII. ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS: C/Carrera stated his big concern during a recent power failure at the intersection of Diamond Bar Boulevard and Grand Avenue was that power had not been restored by 4:30-5:00 p.m., during rush hour. He asked if there was a protocol for having a live officer monitor or conduct traffic control at such intersections. PWD/Liu responded that, in any given situation when there is a power outage or any such major incident, the Sheriff's Department will dispatch a deputy or deputies. In this instance, because it was a widespread outage, the Sheriff's Department had many issues including false alarms. JULY 11, 2013 PAGE 6 T&T COMMISSION AE/Malpica explained that the intersection has a battery backup system. In the morning, the battery backup system was operational and provided a red flash. Chair/Mok asked who to call in the event City Hall is closed and one of the Commissioners witnesses a problem. PWD/Liu responded that depending on the conditions, the traffic management system detects problems and provides alerts and emails to staff's cell phones. If Chair/Mok is talking about red flash conditions, staff is already being made aware. There are logs provided for all conditions and the timing of those conditions in the event of power outages, etc. so that staff can determine whether the situation needs mitigation. If the matter is safety related, staff advises that anyone immediately call the Sheriff's, Department and follow up with staff, if necessary. VIII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: A. CCTV Project. AE/Malpica reported that the City is currently experiencing bandwidth shortage and some of the images are not coming through. Staff is working with the vendor to remedy this situation by replacing some of the copper lines with fiber optics cable. Once replaced, staff will test the equipment to make certain that the video feedback is fully operational and staff can then take the notice of completion to the City Council. B. Median Project at Grand Avenue and Summitridge Drive/Diamond Bar Boulevard at Silver Hawk Drive. AE/Malpica explained that staff has been working closely with its consultants on the plans and specs. The project will be advertised by early August with possible contract approval by the City Council in late August/early September. Construction is anticipated to begin by the end of September, 2013.. C. Traffic Signal Operation and Maintenance Master Plans. AE/Malpica stated that staff continues to work with the consultant to finalize the report. The consultant recommended that the testing and implementation of some recommendations be done when school resumes. This will provide staff with better information on actual conditions to help formulate the best recommendations and implementation of the plan. D. ACE Fairway Drive Grade Separation Project AE/Malpica reported that this project is being managed by ACE (Alameda Corridor East). The purpose of this project is to lower the traffic lanes below the two existing Union Pacific Railroad track and Metrolink track in the City of Industry and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County immediately north of the SR -60. The three-year project will include a four -lane roadway underpass JULY 11, 2013 PAGE 7 T&T COMMISSION with retaining walls, some new railroad bridges and one possible future freight rail track. The City's traffic consultant will be reviewing the Traffic Management Plan (TMP) to mitigate traffic flow issues for Diamond Bar. E. Residential Area 1 B/Arterial Zone 7 Road Maintenance Project. PWD/Liu reported that this annual slurry seal project is slated for Residential Area 1 B and Arterial Zone 7. This project is bounded by the SR -57/60 to the north and Grand Avenue and Diamond Bar Boulevard to the south and includes a neighborhood that surrounds Quail Summit Elementary School. Arterial Zone 7 includes Golden Springs Drive between Lavender Drive and Brea Canyon Road, and on Diamond Bar Boulevard between Brea Canyon Road and Brea Canyon Cutoff at the south end of the City. Work will begin the week of July 22nd on the streets immediately surrounding Quail Summit Elementary School in order to avoid traffic conflicts when the school session resumes. Work hours will be from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The project is anticipated to be completed by mid-September. F. Southern California Edison (SCE) Infrastructure Upgrades. PWD/Liu conveyed that SCE recently started major infrastructure improvements in three neighborhoods:. 1) Sunset Crossing neighborhood between Diamond Bar Boulevard and Golden Springs Drive at the north end of the City; 2) Mountain Laurel Drive neighborhood between Diamond Bar Boulevard out toward Butternut Way; and 3) Maple Hill Drive neighborhood near Blenburry Drive. SCE will be trenching, installing conduit and repaving the street with a construction timeframe of between 8 to 10 weeks. Following consultation, the City agreed that in addition to the typical five-day work week (Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) they would be allowed to work on Saturdays (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) in order to complete the work prior to the commencement of the school year. These infrastructure upgrades are essential to eliminating the unplanned power outages that the City has been experiencing during the past couple of years. AE/Malpica advised the Commissioners that this weekend, beginning Friday night at 10:00 p.m., there will be major work taking place on the westbound SR -60 that involves four 55 -hour lane closures. In addition, the following weekend there will be a four-hour closure on the westbound SR60 from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Staff is working closely with Caltrans and the Sheriff's Department to address potential truck traffic concerns. PWD/Liu added that in addition to the partial closure starting tomorrow night and going into the weekend, the connector from the northbound SR - 57 to the westbound SR -60 will be closed and potentially, some of the City's streets and intersections could be impacted. The City's website has pertinent information regarding this project. JULY 11, 2013 PAGE 8 T&T COMMISSION IX. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE CITY EVENTS: As stated in the agenda. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Traffic and Transportation Commission, Chair/Mok adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this V14 day of AuL&UST _, 2013. Respectfully, David G. iu, Secretary Attest: Chair- an Kenneth Mok