Traffic & Transportation - Minutes July 19, 2006
Traffic and Transportation Commission July 19, 2006 7:00 PM City Council Chambers, 600 Elm Street, San Carlos, CA
APPROVED MINUTES
CHAIRPERSON: Jason Mansfield COMMISSION: Paul Spagnoli, Thomas Feledy, Kavita Mehta and Gail McPartland 1.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2.ROLL CALL 3.CHANGES TO THE ORDER OF AGENDA None. 4.APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes were corrected to reflect Commissioner McPartland did not attend the meeting. M/S Feledy/Spagnoli to approve the minutes of February 28, 2006, as corrected. Motion passed with McPartland abstaining. 5. COMMISSONERS REPORT Chairperson Mansfield reported attending school workshops and other local events related to bicycle parking and the bike map. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Presentation by staff and Spark Parking, Inc regarding paid parking technology Commissioners received an overview of cellular-based parking by Spark Parking. The company is a start-up based in San Francisco. The technology uses sensors at each parking space. Drivers park, note a space number, call a phone number to ‘register’ the space to their pre-paid, debit, or charge account. The parking fees are deducted from the account. The technology uses sensors, wireless, and centralized support to monitor space use. Police may be able to receive real-time reports to assist with parking enforcement. The estimated cost for a 5-year contract is $18,000 per 10 spaces. The service is being considered by Portland, Oregon, Palo Alto and Napa are also reviewing. Commissioners unanimously recommend staff review the service as a means of helping with parking enforcement. Staff should also consider surveying services Spark Parking might be able to undertake for the City. Commissioners do not recommend reviewing the service for paid parking until/unless a city-wide discussion can be undertaken on this subject. b. Review and discussion of the Traffic Engineer’s Report regarding Traffic Safety Analysis for the following intersections: 1) Laurel Street/Cherry Street 2) Laurel Street/Olive Street 3) Laurel Street/White Oak Way 4) Laurel Street/Belmont Ave Parviz Mokhtari, City Engineer, presented a safety analysis of the four intersections. The traffic volume and accidents do not warrant 4-way stop signs at any of the intersections. Recommendations moderate improvements at each intersection include clearly marked crosswalks and cross streets. Spagnoli clarified the creation of parallel parking spaces to increase visibility at the intersections. McPartland questioned whether the study reviewed other, non-vehicular issues such as visibility from side streets or pedestrian needs. The planters and diagonal parking on Laurel is perceived to limit visibility from side streets. Spagnoli agreed the planters might need to be moved. Mokhtari will review planter placement and plant height. McPartland also raised concerns the report is not responsive to community comments from the city council retreat. Dieter P., Cherry Street, asked if stop signs at intersections would reduce through traffic to side streets.
The Traffic and Transportation Commission unanimously voted to accept the report recommendations with added recommendations to review parallel parking spaces and planters. c. Review of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (B/PAC) recommendations for a citywide Pedestrian Safety Plan. Mokhtari presented a citywide conceptual safety plan that focuses on curb cuts for handicapped ramps and sidewalks. The plan will be presented to the City Council with staff recommendation to consider funding in future years. No action is required by the Commission. d. Election of Officers Commissioner Spagnoli was elected chair (M/S Mansfield/Feledy). Commissioner Feledy was elected vice-chair (M/S Spagnoli/Mehta) - PUBLIC COMMENT
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