TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Ted Semaan, Interim Public Works Director
Gilbert Gamboa, Acting City Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving Amendment No. 5 to the Professional Services Agreement with KOA Corporation for Additional Traffic Engineering Support Services in the Amount of $20,000 for the Manhattan Beach Boulevard at Pacific Avenue Intersection Improvements Project. (Budgeted) (Interim Public Works Director Semaan).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 25-0088
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve Amendment No. 5 to the Professional Services Agreement with KOA Corporation for additional traffic engineering support services in the amount of $20,000 for the Manhattan Beach Boulevard at Pacific Avenue Intersection Improvements Project.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Sufficient funds of $20,000 are available within the Measure M Fund for Amendment No. 5 to the Professional Services Agreement with KOA Corporation (KOA) for additional traffic engineering support services for the Manhattan Beach Boulevard at Pacific Avenue Intersection Improvements Project. There are no additional fiscal implications for the project at this time.
BACKGROUND:
Manhattan Beach Boulevard (MBB) currently provides two westbound travel lanes at Pacific Avenue. Two westbound travel lanes merge west of Pacific Avenue into one through lane. The merging length is only about 60 feet between Pacific and Laurel Avenues. Due to the high demand of westbound through traffic, especially during the peak commuting periods (7-9 AM and 4-6 PM), vehicles are queued into the first westbound through lane when blocked by the left-turn vehicles and tend to switch to the second westbound through lane by suddenly speeding up/slowing down within the short merging area. This causes safety concerns and disturbs the traffic flow with sudden stop-and-go traffic patterns. The residents who live near this intersection frequently experience loud speeding/braking noises and witness traffic accidents.
In September 2022, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) awarded the City a $1,200,000 grant through the South Bay Measure M Multi-Year Sub-Regional - Transportation System & Mobility Improvements Program. These funds will be paid by LACMTA to the City on a reimbursement basis. The City was not required to provide any matching funds for the project. The grant amount is anticipated to cover the entire cost of engineering design and construction.
In May 2023, the City Council approved the funding agreement and appropriation, and the LACMTA staff subsequently executed the final funding agreement.
In June 2023, the City amended a Professional Services Agreement with KOA Corporation to advance the development of preliminary design concepts for the project. KOA subsequently prepared preliminary design concepts and presented multiple alternatives for City staff review.
In July 2023, the City Council discussed the initial concepts concerning overall consistency with the City’s traffic approach, reduction of lanes and parking on MBB, and the addition of bike lanes, all leading to a “road diet” traffic improvement approach. City Council continued the item and directed staff to return at a future City Council meeting with other design alternatives.
In December 2023, City staff presented five conceptual design alternatives to the Parking and Public Improvements Commission (PPIC) for review and recommendation. Following the discussion, the PPIC voted to advance three proposed options for further consideration.
DISCUSSION:
The scope of this project is to improve the merging area along Manhattan Beach Boulevard at Pacific Avenue by reducing congestion, improving safety, supporting community mobility, and ensuring smoother traffic flow through a reconfiguration of the intersection layout.
Building on the direction from the City Council and the PPIC, the current project phase focuses on refining and evaluating final conceptual design alternatives in response to feedback on the initial concepts. Following this evaluation, staff determined that additional alternatives warranted further study. In collaboration with KOA, staff has identified three final conceptual design alternatives for further analysis. Amendment No. 5 to KOA’s agreement proposes the development and evaluation of these three alternatives, including a traffic simulation analysis comparing existing conditions with each of the proposed concepts.
A traffic simulation analysis involves creating a virtual road network and simulating traffic flow to see how different factors affect traffic conditions. This helps us understand how traffic behaves, predict congestion, and test solutions for traffic problems.
The following conceptual design alternatives are included in Amendment No. 5:
Scenario A:
• MBB split signal phases (east-west opposed phasing);
• Left-turn lane (pockets) to be installed on the southbound and northbound approaches;
• An eastbound bike lane and westbound sharrows to be provided;
• The westbound through lanes continue to merge west of the intersection;
• The parking on MBB is maintained on the north side past the merge area and the south side;
• A crosswalk is to be installed on the west leg of the intersection;
• Two northwest corner ADA access ramps are to be installed without a northwest corner bulb-out; and
• Two southwest corner ADA access ramps are to be installed with an adjusted design southwest corner bulb-out.
Scenario B:
• Left-turn lane (pockets) to be installed on the westbound, southbound, and northbound approaches;
• An eastbound bike lane and westbound sharrows to be provided;
• The westbound through lanes are to merge east of the intersection;
• The MBB parking to be maintained through 10-foot lane widths being used (including a 4-foot bike lane eastbound and sharrows westbound);
• A crosswalk to be installed on the west leg of the intersection;
• Two access ramps to be installed on the northwest corner without a corner bulb-out; and
• Two access ramps to be installed on the southwest corner with a corner bulb-out.
Scenario C:
• Left-turn lane (pockets) to be installed on the westbound, eastbound, southbound, and northbound approaches;
• The westbound through lanes are to merge east of the intersection;
• A crosswalk is to be installed on the west leg of the intersection;
• Two access ramps are to be installed on the northwest corner without a corner bulb-out; and
• Two access ramps to be installed on the southwest corner with a corner bulb-out.
After the traffic simulation analysis is completed, staff will develop a recommendation for the City Council to consider. Once a preferred alternative is selected and approved by the City Council, the consultant will move forward with detailed design and the preparation of construction documents to facilitate a formal bidding process in 2026.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Public outreach was conducted during the planning phase of the Project to inform the public of the proposed improvements, especially with the community adjacent and most directly affected by the project improvements. This included a community meeting on April 20, 2023, a City Council meeting on July 5, 2023, a PPIC meeting on December 7, 2023, a community meeting on June 19, 2024, and emails and phone calls between the City staff and the community. Regular updates were also provided on the Project website.
Additional public outreach will be conducted during the design process. All public comments and recommendations regarding the intersection design and equipment details will be considered, as appropriate, during the design phase. Targeted outreach will occur before the start of construction for residents and businesses located near and/or adjacent to construction activities.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
City staff has reviewed the proposed Project for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and determined that the Project qualifies for a Class 1(c) categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the State CEQA Guidelines, since the Project focuses on the existing intersection improvement, involving no expansion of public facilities. The detailed improvements for this project will be developed and refined during the design phase. As part of that process, the project will be evaluated in more detail based on the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 25-0088
2. Amendment No. 5 - KOA Corporation
3. Agreement and Amendment Nos. 1 to 4 - KOA Corporation
4. Location Map