TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Works Director
Katherine Doherty, City Engineer
Helen Shi, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of the Preliminary Design Concept for the Manhattan Beach Boulevard at Pacific Avenue Improvements Project; and a Determination of Exemption Pursuant to Section 15301 (Class 1) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines (Public Works Director Lee).
APPROVE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council approve the Preliminary Design Concept for the Manhattan Beach Boulevard at Pacific Avenue Improvements Project.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
In September 2022, the City was awarded a $1.2 million Measure M grant from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) to cover the cost of engineering design, environmental clearance, and construction for the Manhattan Beach Boulevard (MBB) at Pacific Avenue Improvements Project. The project budget was approved as part of the City’s Capital Improvement Plan with expenditures and matching revenues of $880,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024 and $320,000 in FY 2024-2025 within the Measure M Fund. There are no additional fiscal implications for the project at this time.
BACKGROUND:
In September 2022, LACMTA granted the Measure M funding of $1,200,000 to South Bay Measure M Multi-Year Sub-Regional Programs - Transportation System & Mobility Improvements Program for the project.
On May 2, 2023, the City Council approved the funding agreement and appropriation of $1,200,000 for the MBB at Pacific Avenue Improvements Project. On May 10, 2023, LACMTA staff executed the final funding agreement.
Currently, MBB provides two westbound travel lanes east of Pacific Avenue. West of Pacific Avenue, two MBB westbound travel lanes merge into one through travel lane. The merging length is only about 60 feet. 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 travel lane when blocked by the westbound left-turn vehicles and tend to switch to the second westbound through travel 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.
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of this project is to improve the merging area along MBB at Pacific Avenue, reduce congestion, improve safety, improve community mobility and provide smoother traffic flow by reconfiguration of the intersection layout. Based on inputs from staff, the design engineer, and conversations with the community, the following improvements are included in the proposed Preliminary Design Concept:
• Add eastbound and westbound left-turn lanes and protected left-turn signal phases to reduce conflicting traffic and improve vehicular and pedestrian safety.
• Convert the southbound lane configuration from one left/through shared lane and one right-turn lane to one left-turn lane and one through/right shared lane. Convert northbound lane configuration from one lane to one left-turn lane and one through/right shared lane. Add protected left-turn signal phases to reduce conflicting traffic and improve vehicular and pedestrian safety.
• Add a bulb-out to create more room to accommodate Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramp and a safe pedestrian access at the southwest corner, which will also reduce the pedestrian crossing length and help to prohibit the illegal usage of the southbound approach as two through lanes.
• Add a pedestrian crosswalk at the west leg to provide the pedestrian convenience.
• Add a Class II bike lane while maintaining street parking for most locations.
• Relocate the westbound merging zone from west of Pacific Avenue to east of Pacific Avenue. Increase the merging zone length from 60 feet to more than 200 feet to provide smoother transition area.
• Reduce one eastbound through lane based on the traffic data analysis.
In summary, staff recommends that the City Council approve the proposed Preliminary Design Concept for the MBB at Pacific Avenue Improvements Project. Once approved by Council, the design consultant will continue with detailed design work and develop documents for formal construction bidding.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Public outreach has been conducted during the planning phase of the MBB at Pacific Avenue Improvements Project to inform the public of the proposed improvements, especially with the community adjacent and most directly affected by the project improvements. This has included a community meeting on April 20, 2023 and emails and phone calls between the City staff and the community.
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. Preliminary Design Concept
2. Location Map