TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Stephanie Katsouleas, Public Works Director
Prem Kumar, City Engineer
Adilia Miller, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Review Pedestrian Safety Measures and Consider Transferring $200,000 from the General Fund Unreserved Fund Balance to the CIP Fund and Appropriating Those Funds for Assessment, Design, and Implementation Services (Public Works Director Katsouleas).
a) DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
b) APPROPRIATE FUNDS AND APPROVE FUNDS TRANSFER
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:ody
Staff recommends the City Council review the pedestrian safety measures undertaken by several local jurisdictions, discuss and provide direction on next steps for Manhattan Beach, and consider transferring $200,000 from the General Fund Unreserved Fund Balance to the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Fund and appropriating those funds for assessment, design, and implementation services.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
A budget for this work plan item has not yet been allocated. However, based on the research done to date, staff believes that safety bollards can be designed and installed to protect Farmers Market pedestrians for less than $200,000. Therefore, staff recommends that City Council approve a $200,000 funds transfer from the General Fund unreserved fund balance to the CIP Fund and appropriate those funds for this effort.
Staff also recommends spending $40,000 from the Non-Motorized Transportation Program already budgeted in the CIP Fund for evaluation and assessment services of pedestrian safety measures on Manhattan Beach Boulevard at the intersections of Manhattan Avenue and Ocean Drive. Because funding for this effort is available using Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget appropriations, no additional funding is necessary.
BACKGROUND:
On Friday, March 9, 2018, City Council held a meeting to review past work plan items and evaluate/recommend new items for the Fiscal Year 2018-2019 work plan. One action item proposed and discussed was the installation of retractable and removable safety bollards in the downtown area where many community events are held as added pedestrian protection. There was overwhelming support to further explore this capital improvement project proposal and staff was directed to bring back the topic for further discussion.
On June 5, 2018, after receiving a presentation on the various City and community events held throughout the downtown area and the extensive use of city vehicles used to provide pedestrian protection, City Council directed staff to proceed with exploring the feasibility of installing pedestrian barriers at the following locations:
1. Farmers Market (two intersections): Bollards could be placed on 13th Street where it intersects Valley Drive and Morningside Drive.
2. Minor Events at the Pier (one intersection): Bollards could be placed on Manhattan Beach Boulevard west of Ocean Drive. This would allow west-bound traffic on Manhattan Beach Boulevard to make right and left hand turns on Ocean Drive, while protecting pedestrians attending events (e.g., Tour de Pier) just west of Ocean Drive.
3. Major Events at the Pier (two intersections): Bollards could be placed on Manhattan Beach Boulevard at a) the north and south boundaries of Ocean Drive, and b) on the west side of Manhattan Avenue. This boundary would protect pedestrians attending events such as the Pumpkin Races, 6-man Volleyball Tournament, Manhattan Beach Open, Hometown Fair 10k, Grandview Gator 5k, and the Pier-to-Pier Run.
Shortly after the June 5, 2018 City Council meeting, staff released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to evaluate the types of pedestrian safety measures that could and should be installed in consideration of vehicle speed, weight and roadway dynamics. Unfortunately, no firms responded to the RFP. Staff then personally contacted several firms who perform this type of analysis and ultimately received a proposal from Kimley Horn. On March, 19, 2019, staff recommended awarding Kimley Horn a contract for $58,328 for this effort. However, Council declined that recommendation and instead directed staff to use internal resources to gather information about what surrounding cities have implemented to protect pedestrians and the associated costs of those municipal efforts.
DISCUSSION:
Staff reached out to the cities of El Segundo, Torrance, Santa Monica, and Huntington Beach, who have similar events, and gathered the following information about their fixed and removable bollard systems. Several other cities were also contacted, but those cities declined to recommend some of the measure they had implemented due to operational challenges.
City of El Segundo Farmers Market
The City of El Segundo identified its Main Street Farmers Market as a vulnerable area for pedestrian safety and implemented the Main Street Bollard Project in 2018. Removable bollards were installed across four lanes on Main Street between the Fire Station # 1 driveway Holly Avenue (a partial block). This project included:
• Installation of a concrete foundation for the bollards’ embedment sleeves with locks; and
• Installation of 26 removable, 6-inch diameter Calpipe security bollards that were stainless steel and crash rated with the capability of stopping a 5,000 lb. vehicle travelling at 20 miles per hour (mph).
The City of El Segundo’s Maintenance Division fabricated a mechanical dolly to transport and install the bollards due their approximate weight of 70 lb. each. Half of the bollards are stored adjacent to El Segundo’s City Hall in the planter area, and the other half are stored at the Public Works Yard. The approximate project construction cost (not including design services) was $135,000 for 26 bollards and foundations at two ends of the Farmers Market.
City of Torrance Farmers Market
The City of Torrance hosts its Farmers Market in the Wilson Park parking lot. In 2015, Torrance installed a combination of fixed bollards, manual retractable bollards, and concrete wheel stops around the perimeter of its Farmers Market. The project included:
• Installation of 118 fixed, 4-inch diameter, Calpipe security bollards made of carbon steel and crash rated with the capability of stopping a 5,000 lb. vehicle traveling approximate 10 mph;
• Installation of 118, 4-foot long and 6-inch high concrete wheel stops that were secured with anchor pins; and
• Installation of 42 manual lift, retractable, 4-inch diameter, Calpipe security bollards made of stainless steel and crash rated with the capability of stopping a 5000 lb. vehicle traveling approximate 10 mph; 30 bollards were installed in concrete and 12 were installed in asphalt, but none of them are located on roadways.
The approximate project construction cost was $204,064 for 160 fixed and retractable bollards and 118 wheel stops. It is important to note that because these installations were located in a parking lot and along its boundary, the fixed bollards and associated foundation work was significantly less than what would be recommended for a roadway application where vehicles could reach higher speeds.
City of Santa Monica
The City of Santa Monica has implemented a variety of pedestrian protection measures at several city locations. These include:
1. 2015-16 Vehicle Bollards on the Santa Monica Pier. Construction consisted of a retractable vehicle bollard system and support structure at the head of the pedestrian path on the pier deck. The retractable bollards allow limited entry of delivery and service vehicles on the Pier. This project included installation of five removable, 8-inch diameter, Calpipe security bollards made of stainless steel that are crash rated with the capability of resisting a force generated by a 3,500 lb. vehicle traveling 15 mph. A custom steel frame was also made to support the bollards to distribute any impact load across the wooden pier supports. The approximate project construction cost was $258,000.
2. The City of Santa Monica Expo Station. In 2016, the City of Santa Monica installed 15 retractable, 8-inch, Calpipe security bollards made of stainless steel and crash rated 5000 lb. vehicle travel at 20 mph on Colorado Avenue next to the Metro Expo Station. The approximate cost of the bollards, not including installation, was $127,095.
3. Santa Monica Farmers Market. In 2010, Santa Monica installed a dragnet barricade system to protect Farmers Market pedestrians from vehicle intrusion. The dragnet barricade is comprised of two continuous and parallel chain link fences placed approximately three feet apart, which are attached to energy absorbers on the side of street. The energy absorbers are anchor posts embedded into underground concrete footings (see photos in the attached slide presentation). Type III removable traffic control barricades are also placed in front of the chain link fencing during the Farmers Market. Setup and breakdown of the dragnet barricade system requires a minimum of two staff members and one supervisor, and takes approximately two hours at both the beginning and end of every Farmers Market event. No one is permitted to walk, stand, or otherwise intrude into the clearance zone, which is approximately 23-feet beyond the chain link fences. The dragnet barricade system is designed to stop a 6,000 lb. vehicle travelling at 55 mph within the 23-feet the clearance zone. The approximate cost for the chain link fence energy absorbers dragnet barrier system was $181,000.
City of Huntington Beach Farmers Market
In 2010, the City of Huntington Beach implemented its Farmers Market Bollard Project, which included:
• Purchasing 39 removable, 6-inch diameter Calpipe system bollards made of stainless steel and crash rated with the capability of stopping a 5,000 lb. vehicle traveling at 30 mph.
• The removable bollards can be deployed at several locations, depending on the size and location of the event underway. They are “stored” on the sidewalk in the vicinity of where they would be deployed in the street.
• The bollards weigh approximately 70 lbs. and are manually moved from the sidewalk to the street. Huntington Beach does not utilize a dolly system like that used by El Segundo, but instead manually relocates them.
• Huntington Beach found that keeping the street locking lids in place and undamaged was more difficult than anticipated because the lids in the street are exposed to vehicle loads, dirt, and sand, which damage the covers and locking mechanisms. The approximate cost for one bollard unit and installation was $3,000 and did not include design services.
City of Manhattan Beach
The City of Manhattan Beach completed its Pier Bollard Replacement Project in 2017.
The system includes both fixed and removable bollards, which are located at the head of the Pier. This project included:
• Installing 11 fixed and 3 removable stainless steel bollards and foundations on the east side of the bike path that are capable of effectively stopping a 6,000 lb. vehicle while traveling 30 mph. The bollards are embedded at various depths into a 30-inch thick continuous concrete grade beam below ground that is tied to several 7-foot deep concrete caissons for stability and strength. The three removable bollards are designed to allow a single person to remove them without the use of machinery or mechanical assistance.
• Installing 11 matching, non-crash rated bollards at the head of the pier on the west side of the bike path.
• The approximate project cost including design, purchase of the bollards, and construction was $250,517.
Given the summaries above, which showcase the variability in pedestrian safety implementation strategies deployed by other local cities, staff offers the following recommendations for City Council discussion and consideration:
1) Farmers Market: Consider installing removable bollards that can stop a 5000 lb. vehicle traveling at 20 miles per hour. When not in use for the Farmers Market, the bollards would be stored on the adjacent sidewalk, similar to what Huntington Beach does, for easy access. The roadway configuration at the intersections of 13th Street and Valley Drive, and 13th Street and Morningside Drive limit the ability of vehicles to gain much head-on speed before reaching these intersections. Thus, this design criterion should be capable of stopping the overwhelming majority of vehicles that could pose a threat to pedestrians patronizing the Farmers Market. Staff would have a dolly assist fabricated, similar to type of dolly used by El Segundo, that can assist in moving the bollards from the curb to the street so that the risk of staff injury is minimized. Although staff does not yet have an estimated cost for this effort, based on the estimates provided by other cities, staff anticipates that the total cost will be less than $200,000, inclusive of design services, soils testing and evaluation, materials purchase and construction. Therefore, if City Council would like to move forward with installing removable bollards for enhanced pedestrian safety at the Farmers Market, staff recommends that City Council approve a funds transfer of $200,000 from the General Fund Unreserved Fund balance to the CIP Fund and appropriate those funds for this effort.
2) Pier Events: None of the locations in the other cities surveyed have a roadway configuration similar to Manhattan Beach Boulevard as it leads toward the Pier. The street’s incline west of Morningside, its designation as a trucking route, and the ability of a large vehicle to gain speed before reaching the head of the pier make it impossible for staff to recommend design criteria without the assistance from a barrier design expert. Furthermore, although Ocean Drive is not a major thoroughfare, its long lead stretch both north and south of Manhattan Beach Boulevard also warrants further consideration before installing or selecting any vehicle barrier system. The ideal vehicle weight and speed design criteria to stop a vehicle must be determined before staff can proceed with evaluating and recommending the best pedestrian barrier protection system option to install or purchase. Therefore, staff recommends that City Council approve staff’s recommendation to spend up to $40,000 from the Non-Motorized Transportation Program in the CIP Fund to hire Kimley-Horn proceed with evaluating roadway dynamics and potential vehicle threats, establishing design criteria and recommending the most cost-effective barrier systems that should be considered for Manhattan Beach Boulevard at the intersections of Manhattan Avenue and Ocean Drive.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
No public outreach has yet been conducted on this topic. Appropriate public outreach will be undertaken depending on the direction given by City Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Assuming the propose selected alternative can all be completed within the existing street right of way, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and determined that the Project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301 Class 1 (repair and maintenance of existing public facilities, involving negligible or no expansion of use) of the State CEQA Guidelines.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Location Map
2. PowerPoint Presentation