TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Ann McIntosh, Community Development Director
Erik Zandvliet, T.E., City Traffic Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Valley Drive Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan - Follow Up Study (Community Development Director McIntosh).
a) RECEIVE STATUS REPORT
b) APPROVE CONTINUATION OF IMPLEMENTED TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the continuation of the Valley Drive Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan traffic calming measures as implemented.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
On November 19, 2002, the City Council approved the City-Wide Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP). This Program established a set of procedures to evaluate neighborhoods in an effort to improve livability of neighborhood streets. Since 2003, NTMP’s have been completed in the northeast, southeast and El Porto sections of the City, as well as eight school area neighborhoods.
The NTMP process includes the following seven steps:
Step 1- Identify Candidate Streets/Neighborhoods
Step 2- Preliminary Screening and Evaluation
Step 3- Engineering Analysis/Preliminary Recommendations
Step 4- Neighborhood Meetings and Survey/Petitions
Step 5- Develop, Install, and Evaluate Test projects
Step 6- Determination of Permanent Project
Step 7- Monitoring
The NTMP Program has been followed in developing a comprehensive traffic calming plan and conducting public outreach in the neighborhood bounded by Valley Drive to the east, 1st Street to the south, Crest Drive to the west, and 7th Street to the north.
In January 2015, the City received a petition from residents along 6th Place between Crest Drive and Valley Drive to either reduce traffic volumes and speeds on 6th Place. The residents are concerned that 6th Place carries an undue volume of traffic in comparison to other parallel streets, and vehicle speeds are too high for the alley conditions.
In March and April 2015, the City received two petitions from residents along 4th Street between Ingleside Drive and Valley Drive to convert 4th Street to a one-way westbound street or close it and make it a walkstreet. The petitions are signed by 96 percent and 84 percent of the homes with a frontage on 6th Place respectively. Those residents are concerned about the narrow street and blind corners that make it difficult to drive or walk on 4th Street.
On October 27, 2016, the Parking and Public Improvements Commission (PPIC) discussed the existing conditions evaluated by the City Traffic Engineer and heard public testimony from 28 residents in the neighborhood. The speakers and written correspondence identified specific concerns and observations about traffic and parking within the study area. Subsequent to the meeting, staff prepared and sent a survey of possible traffic calming measures, including the original petition requests, to the residents within the study area for their opinion.
On February 23, 2017, the PPIC discussed the results of the survey, reviewed written correspondence, and heard public testimony from 25 residents. Nine speakers who live on 4th Street spoke in favor of making it a walk street, while 12 speakers who do not live on 4th Street spoke against it. None of the speakers were opposed to changing 4th Street to a one-way street.
On May 16, 2017, the City Council discussed the matter, heard testimony from eight (8) residents, and considered the PPIC recommendations. The City Council voted to approve the following measures as recommended by the Parking and Public Improvements Commission:
1. Restrict traffic to one-way westbound on 4th Street between Valley Drive and Ingleside Drive.
2. Install three 15 mph speed limit signs on Ingleside Drive between 1st Street and 6th Place.
3. Install two 15 mph speed limit signs on 6th Place east and west of Ingleside Drive.
4. Install high-visibility crosswalk signs and markings on Ingleside Drive at 5th Street and 6th Street walkstreet crossings.
5. Install a stop sign for northbound Ingleside Drive at 6th Place.
6. Increase enforcement of speeding and other moving violations on a regular basis.
The City Council directed staff to move forward with a six-month trial period for the proposed recommendations and report back with a follow up study. The City Council also asked that residents to be informed about the opt-in about the street sweeping option. The full staff report with exhibits and meeting minutes are included in Attachment 1.
DISCUSSION:
The NTMP area is located in the southwest quadrant of the city, just south of Downtown Manhattan Beach. The boundaries for this study are Valley Drive, 1st Street, Crest Drive and 7th Street. There are 359 residential properties within this neighborhood with 367 residences. Primary access for the neighborhood is via Valley Drive, Ardmore Avenue, and 1st Street/2nd Street. Vehicle access to the east is limited to Veterans Parkway crossings at 1st Street and 6th Place. Fifth Street, 6th Street and 7th Street are walkstreets between Crest Drive and Valley Drive. Fourth Street is a walkstreet between Crest Drive and Ingleside Drive. The “Place” streets are constructed as 20-foot wide alleys. Ingleside Drive is a one-way northbound street. Sixth Place is stopped in the eastbound and westbound directions at Ingleside Drive. Ingleside Drive ends at the 7th Street walkstreet. Robinson Elementary School is located just south of the study area on Morningside Drive. There are approximately 251 public street parking spaces located in the study area.
The approved traffic calming measures were implemented in July through September 2017. In addition, two additional speed limit signs were installed on Ingleside Drive and 40 feet of red curb was painted on the north side of 6th Place just east of Ingleside Drive to facilitate turning movements at the corner. The two crosswalks on Ingleside Drive at 5th Street and 6th Street are still awaiting installation pursuant to a safety grant funded project to be completed this summer.
Follow up volume and speed studies were conducted in January 2018, during typical school days. These counts were compared against counts taken in September 2017 to determine if any significant changes occurred after installation of the traffic calming measures. Attachment 2 shows the comparison in before-and-after traffic counts and speeds.
No noticeable traffic volume increases were identified between the before-and-after counts except a 43 vehicle per day increase on 3rd Street between Ingleside Drive and Valley Drive, likely due to diverted eastbound traffic from 4th Street. The before-and-after average speed on 6th Place was slightly reduced from 14 mph to 13 mph. The City Traffic Engineer also found that the number of vehicles that exceed 25mph was reduced from 141 per day to 51 per day after the speed limit signs and police enforcement were implemented.
In field observations, the City Traffic Engineer noted that the one-way direction on 4th Street has improved circulation and reduced the potential for head-on conflicts between opposing drivers. Street parking demand in the neighborhood has remain unchanged, with about 90% occupancy during peak times.
Based on the absence of adverse impacts and the overall improvements to traffic circulation, the City Traffic Engineer recommends continued implementation of the traffic calming measures approved by City Council on May 16, 2017.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
By way of mailed notices, the residents and affected parties within and surrounding the study area were invited to submit comments or attend this City Council meeting to express their opinion about the trial measures (Attachment 3). Public notices were posted in three public locations and posted online on the City’s website, www.citymb.info.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
Attachments:
1. May 16, 2017 City Council Staff Report with Related Attachments
2. Traffic Count Comparison Map
3. Mailed Public Notice