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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.1 VlgePkwy@HastingsRmv X-Wlk .." j( r " f( CITY OF DUBLIN I .~. , .~ l . . . ~. AGENDA STATEMENT City Council Meeting Date: January 25, 1993 SUBJECT: Written Communication - Request for Stop Signs on Village Parkway at Hastings Way - and Staff Recommendation for Removal of Crosswalk Report by Public Works Director Lee Thompson EXHIBITS ATTACHED: 1) 2) 3) 4) Letter from Cy Neal Previous Staff Report from July 27, 1987 meeting Adopted warrants for all-way stop signs Location map RECOMMENDATION: 1) 2) Receive Staff presentation and public comment Authorize Staff to remove crosswalk on Village Parkway at Hastings Way OR direct Staff to take other action. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Approximately $550 to remove crosswalk and existing pedestrian crossing signs and legends. DESCRIPTION: The Traffic Safety Committee recently received a letter from Cy Neal of 7574 Sutton Lane requesting that stop signs be installed on Village Parkway at Hastings Way. The reasons cited in Mr. Neal's letter related to pedestrians using the crosswalk and also to vehicles turning left in and out of Hastings Way. The City Council previously considered a request for stop signs at this location in 1987. At that time, Staff recommended against installing stop signs, as the warrants had not been met, and further recommended that the crosswalk be removed. The City Council concurred with Staff regarding the stop signs but determined that the crosswalk should remain in place, with additional advance signing installed. At this time, Staff again feels that stop signs are not warranted. While traffic on Village Parkway is fairly significant, the adopted warrants for all-way stop signs require that 1/3 of the total traffic volume come from the side street. Without incurring the cost of a new traffic study, Staff estimates that the side street traffic has not increased significantly since the 1987 counts. There were no accidents at this location in 1991 or 1992 which would have been correctable by installing stop signs. As discussed in the previous report, this intersection is midway between two controlled intersections - Village Parkway at Amador Valley Boulevard, which is signalized, and Village Parkway at Tamarack Drive, which is controlled by all-way stop signs. Mr. Neal's letter indicates that some students use the Hastings Way crosswalk as a route to Dublin High School and Wells Middle School. Dublin High students could cross Village Parkway at either Tamarack Drive or Brighton Drive. Wells Middle School students (or pedestrians wishing to shop at the AM-PM Mini-Mart or the Veronica Foods shopping center) should cross Village Parkway at Amador Valley Boulevard. Many pedestrians, and particularly children, tend to feel that a crosswalk provides protection and security against oncoming traffic and may therefore not look as carefully for approaching vehicles. Conversely, a driver may not notice a pedestrian in a crosswalk, particularly one that is in an unexpected location. Since alternate, controlled crossings are available within a short distance of Hastings Way in either direction, Staff recommends that the Hastings Way crosswalk be removed and that children should be encouraged to cross at the controlled intersections. ITEM NO.~ COPIES TO: Cy Neal, 7574 Sutton Lar C I T Y C L E R K I FILe fl5f9IOH/ilOl City Council approval is not strictly required for removal of crosswalks; however, in view of the City Council's 1987 determination to retain the crosswalk, Staff is bringing this item back for consideration. Staff recommends that the City Council receive the Staff presentation, receive comments from the public, and approve removal of the crosswalk on Village Parkway at Hastings Way OR direct Staff to take other action. a: (9293)\january\agstvpwh Page 2 November 13, 1992 City of Dublin 100 Civic Plaza Dublin CA. 94568 I think that there should be a stop sign at Amador Valley Boulevard and Hastings Way. There is a lot of traffic and it is dangerous to cross at the cross walk as people do not slow down. My sister almost got hit as she was on her way to Dublin High School, luckily the car only hit her purse. When I walk my bike across on my way to Wells people do not always stop, making it dangerous going and coming from school. It is also difficult for people leaving the neighbornood to turn left onto Amador Valley and difficult for people making left turns to enter Hasting off of Amador Valley. Please put in a stop sign here before we have an accident. CyNeal , UUbL:..tt C4 9456/3 .. ..1~.- L.E~ F;ellrri ~ ~ ~ CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT City Council Meeting Date: July 27, 1987 SUBJECT: Written Communication from Mrs. Mary McHugh Regarding Request for STOP Signs on Village Parkway at Hastings Way, Red Curb on Brighton Drive, and Speeding on Canterbury Lane EXHIBITS ATTACHED: 1) Letter from Mrs. McHugh 2) Report from TJ~~ RECOMMENDATION' qL &5 i l Receive Staff Report Alternate No. 1 - Remove existing crosswalk. Alternate No. 2 - Relocate pedestrian warning signs, repaint crosswalk 24" wide, paint diagonal lines in crosswalk, and repaint pedestrian pavement legends. FINfu~CIAL STATEMENT: Approximately $500 for signing and marking c~anges. DESCRIPTION: Mrs. Mary McHugh of 7767 Canterbury Lane addressed a letter to the City Council regarding three traffic-related matters. Two of the items have been addressed by Staff in the following manner: 1) Request for red curb between crosswalks on Brighton Drive opposite Lucania Street: This item relates to a vehicle code restriction t~at prohibits parking within an intersection, and as the curb between the crosswalks is actually within an intersection, it could be painted red without adopting a new ordinance. This area will be the entrance to Kolb Park when the scheduled improvements have been constructed. This curb painting has been completed. 2) Comment regarding speeding on Canterbury Lane: ~lrs. McHugh lives at a dog-leg bend in Canterbury Lane. Staff contacted Mrs. McHugh and asked whether she would object to placement of raised pavement markers along the center of the road at the bend in order to discourage drivers from "squealing" around the curve. She did not object but also stated that she felt such an installation would not help. The police department has been notified of the complaint for periodic surveillance. 3) Request for STOP signs on Village Parkway at Hastings Way: intersection was stucied by TJ~l as indicated in the attached report. conclusions are summarized as follows: This Their Field Review This is a "tee" intersection with white crosswalks crossing Village Parkway on the south side of the intersection and crossing Hastings Way on the west side. There are pedestrian warning signs approximately 420 feet in advance of the crosswalk for both directions of travel, as well as white "?ED XING" pavement legends. The new standard placement for pedestrian warning signs is at the crosswalk. In addition, the sign for southbound traffic is obscured by trees. The maintenance superintendent estimates the trees will grow above the signs in approximately three years. School Attendance Areas Village Parkway is the boundary between the Murray School and Frederiksen School attendance areas; so there is no reason for elementary students to cross Village Parkway for purpose of attending school. . '/J Intermediate and High School students do need to cross Village Parkl.;ay. This intersection is not on the designated route to school for either Wells Intermediate or Dublin High School. Students for these schools should cross at the signalized intersection at Amador Valley Blvd. or at the all-I.;ay STOP -71 /l- I ()o ^/:.r- 1\' - - -~, lntersec tlons of Tamarack Drive, Brighton Drive, or Davona Drive. 'iklill~~~~ SeMI -~----------------------------------- . I Accident History There have been seven accidents at this intersection in the last three and one-half years. Three involved bicyclists, one directly involved a pedestrian, and one indirectly involved pedestrians. Of the three bicycle accidents, two were caused by improper behavior on the part of the bicyclists. The other bicycle accident, the pedestrian accident, and the rear-end accident indirectly caused by pedestrians, were similar in that one vehicle stopped to allow bicyclists or pedestrians to cross and a second vehicle failed to stop. As a comparison, a review of the accident histories of the all-way STOP intersections at Tamarack, Brighton, and Davona was conducted. A total of six bicycle accidents and two pedestrian accidents occurred among the three interesections. One bicycle accident was caused by the bicyclist riding the wrong way; the others were primarily caused'by inattention on the part of the motorist. The two pedestrian accidents were caused by failure of the motorist to notice pedestrians crossing the side street in the crosswalk. Traffic Counts The total vehicular volume entering the intersection averages over 1,200 vehicles for the eight peak hours of the day. This more than satisfies the requirement of 300 vph for any eight hours of the day. However, the warrant also specifies that the volume entering the intersection from the minor street must average at least one-third of the total volume (100 vph minimum). The volumes on Hastings way constitute only 3.5% of the total intersection volumes and average only 46 vph for the eight peak hours of the day. Therefore, the minimum volume warrants for all-way STOP sign installation have not been met. The intersection was also counted for pedestrians and bicyclists between 2:20 p.m. and 3:20 p.m. on May 29, 1987. During this time, a total of ten pedestrians and ten bicyclists crossed Village Parkway in or near the crosswalk. Most of the pedestrians were junior high or high school age. Analysis and Recommendations TJK}[ states that the current signing and striping at the intersection may not give adequate warning of the presence of a pedestrian crossing. In addition, the crosswalk may be providing pedestrians with a false sense of security. The accidents caused involving a pedestrian or bicyclist hit by a car when a motorist in an adjacent lane has stopped indicates that the pedestrian is expecting all cars to stop and may not even be looking for oncoming traffic or waiting for sufficient gaps in the traffic stream. Studies show that if the crosswalk were not marked, pedestrians would show greater caution. Therefore, TJK}[ recommends that the crosswalk be removed. In the event that this recommendation is not implemented, the existing pedestrian warning signs should be relocated to be no more than SO feet in advance of the crosswalk and positioned so that they are not obscured by trees. The PED XING legends should be repainted. The width of the crosswalk lines should be increased to 24 inches, and diagonal lines may be painted within the crosswalk for more emphasis. In any event, bicycle and pedestrian safety instruction should be instituted in the Dublin schools. The need for instruction is evidenced by the number of accidents caused by wrong-way bicycle riding. Dublin Police Services supports the need for such instruction. It should be kept in mind that if STOP signs and STOP ~BL;n signs were installed at this intersection, there would be visibility problems due to the height of existing trees and their close spacing. Also, a consequence of unwarranted all-way STOP signs could be an increase in accidents due to non- compliance. There are approximately 1,300 vpd on Hastings Way as compared with over 18,000 vpd on Village Parkway. Most of the traffic leaving Hastings is turning right, and therefore, most of the time, the majority of cars on Village Parkway would not have to yield to any traffic. WARRANTS FOR ALL-WAY STOP SIGN INSTALLATION (Adopted by City Council Resolution 119-92 9/28/92) A fully-justified, properly installed all-way stop can effectively assign right-of- way, reduce vehicle delay, and decrease accidents. All-way stop sign installation may be considered if any of the following conditions exist: l. VOLUME (a) Total vehicular volume entering the intersection from all approaches must average 350 vehicles per hour for a four-way intersection OR 300 vehicles per hour for a T-intersection for any eight hours of an average day. The eight hours need not be consecutive. (b) In addition, the combined vehicular and pedestrian volume entering the intersection from the minor street or streets for the same eight hours must average at least l/3 of the total volume entering the intersection. 2. ACCIDENTS Five or more reported accidents within a l2-month period and of a type susceptible to correction by installation of all-way stop signs. 3. VISIBILITY The intersection sight-distance (based on Caltrans standards) on one or more approaches of the major street is less than 150 feet. 4. RESIDENTIAL AREA Warrants are to be reduced to 60% of the values in Section land 2 above if ALL of the following conditions are met: (a) Both streets are residential streets with existing 25 mph speed limi ts . (b) Neither street is an adopted through street. (c) Neither street exceeds 40 feet of roadway width. (d) No existing stop sign or signal is located on the more heavily traveled street within a distance of 600 feet. (e) Streets extend 600 feet or more away from the intersection on at least three sides. (f) Installation of a all-way stop is compatible with overall traffic circulation needs for the residential area. 5. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CROSSING This warrant is satisfied by the conditions in EITHER (a) OR (b) below (a) Students cross the more heavily traveled street at the intersection as part of an official elementary school route plan, and if ALL of the following conditions are met: (l) All of the conditions in Section 4 Residential Area (a through f) are met. ... ~ .4U-W4tf S7DP SfG.,cJ 0J~/)~rs. (2) The more heavily traveled street has more than 280 feet intersection sight distance visibility (based on Caltrans standards). (3) The elementary school route plan has been approved by the Public Works Director/City Engineer. 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