Title
Approve Meeting Minutes (Action)
Body
Transportation Commission
Date of Meeting (09/27/2017)
Item #4A
(ACTION)
Approve Meeting Minutes (Action)
Commissioner Vargas convened the meeting at 7:05pm.
1. ROLL CALL
Present: Commissioners Vargas, Bertken, Soules, and Palmer.
Absent: Chair Bellows, Vice-Chair Miley, Commissioner Hans.
2. AGENDA CHANGES
Commissioner Soules made a motion to continue item 5-A to a future meeting. Commissioner Vargas seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PUBLIC COMMENT
3A Laura Palmer - New Commissioner Introduction
Commissioner Vargas welcomed the new member of the Transportation Commission, Laura Palmer.
Commissioner Palmer introduced herself. She said she is a long-time resident, has three kids at different schools, commutes to work and wants to keep Alameda the great place that it is. She said she works at Google, and has been in technology for most of her career.
3B Transportation Commission Meeting: Wednesday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Staff Member Payne announced that there would be a meeting on September 27th. She said the November meeting would be on Wednesday November 15th, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
4A 2017-4538
Approve Meeting Minutes - April 26, 2017 (Action)
The staff report can be found at:
<https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3097452&GUID=47F0E7ED-DBEE-4D83-B289-C1FBFC7672B9&Options=&Search>=
Commissioner Soules made a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner Bertken seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
5. NEW BUSINESS
5A 2017-4539
Elect Chair and Vice Chair (Action)
***Continued (see Item 2: Agenda Changes)***
5B 2017-4540
Uphold Public Works’ Decision to Not Install an All-Way Stop Control at the Intersection of Sixth Street and Haight Avenue and Approve the Removal of Four Parking Spaces on Sixth Street at Haight Avenue (Action)
Staff Member Aghamir, City Engineer, introduced the item and gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3097454&GUID=4F47F3B3-28D0-48AD-9D28-C592568C504F&FullText=1>
Commissioner Soules noted that the original request to the city was to improve visibility for vehicles at the intersection and was not related to pedestrian activity.
Commissioner Vargas asked what the level of impact in injury and dollar value of the two collisions that occurred at the intersection in the previous five years.
Staff Member Aghamir said he did not believe the injuries were severe, and that they were broadside collisions in 2011 and 2016.
Commissioner Vargas suggested voting on the stop sign first and the having the parking discussion separately.
*There were no speakers for public comment.*
Commissioner Bertken said there was a similar issue at an intersection on Bay Farm. He said the police sergeant at the meeting explained that the driver has a right to pull forward into the parking lane at an intersection to improve visibility before entering an intersection. He said there should be more education of this fact due to the number of intersections in Alameda with this issue.
Commissioner Bertken made a motion to NOT install a stop sign at the intersection. Commissioner Soules seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
Commissioner Soules asked if there were a viable no action alternative to removing parking spaces at the intersection.
Staff Member Aghamir said there was not. He said there is poor visibility at the intersection that merits some action.
Commissioner Bertken said he does not recommend the staff proposal of removing parking spaces at all four corners of the intersection.
Commissioner Soules asked staff to restate the details of the 2nd alternative recommendation.
Staff Member Aghamir said it would result in the loss of three parking spaces and a sign limiting parking at one corner to vehicles under six feet tall.
Commissioner Soules said much of the public correspondence was concerned that allowing vehicles under six feet tall to park at the corner would compromise pedestrian safety.
Commissioner Soules made a motion to implement the staff recommendation that would remove four parking spaces.
Commissioner Vargas asked if there were any plans for development in the area.
Staff Member Aghamir said there was nothing in the immediate area.
Commissioner Bertken seconded Commissioner Soules’ motion. The vote was 3-0-1 (Palmer abstained).
Commissioner Vargas asked if a 3-0-1 vote constituted passage.
Staff Member Payne’s response was inaudible, but appeared to be shaking her head in the negative.
Commissioner Palmer said she would therefore change her vote to aye. The motion passed 4-0.
6. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
6-A 2017-4541
Review Quarterly Report on Activities Related to Transportation Policies and Plans (Information)
Staff Member Ott updated the commission on upcoming projects and ongoing plans. The staff report and attachment can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3097455&GUID=59058475-5992-48F4-BB1D-EF75AB020C63&FullText=1>
Commissioner Vargas asked how much the parking tickets would be for ferry riders parking in the Bay Farm neighborhoods with permit parking.
Staff Member Ott said the ticket would be the standard rate for parking violations around the city.
Commissioner Bertken asked what the relation was between the Transportation Commission and the Citywide TMA Board.
Staff Member Ott explained the role of the Transportation Commission as a citywide advisory body. She said the TMA will be an independent board that decides how to use their accumulated funds to reduce drive alone trips and meet our transportation goals. She said the TMA would report annually and be accountable to the city.
Commissioner Vargas said that we should remember to plan for carpool, carshare, and autonomous vehicles.
Commissioner Soules asked if the TMA has specific goals for seniors and the disabled.
Staff Member Ott said that they do not specifically address that and are focused primarily on peak hour congestion issues, but will look at other areas as well.
Commissioner Palmer asked if the TMA would be focusing at all on the car trips generated by the new development.
Staff Member Ott said the TMA is focused on how to get people out of their cars, but the city considers vehicle capacity and congestion when planning new developments or changes in street designs.
Commissioner Vargas suggested that the Transportation Commission agendas be shared with the TMA Board and that they be invited to listen and participate in meetings dealing with large projects in order to hear the dialogue from the community.
Commissioner Soules asked what outreach channels have been used to get the word out about the Harbor Bay parking changes. She asked if the bus would be synched up with the elementary school dropoffs and still be able to make the 830am ferry.
Staff Member Payne said the bus arrives at the ferry terminal at about 822am, which means the timing for school drop off is very tight.
Staff Member Ott said they would continue to monitor the fine details and continue to report back on the results.
Staff Member Payne explained the outreach that included press releases, flyers and person to person contact with ferry riders in recent months.
6-B Potential Future Meeting Agenda Items
1. Approve Draft Transportation Choices Plan
2. Update on 2014 Parking Occupancy Goal and Recommended Parking Improvements
3. Accept the Annual Report on the Alameda Landing and Marina Shores Transportation Demand Management Program and Progress on the Citywide Transportation Management Association
Staff Member Payne listed the above items that will be coming up in future meetings.
7. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PUBLIC COMMENT
Jim Strehlow, resident, said he does not like what he hears related to driverless cars because it will mean less jobs for people. He said he would prefer to pay people, not technology. He said he thinks that if there are votes on driverless vehicle policies that people who work for Google should recuse themselves. He said he thinks security will be an issue for driverless vehicles. He said he was worried about the delay created for right hand turning vehicles at Atlantic and Constitution with the proposed changes. He said he would like to see the traffic models that support the statistics that were quoted.
Commissioner Soules asked if there was a bifurcation in the data for peak hours and off peak hours in the traffic study.
Staff Member Ott said they will provide any information they have and ask the consultant for further information if necessary.
Commissioner Vargas asked Mr. Strehlow if he was looking for an answer for just this one build alternative, or something more broad.
Mr. Strehlow said he was looking for more details of how the model is conducted, not just what the final data is.
Commissioner Palmer said these questions are prevalent in the community and putting out more information about this issue could be beneficial for the community.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Vargas adjourned the meeting at 8:15pm.